Personal Story of Reconciliation & Restoration

Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is set for one flaw.

Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, the Kita Kolov. Now, the Devil's worst nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. You believe God is a God of reconciliation and restoration.

Nikita Kolov here with It's Time to Man Up, the Devil's worst nightmare. Today, I'm going to share with you more of my story. How God restored a relationship with my earthly father through the power of reconciliation with my heavenly father. 2 Corinthians 5.17 says this, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away and behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. Well, some of you know my story of salvation, 17 October 1993, where I found myself at an altar about 11 months after I left the world of professional wrestling and that walk, that walk to the altar, that surrender forever changed me, forever changed my future and it changed my life. I went from what I call success to fulfillment on that day and it set me on a path, it set me on a journey that never in a million years would I have ever dreamed. I would have done half of what I've done now and the things I did in wrestling, some of you know my wrestling history, some of you know that story of walking into wrestling with no training and no background and no experience in wrestling and within just a matter of months becoming a world champion, tag team wrestler, 13 months in becoming or getting in the ring against the nature boy Ric Flair, some of you remember that guy, and wrestling him in the very first ever Great American Bash, I don't know, 25, 30, 35,000 people, how many were there for the world heavyweight title and many other championships that I won along the way, the best of seven series against Magnum TA, the world television title unification match against Terry Taylor, Starrcade 87, the Jim Crockett Cup tag team tournament with the American Dream, Deathly Road, the tower of power, too sweet to be power if you will. I mean these matches and so, so many more, the legendary chain matches, the Russians against the road warriors, the infamous matches, the superpowers against the four horsemen and on and on and on it goes and of course walking away from wrestling and as I said finding myself at an altar, well that decision would lead me on this course, this journey that fast forward to today looking back now having traveled to 30 different countries, 30 different nations, all 50 states, preaching and ministering crusades and revivals and gosh the smallest audience, an audience of one, the largest audience, over 73,000 in Jamaica, actually had my ministry partner, my tag team partner Lex Luger with me there in Jamaica and I'm reminded though when I asked you the question at the opening of the show do you believe God is a God of restoration and reconciliation, pretty amazing to look back on the story with my dad, with my father, he, give you a little back story on that, he left when I was about three years old and I have very little recollection, very little memory of him in my life as a young man growing up all the way even through my teenage years, we were a product of welfare because at the time my dad did not support my mom, I was the youngest of four, she was a teacher's aide, she worked at an elementary school as a teacher's aide for actually over 40 years well into her 70s, she just loved giving back that way but we struggled, we struggled financially therefore we became a product of welfare, my earliest days began in what I affectionately call the projects or the ghettos of Minneapolis, Minnesota and eventually my mom would make it, make our way out to the suburbs, out to a suburb called Robinsdale where I would spend my teenage years and became actually an entrepreneur at a young age, I remember in the sixth grade I got a paper route, a delivery of newspapers and that began my years as an entrepreneur and fast forward all these years later I still consider myself to be an entrepreneur in addition to a minister of the gospel but that said my dad would eventually come back into my life in my college days, I went to a college ironically in Golden Valley, Minnesota called Golden Valley Lutheran College, now I didn't go there to study about Jesus just like straight up right like for real, it was a Bible college but they were the number one junior college football team in the nation at the time and I was already familiar with several of the coaches in fact the very first male mentor that I had in my life was my seventh grade football coach, a man named Bill Burke and he was the defensive coordinator over at GVLC as we called it and he was instrumental in and really encouraging me to come there out of high school to play college ball and so I did and it was there that my dad would then begin to re-enter my life, well let's say it that way and he started coming to some of the football games and I do recall you know especially the home games we would in fact I can even visualize right now how after the game we go to go to Denny's restaurant for a bite to eat, he and I and yet the relationship was very superficial, I mean the conversations were very surface level, I mean you know we talk about the game of course, we talk about the weather, we talk about you know the Minnesota Vikings, I mean it was just not any real depth to the conversations and that went on through my college years, eventually I would transfer to a school called Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota and finish out my college career there and he actually made the trip up there, quite an amazing man in this sense, he rode a motorcycle well into his eighties, he was riding, he loved riding motorcycles and he'd ride his motorcycle, make a three hour drive up to Moorhead to watch the football game and then drive home and so we had that level of relationship in those college years and post college you know my sights were set on playing in the NFL, playing professional football and of course I got a phone call, a random call one day from a dear friend of mine, Joe Laurenitis who many of you know at the age of 60 just recently passed, way too young in my view but more than just a friend he was like a brother and I was like a prodigal son to his family, they embraced me, I actually recruited him out of Irondale High School in New Brighton, Minnesota to play college football with me, he turned it around and recruited me into professional wrestling and that's what launched my career in wrestling but it was post graduation from college and pursuing a professional football career I get into professional wrestling and coming up and shortly you're going to hear a little bit of my dad's testimony and I'll just kind of give you