BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Old Testament New Testament JAN READ THROUGH THE BIBLE Mon 1 Gen. 1:1-3:7 Matt. 1 Tue 2 Gen. 3:8-5:20 Matt. 2 Wed 3 Gen. 5:21-8:5 Matt. 3 Thu 4 Gen. 8:6-10:19 Matt. 4 Fri 5 Gen. 10:20-12:20 Matt. 5 Sat 6 Gen. 13-15 Sun 7 Ps. 1-5; Prov. 1:1-19 Mon 8 Gen. 16:1-18:21 Matt. 6 Tue 9 Gen. 18:22-20:13 Matt. 7 Wed 10 Gen. 20:14-22:24 Matt. 8 Thu 11 Gen. 23:1-24:49 Matt. 9 Fri 12 Gen. 24:50-26:11 Matt. 10 Sat 13 Gen. 26:12-27:40 Sun 14 Ps. 6-9; Prov. 1:20-33 Mon 15 Gen. 27:41-29:35 Matt. 11 Tue 16 Gen. 30:1-31:21 Matt. 12 Wed 17 Gen. 31:22-32:32 Matt. 13 Thu 18 Gen. 33:1-35:8 Matt. 14 Fri 19 Gen. 35:9-36:43 Matt. 15 Sat 20 Gen. 37-38 Sun 21 Ps. 10-13; Prov. 2 Mon 22 Gen. 39:1-41:13 Matt. 16 Tue 23 Gen. 41:14-42:24 Matt. 17 Wed 24 Gen. 42:25-44:17 Matt. 18 Thu 25 Gen. 44:18-48:16 Matt. 19 Fri 26 Gen. 48:17-50:26 Matt. 20 Sat 27 Ex. 1:1-3:12 Sun 28 Ps. 14-17; Prov. 3:1-18 Mon 29 Ex. 3:13-5:21 Matt. 21 Tue 30 Ex. 5:22-7:25 Matt. 22 Wed 31 Ex. 8-9 Matt. 23 Dean's dad was in real estate development and construction. His mother was an entrepreneur. He and his sister, four years younger, had always been close. They were all Christians. From the outside, their world looked perfect. Dean paced, waiting for the dreaded news that his mother had died. After 45 minutes, the doctor walked up to Dean's dad. "Mr. Sikes, there's no medical reason for me to tell you this. It's a miracle of God. Your wife is fine. You can go see her." An Encounter The moment Dean heard the words miracle of God, he looked up to heaven. "You've got to be kidding me. You're real?" Walking outside, Dean leaned against the hospital wall. There he had an encounter with Jesus. Enveloped in His presence, Dean heard these words. I've called you. "What does that even mean?" You're going to come work with Me. "No, I'm going into politics." That was your plan, not Mine. "What do You want me to do?" You're going to speak to high school students. "Absolutely, positively no. Were You not there when I took public speaking? I dreaded every day. Besides, I don't like schools." That's where you're going. "Is there anything else I could do?" No, that's the plan. That's when Dean learned what would be a valuable lesson: Before you fulfill your own call, help someone else fulfill theirs. His next step was to go to work as the road manager for Christian musician Phil Driscoll. "Phil and I traveled together for three-and- a-half years," Dean explains. "I did over 600 events with him in nations all over the world. Through Phil, I learned what servanthood meant. He also connected me with KCM. Listening to Kenneth Copeland taught me how to live by faith in God's Word. It put me on a trajectory of understanding that love was what caused faith to work. That led me to a genuine relationship with the Lord. Phil is still one of my closest friends. However, in January 1992, the Lord directed me to start my own ministry. Following God "God's plan for my life was simple. I was to tell high school students three things: that God loves them; that God has a plan for their lives; and that because they're breathing, they matter. He gave me the mandate in Proverbs 24:11 (New King James Version), 'Deliver›those who› are drawn toward death, and hold back› those› stumbling to the slaughter.' Every day in America, 5,600 teenagers attempt suicide. That means that in an arena seating 12,000 people, every two-and-a-half days it would fill up with teens who in the previous 60 hours bought the lie that death was a better choice than life. "Deuteronomy 30:19-20 says, 'I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.' Life and death are a choice. My call is to help teenagers make the right one." In booking his speaking engagements, Dean said the Lord instructed him not to charge for appearances. "In the mornings, I would call high school principals and say, 'Hi, I'm Dean Sikes. I'm going to talk to 100,000 teenagers this year in high schools across the country. I'd like to come to your school. Here's what I'm going to share with them. I'm not going to charge you anything.' "In the afternoon, I called businesspeople. I told them what I was doing and asked if they wanted to partner with me. God was amazing. From the beginning, I spoke to 100,000 kids a year." Finding a Wife Throughout the years Dean had desired to be married. When speaking at a school, he'd asked God if she taught there. When ministering in churches, he wondered if she attended. Tired and lonely, he called a friend. "Where is my wife?" "Dean, would you shut up?" "What?" "Stop asking God for your wife. Start thanking Him for her. Be specific. Write a list." Taking his friend's advice, Dean began making a list. "Lord, who do You want me to marry?" he 1 6 : B V O V

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