Pastor, Patriot, Protector in Ukraine

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds.

Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. Who's a wonderful interpreter. Alex, tell us about who you are and kind of where you grew up and how you met Jesus. I met Jesus in 1996. Jesus found me among the criminal world and among the drug addicted people. He liberated me and delivered from addiction of drugs. And He called me to follow Him. I'm very grateful to Jesus Christ that He called me once and now I'm a senior pastor of Christian Church in Ukraine.

And now I can testify how God changed my life and how He's using me for His glory now. Now, you also were you involved in like military beforehand? It's a war now in Ukraine.

We are fighting against the Russian army. And yes, I'm a military chaplain. I'm serving soldiers, but also we have a huge humanitarian warehouse where we are helping IDP people, internal displaced people from the frontline occupied territories and where everything is destroyed. And so before you came to Christ, were you also involved in the military and fighting and guns and everything? Unfortunately, I was connected to the weapon, but in a good way, because I used to be a criminal person and I tried to kill people and all that stuff. So I quit the weapon at all in my life.

I wasn't a military warrior or anything. But once the war started, I decided that I will fight for my Ukraine and I will have weapon for a good reason. So many people left Ukraine to go to safety, but you went to the danger.

You stayed, Alex. Why? Personally, I don't believe that the war is beginning as we see the war. It was a lot of gossiping in 2022 that the war will start, and we didn't believe that. But on the 24th of February, when the first rocket came to Ukraine, I understood that I will fight for my country. And when I just began to be a Christian, I quit all weapon and I threw away all weapon to the river.

It was illegal. But when the war started, God talked to me again. But on the 24th of February, I saw that I could fight for my country, and I wanted to fight for my country. But I didn't believe that I was going to win. I didn't believe that I was going to win. But I didn't believe that I was a criminal. I believed that I will fight for Ukraine.

And I decided that I will buy a weapon just for fighting for my country, and I will sign for volunteer military army unit, so I will have a possibility to be on the front line. Now, if you just joined us, this is Truth Talk. We're not speaking in tongues. We have a special guest from the Ukraine named Alex, and he's speaking in Ukrainian. And then this Anya, this angelic voice of Anya, who has also been serving Christ over in Ukraine, is back here in the States now working and getting the message out.

They're with us. It's loud because we just finished Wednesday in the Word. Sperli, what just happened in here, man? Amazing place.

Unbelievable. This was a day of huge, huge. Never forget, Godly, this whole Ukraine story is just an amazing place today.

It was awesome. We don't normally do testimonies at Wednesday in the Word, but we had our special good friend Mark Smith with an amazing ministry, Lantern Rescue, is hosting these dear folks. And he said, the men have to hear this, even if it's a few minutes. And so Alex just blessed us, didn't he? There wasn't a quiet, dry eye in the room, and Anya interpreted, and the men, we really got around. We prayed for him.

And if you just joined us, if you didn't hear a second ago, be sure you get this podcast later on and listen on demand. He shared about how he came to Christ out of drugs and heroin and narcotics and dealing and some violence and gangs and all that. He came to Christ, he dumped all of his weapons in the river. God saved, became a pastor, a chaplain, leading people to Jesus.

And then the bombs from Russia start dropping on his homeland, and instead of running, he stayed. And he took up arms again, this time to defend his country and to be a chaplain. And who knows how many people he's led to Christ.

It's estimated over 60,000. God's used him and other ministries that joined with him to bring to safety and to healing. And so he's telling us kind of the state right now. Our listeners want to know the truth about what's happening there and how they can pray for you, brother Alex. We may say that Russia is a terrorist state. It's not a common war. They are just trying to hit the civilian spots as hospitals and hotels and the places where refugees live in, schools. They are not counting any lives, children, women, old people.

It doesn't matter for them. They are hiding their military people in civilian places on the front line in a village, and they know that Ukrainian army will never hit the civilian. So they are using the houses of people, real civilian people, not military guys, not soldiers, for their covering and for their hiding. Their methods and standards of the war is a terroristic one.

It's not a war, it's a genocide of Ukrainian nation. What is God doing among his church there? I'm hearing sounds of revival, that people are trusting Jesus. We're hearing about prayer meetings. We're hearing about people on their knees in a bomb shelter and the Lord is working.

Can you tell us a little bit about what God is doing there right now? There is a phrase in Ukrainian that got people to go to the hospital. There is a phrase in Ukrainian that people are going to God only in suffering.

And unfortunately, we may say that now people, yes, they are standing on their knees when it's like something dangerous happening, some heating or some dangerous stuff. But the next day, they are forgetting about God again. They are not receiving God honestly.

They are not pouring from the heavens. So we need your prayers and prayer support to make disciples, real disciples of Jesus, not just a nation who is asking God for helping in suffering, but not receiving Jesus Christ in their lives. How can our listeners pray for you? You're going back to the war.

You're going back to the shells and the bullets, the hand grenades, the bombs, the drone strikes. You're fighting a battle. You're leading people to Christ.

You're fighting a spiritual and physical battle. How can our listeners pray for you, Alex? First of all, I want to say thank you for all the prayers which you prayed for all this year of the war, because I know that you are praying and we feel your support very much. So thank you to every American, every person who is in this country praying for us. I want to say thank you for all the prayers that you have given us. Thank you for all the prayers that you have given us. Thank you for all the prayers that you have given us. And I would ask you to pray about my anointing so God can use me like an instrument for his work.

So when people will listen to my words, they will not receive that as a words of person, of my name, but they will feel that God's present and they will understand that God is talking to them and they will receive Jesus Christ in their hearts. So this man was just on a battlefield in a war-torn country this morning. He's with us in Bible study at Dario Wednesday in the word. That's why the noise all these guys, there's guys over there praying. There's guys fellowship and Jamal came over. He's on fire for God.

Sperling's here in a herb is here. Another author got man of God, Hoover, and God's just blessing and working and we're grateful for the ministry of lantern rescue you on it. You can go there to learn more about how you can support their relief efforts in, in the Ukraine. We pray for the Ukraine, laying aside all the politics, you know, everyone's in America. We'd like to get into all that and sure there's angles and all that, but we know that there are true genuine God loving people who are being bombed and we know that that nation needs Jesus. And we're praying that Ukraine will come to, you know, even more people will come to Christ. There's a softening, I guess the, the, the war is softened hearts to the gospel, I guess.

Isn't it Alex? How is the war softened hearts to the gospel? I mean, it's a, it's a good, it's a harvest time, right? Amen. We are very thank you for this opportunity to be here on this Bible study, because even today, when we will discuss all suffering and challenges which Hebrews had, we have the same Ukrainians asking why, and we want to answer that question with God's words. But also we know that even when the American government is giving a lot of weapon and supporting us with money and all of that, if God will not support us, we'll not have the victory. So we ask you to pray about the victory, spiritual victory for Ukraine. Praise the Lord.

We'll be praying for you. There's a great ministry, lantern rescue, lantern rescue.com and you learn more about all God's doing there. We taught on Exodus chapter five, the opening part, Pharaoh says, Who is the Lord?

In the very end, it's a crisis of faith for Moses, Aaron, the children of Israel, because they're being oppressed harder. And they're like, Why, Lord, why have you done this? We talked about why questions and a lot of people in Ukraine and our world are asking why the only answer to a why question is a who question in the presence of God in his presence is fullness of joy.

And that's what she was talking to talking about. God bless on you. God bless you, my dear friend, Alex. And we're so grateful for you. I'm not sure the proper way to say thank you. Maybe. God bless you. This is the Truth Network.