a teaser there because he actually talks about how he felt or what he thought about me getting into professional wrestling but I have this career in wrestling I still don't have much of a relationship with him, I would travel back to Minnesota to visit family, my sister still lived there and nephews and nieces and of course my mom when she was alive I would travel back to see her during the holidays especially Thanksgiving and Christmas time during those wrestling days during my wrestling career and I would maybe see my dad for oh I don't know a couple hours you know while I was there for the holiday and that was really about the extent of my relationship with my dad and then something happened along the way along that journey I was attending a conference in January of 2006 a dear friend of mine Bruce Birchfield and his lovely wife Lisa were facilitating a conference called blessing generations and they were working with a ministry out of Colorado called family foundations international Craig Hill and this whole conference what was about how as a father our role in speaking blessings into our children and it was kind of patterned after the the Jewish model of if you're familiar with the Friday night Shabbat when the Jewish family would all get together for dinner every Friday night and this is still a tradition I have Jewish friends who still do this I mean thousands of years a Friday night Shabbat it was the father's role of going around the table to each of his children and speaking blessings over their lives and words of encouragement and a vision for their future and so Craig Hill kind of took a page out of the Old Testament and made a Christian version of that and so this conference was going to teach us as parents how to speak those blessings into our children's lives and it was on that first night of the conference that God really convicted me and if you're familiar or maybe you're not there's a scripture in the Bible let me just share that with you there's a scripture in the Bible and in Exodus chapter 20 and it says this honor your father and mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God has given you right it's one of the commandments one of the Ten Commandments and a commandment with a promise and it was on that night at this conference this blessing generation conference that God really convicted me and he said call your mom tomorrow call your dad and I want you to ask them for forgiveness repent and ask them for forgiveness for those early formative years and not honoring them you know I I thought through that that night and I thought you know I wasn't around my dad that much so I I don't know how much I dishonored him however the Lord's asking me to do it right my mom that was a whole nother story I mean she raised me as a single mom there were plenty of times that I was dishonoring to her no doubt and so the next morning I I did I made that call I was obedient to do what the Lord asked me I made that call and I said you know to each of them and my mom was funny I mean because as only moms will do I'm like hey mom God you know put this on my heart I just need to ask you you know to forgive me I just want to repent and ask you to forgive me for you know those days growing up when when I know that I know that I had dishonored you more than one occasion and and she listened and was very very polite and at the end she's like she's like wow I forgive you and then she followed like every mom would I suppose but you weren't a bad boy growing up and I'm like oh mom if you only knew the half of it you know there's things I did you don't know about nor am I ever gonna share with you right she lived to be 93 years old so she lived a very full and long life but she forgave me so there was release number one right my dad the conversation with him I just felt like well you know I kind of anticipated what his response would be and and it was pretty much what I thought and I just and I've essentially said the very same thing dad if if you know growing up if you feel like I dishonored you in any way and you know Lord just put this on my heart I just you know want to repent and just want to ask you to forgive me and and he was again very gracious and the interesting thing though with my dad there was one other thing the Lord put on my heart to say to him that I had never said before and so before I hung up the phone I said hey dad I go I go one more thing and by the way he was a man of very few words he you really had to kind of pull a conversation out of him a pastor said one time your dad doesn't say much but when he does talk it's pretty profound and I would have to agree with that but I ended this conversation by saying dad what one more thing he goes uh-huh and I go I love you dad now I was 46 years old I had never said that to my dad I wasn't looking for any kind of reciprocation honestly I and and basically what I got was what I if you if you want to say what I maybe expected was well thank you you know there was no I love you too son or anything that was like that thank you I'm like all right hey talk to you later dad and and and so that that released something though in the heavenlies like for real and this would be probably another story for another time because even with my own children even the very next day there were some things with my oldest daughter Taryn that were released through my obedience to call my mom and dad and ask them for forgiveness and repent for dishonoring them you know the interesting thing about that scripture and that promise notice what it doesn't say now I read to you what it does say but notice what it doesn't say it doesn't say honor your mother and father if they're a great mom and dad if they're you know off the chain if they're over the top it doesn't say any of that I mean you may be out there listening today and you're thinking you don't know my dad he's he's horrible he's bad you know or my mom was the worst or you know whatever you might think of your mom and dad I get that I mean I could clearly look at mine and go okay my dad left when I was three wasn't the best dad on the planet was he and had very little you know interaction with a however you know I wanted to be obedient to that scripture and just honor them now I didn't have to necessarily be their best friend or but but scripture clearly says honor your mother and father and here's what you need to know no matter how good or bad or your view of your mom or dad the god of the universe the creator of all things chose the two of them and their DNA to create you so no matter what no matter your perspective of your own parents if you want to live that long life and and and gain the promise of that scripture then we have to honor them the other thing God put on my heart then was to continue to to call