BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Read Through the Bible JUNE 2019 Old Testament / New Testament Sat 1 1 Kgs. 3-5 Sun 2 Ps. 69-70; Prov. 14:15-35 Mon 3 1 Kgs. 6-7 / Acts 21 Tue 4 1 Kgs. 8-9 / Acts 22 Wed 5 1 Kgs. 10-11 / Acts 23 Thu 6 1 Kgs. 12 / Acts 24 Fri 7 1 Kgs. 13 / Acts 25 Sat 8 1 Kgs. 14 Sun 9 Ps. 71-72; Prov. 15:1-15 Mon 10 1 Kgs. 15 / Acts 26 Tue 11 1 Kgs. 16-17 / Acts 27 Wed 12 1 Kgs. 18-19 / Acts 28 Thu 13 1 Kgs. 20-21 / Rom. 1 Fri 14 1 Kgs. 22 / Rom. 2 Sat 15 2 Kgs. 1-3 Sun 16 Ps. 73-74; Prov. 15:16-33 Mon 17 2 Kgs. 4-6 / Rom. 3 Tue 18 2 Kgs. 7-8 / Rom. 4 Wed 19 2 Kgs. 9-11 / Rom. 5 Thu 20 2 Kgs. 12-13 / Rom. 6 Fri 21 2 Kgs. 14-15 / Rom. 7 Sat 22 2 Kgs. 16-17 Sun 23 Ps. 75-77; Prov. 16:1-17 Mon 24 2 Kgs. 18-19 / Rom. 8 Tue 25 2 Kgs. 20-21 / Rom. 9 Wed 26 2 Kgs. 22-23 / Rom. 10 Thu 27 2 Kgs. 24-25 / Rom. 11 Fri 28 1 Chr. 1-2 / Rom. 12 Sat 29 1 Chr. 3-4 Sun 30 Ps. 78; Prov. 16:18-33 ___________________________ ___________________________ * * * * article from p. 12 continues * * * * That’s why Rick was now here—preparing to speak at the Bible school in Latvia. Rick walked to the podium. As he opened his Bible, the Lord spoke. 'Welcome to your new home.' “I was stunned,” Rick recalls. “I wasn’t expecting that.” “Later, I said, ‘Lord, You’re calling me to move my wife and children to this?’ The conditions were deplorable, the place broken. At the time, I couldn’t figure out how I would break the news to my wife, Denise. “After speaking in Latvia, we took a sightseeing tour of Moscow. Denise was back home with the kids praying for me. But with others who joined me for the trip, I toured Moscow. The population in the millions, Moscow was massive with Soviet soldiers everywhere. “I was standing in Red Square in front of Lenin’s tomb when I had a literal vision. The mausoleum disappeared, and I saw myself pastoring a church in Moscow. In a split second, I saw into my future and knew my destiny would be in Moscow.” Two Countries; Two Calls Rick’s journey to the Soviet Union began in Tulsa, Okla. One of three children in a Baptist family, Rick learned to love God and His Word at his mother’s knee. At age 14, he had visited his aunt, who was Pentecostal. She’d been listening to a message by Dr. Charles Goodwin, when the man began praying in tongues. Fascinated by the experience, Rick wanted to know more. He started by attending some of Kenneth Hagin’s meetings, which were small at the time. During one service, Brother Hagin offered an altar call to those who wanted to be used by God. Rick went forward. When Brother Hagin prayed, Rick fell under the power of the Holy Spirit. He got more than he bargained for. He had been born with deformed kidneys that were causing trouble at the time. But when Brother Hagin touched him, a miracle took place and his kidneys were instantly healed. On Jan. 11, 1974, at the age of 16, Rick received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. That same year, even though he was still in high school, he enrolled in a class at Oral Roberts University, taught each week by Oral Roberts, on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In college, Rick studied Greek and journalism, which began his lifelong habit of intensely studying the New Testament in Greek. Hard Lessons “After university, I moved to Arkansas and joined the staff of a large Baptist church,” Rick said. “The pastor was a mixture of what I loved—the Holy Spirit and brains. I was smart, but undisciplined. I was the pastor for single adults, and we had somewhere between 30 and 40 when I took the singles’ ministry. Though I had known Denise for years, that is where I was when I married her. “The singles’ ministry continued to grow. Within three years, we had hundreds of single adults in the church, which created a big problem. Many of them had been baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues. “When problems erupted, I resigned and was disrespectful to the pastor. I’m sorry to say it, but out of rebellion I started another church in the same town. It was an absolute disaster. I resigned from that church after two years. The truth is, God had never told me to start it. He said, 'Your ministry will go no further until you apologize to that pastor.' I apologized and supported him for as long as he lived. “That’s when Denise and I moved back to Tulsa. We had nothing. No money, no car and no credit history. We finally bought a little car. A few speaking opportunities trickled in. I wrote my first book, "Seducing Spirits and Doctrines of Demons," which sold thousands of copies very quickly. My second book, "Living in the Combat Zone,'' did as well. And my third book, "Dressed to Kill," has been distributed by the millions over the years. By 1990, I couldn’t keep up with all the invitations to speak. I felt like I was finally on track.” In January 1991, a few months prior to visiting Latvia, Rick spoke in Florida. Noticing a Bible someone had left on the pew, he picked it up and realized it was printed in Russian. Stunned by how similar Russian was to Greek, he took it to his room that evening and devoured it. Although he didn’t understand what he was reading, he could generally pronounce the words right from the start. 14 : BVOV

• Cover