my dad and on a more regular basis now and so I began to do that I called him more frequently and and did every conversation that we had with the same words dad one more thing I love you that's nice thank you you know just those kind of responses from him you know and he was course grew up in a different era now keep in mind he was he was 83 at the time I was 46 he was 83 at the time and and so I just consistently stayed on that in that groove calling him fast forward to to March of 2006 and I went I went on a man camp and it was there that that the Lord had me had me write a letter at the camp to my dad and then a letter from my dad or you might say a letter that I would things I would want to hear from my father right my earthly father and I did that and then lo and behold of course the Lord prompted me to actually mail that letter to my dad and I'm like like for real like that to really do that and so I did again I was obedient I mailed it to him and I got a very very brief letter several weeks later from my dad appreciating the fact I sent him and just kind of laid my heart out there to him while consistently making these phone calls and concluding each call with I love you dad that was in March of 06 fast forward now to May of 06 it's his birthday Cinco de Mayo May 5th 2006 and I called to wish him a happy birthday and and so the Lord was I think really working in his heart and and of course continuing to work in my heart and something happened on his 84th birthday something changed from that conversation as I began to conclude the call and say one more thing dad I love you he reciprocated for the first time in his life at age 84 and said I love you too son and that was amazing right and that that process from January of 2006 to May of 2006 set us on a path that would bring together the restoration of a relationship a father-son relationship that I had not had for 45 plus years God reconciled that relationship restored that relationship and guess what he began to travel some with me and churches brought him in to share his story his testimony and it was like a tag team father son and Holy Spirit he would share his testimony I would preach and the Holy Spirit would show up and do its thing and we would see other story hear other stories of restoration and reconciliation on that note I want you to hear his testimony right now and it's such a blessing and again an honor to have my father Pete Simpson just share his heart with you for a few minutes this morning will you welcome him as he comes amen. There are some parallels in our lives we both came to Lord late I have to take responsibility at least for part of it for him coming late. I drank to excess for 25 years and in 1970 I had hit rock bottom and I knew something hadn't changed so I thought well maybe there's a chance the door is still open so I went to church one day and it was just like the Lord throwing his arm around me 1970 37 years you know still fog up when I think about it Psalm 40 says I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined to me and heard my cry he brought me up out of the pit of destruction out of the Miami clay and he set my feet upon the rock making my footsteps firm well fortunately it was the Lord that was patient that it wasn't me I didn't have much time for the Lord there I was walking with Satan and it got worse and worse and worse and one of the really frustrating things about it was when the Lord delivered me from alcohol and I found out I had more fun when I was sober than I did when I was drunk it was really an insight and of course when I found out that Nick got involved in wrestling I thought oh Lord he'd gone no hope now we never cloud that but God is power ain't our God wonderful so the Lord delivered me from from alcohol he did it just like that but took a little longer with tobacco okay Lord 1970 and wasn't till 1980 I kept praying that say Lord when you going to deliver me from tobacco yeah finally got to where I was getting the same answer every time you quit and I'll help so I did and he did and again he just delivered me instantly I read these about these people having so much trouble quitting smoking well I know about that I quit several times and I got to the point where I was only the only buy one pack at a time and I'd say well after this is done I'm going to quit but it gets to the point where you have to in your heart really want to quit that's the reason that people have that problem is they don't really want to quit they enjoy that and they'd rather keep on with it but again it demonstrates the power of God that they just instantly delivered me from that and I never had a desire to smoke again back in the days when you got that courtesy bottle of wine some of you aren't old enough to remember that we were flying out to California and I told my wife I'm going to drink that just see what happens and I that little bottle about that big and I drank it and nothing happened I didn't have any effect and didn't create any desire to have another one or two or three which is always my problem before so anyway I do thank and praise God for what he's done in Nick's life and the way he's using him and I thank him for the privilege of taking part in for just a little bit in his ministry and I just want you to give God the praise isn't there God wonderful as you can hear from his testimony he could barely tell it ever without without getting so emotional when he grabbed the old rugged cross but the Lord taught me a number of things through that reconciliation restoration with him in my earthly father and my relationship with my Heavenly Father and he blessed me to be able to be with him on his final Father's Day in 2016 and share stories that I had never heard before that may have to be for another time but all that to say I was there in his passing he lived to be 92 I was there in his passing and on the very last words out of his mouth when I was leaving his room on the last night as he muscled himself up out of his chair to give me a hug something else he wasn't comfortable with doing but he got comfortable I made him get comfortable the very last words out of his mouth that I'll forever cherish and hold on to were these I love you son and that is a story of reconciliation and restoration men I would like to challenge each of you to consider spending five days with Lex Luger and I at man camp pursuing the heart of God ladies if you're listening we'll send your men home better equipped to be men of God godly husbands and godly fathers that appeals to you give them your blessing and encourage them to sign up today at man camp dot info pastors if you would like to bring coal off for Christ ministries and man up conference to your community go to coal off dot org and email me remember this it's time to man up.