Sid: My guest I’m speaking to him by telephone at his home in Montreal, Canada is Gennady and his wife Svetlana. Gennady and Svetlana are Russian Jewish believers in the Messiah that are red hot for the Messiah. And they are the hosts of the Russian version evangelistic show that’s on secular radio. Right now we’re on two stations, one is in Israel and the other is in Germany that has so many Russian Jews that have recently immigrated there. And these Jews do not speak Hebrew or German that well so they want to listen to secular Russian radio and who do they get? They get the Gennady and Svetlana at the microphone. And Gennady in Russian what is the name of your show?
Gennady: Геннадий и Светлана у микрофона
Sid: Which means in English?
Gennady & Svetlana: Gennady and Svetlana at the microphone.
Sid: I like the sound of that. Gennady again, who would have thought that in Israel God’s about ready to open doors for you and Svetlana to be on Russian radio throughout all of the former Soviet Union. We want to get you on Russian radio in Canada. How many Russian Jews are there say in Montreal where you live?
Gennady: Only in Montreal it is only about 60,000 or more.
Sid: Do you hear that? 60,000 and there just like Gennady and Svetlana used to be. And basically you knew nothing about Judaism and the Russian Jews know the basic biblical festivals. For instance, most of them when you were living in Russia you when Rosh Hashanah was going to begin like it begins this evening you didn’t even have a clue what it was. Now we found out on yesterday’s broadcast both Gennady and Svetlana were raised in the former Soviet Union, they were atheist. They wanted to come to Canada, Gennady’s big dream was to be a big rock and roll start but he couldn’t even get a job. They actually came to Canada and they were very frustrated, but a couple befriended them and started teaching the gospel. New more about Judaism than they knew; Gennady said he would have been bored silly with that but the thing that got his attention was miracles, he saw miracles happen so he stayed with it. And one night you decided to open up the Bible and ask God if He was real, tell me about that.
Gennady: Well that was about 12:00 in the afternoon and I heard about Yeshua already because these people they were witnessing to us for about 8 months but I knew that God was knocking into my heart. I kind of came honestly to this question and I opened the Bible and I laid it on my chest, nobody was home and I said God “If you are real because I was an atheist really.” And Yeshua, Jesus my Messiah show me. I was a real Jew that was looking for a sign (Laughing.) And all of a sudden supernaturally somebody closed my eyes, it was 12:00 in the afternoon and I found myself in a vision in a long dark room.
Sid: Excuse me, had you ever seen something like this before?
Gennady: Never I would have freak out if I would have seen something, anything like this. If I would hear from somebody that they saw that I would say “It’s impossible.” You know atheism that’s what it is. It doesn’t believe in supernatural; atheism is a totally different approach. That’s where I was I could not believe in supernatural; I did not believe in God. But when I asked God just… I tested it I said “Lord, perhaps these people are right, show me if You’re real and Yeshua Jesus as My Messiah.” Somebody closed my eyes like fingers like that, I felt the power I couldn’t hold it.” And I found myself I see in the vision that I was in a long dark room and there was a table there and on the table there was a coffin. And all of a sudden somebody stood up and they begin to pull me there. I felt that presence of death, like with somebody in the grave and I felt that power of death pulling me in. And so I was really really scared and it was so real. And when I opened my eyes I saw myself again I was in my room and yet all of a sudden I saw another vision. That vision was with my open eyes now. On my right had side was a clear ball appeared and inside of that inside of that clear ball was a black octopus moving uncontrollably trying to break that ball and come out of it. And this picture came across my eyes from the right side to the left and disappear Sid, disappeared. I mean it was a miracles of miracles and when I came to myself I realized that God has shown me something. To me I didn’t have any question anymore if God is real, and Jesus is my Messiah. And now my second concern was, what was the message? And I ran to the phone and I called these people that were witnessing to us and God gave them the word for me. They said that the first vision, death is pulling me in already, I was about 27 years old at the time, who would think about death at 27 years old? And the second vision, after octopus in a clear ball it’s cancer, just about to develop in my lungs. The problem was I was smoking since I was 13 and by 28 I was smoking about 15 years and I knew that there was something wrong with me because I was coughing really really badly. But I couldn’t quit smoking, I tried many, many times and I couldn’t, therefore God showed me in these visions that death will take me in if I will not cry out to God. Because cancer is just about to develop in my lungs, that was supernatural. So what I’d done I just fell on my knees right away and I just accepted the Lord, I said “Lord, come into my life and help me.” And that was my acceptance.
Sid: But even though you did that Gennady all of a sudden your childhood dream was answered and someone offered you to produce an album in a recording studio and you… did you walk away from God what… you had a conflict what did you do?
Gennady: What has happened is when I feel on my knees and under my conviction I began to cry out to God. And yet in my mind I didn’t forget what I was demanding for. And yet Lord I will serve you with all, my heart and with all of my life I will serve You if You will allow me to get into the recording studio at least once in my life in Canada. And that was it. But 3 weeks later under the pressure of my family Jewish family; we had big Mishpochah living in the same city; under the pressure I gave up. I said “Lord, I’m sorry I can’t walk in this it’s too heavy, I can’t withhold the pressure. And I knew that I’m departing from a real God; it was not a test of me. And when I said “I’m sorry I can’t do this I have to go back where I was because I wouldn’t be able to live in that torment.” I left the Lord within 3 weeks but for the first 3 weeks God did not allow me to smoke. But then I came back to my smoking again. That was about March/April of 1985. But in June somebody approached me and said “I also play a bass guitar and somebody approached me and they said “Listen, we need a bass player and we are going the recording studio in September will you be willing to go with us?” And of course that was my dream, but for some strange reason I did not remember what deal I was making with God at that point. It just like the whole experience when I left the Lord it just disappeared no trace of anything. I just like came back to my old life.
Sid: Hmm.
Gennady: And of course we began to practice about July – August we began to practice for the record, and in September we did record a record; it took one week and my dream was kind of fulfilled there. I was there each day for 5 days while they were doing the record. We finished the record on Friday on Saturday morning Sid I was going back home in the morning returning home and I was driving a small Toyota car, 2 door, and I had the biggest car accident in my life. The car was totaled; the guy was drunk who cut my way; he made a left turn before me and I couldn’t stop. And it was heavy very heavy car accident and in my car and I was laying there right inside of my car right after the accident I didn’t come out yet. A lot of people were gathering there and they were asking if everybody is okay, yeah I was fine, I was okay but then I heard the voice of God. You know that shook me, and the voice was this, God said this way, He spoke to me this way “I have fulfilled what you have asking for but you never kept your word.”
Sid: Hmm, Gennady we’re out of time but we’ll pick up right here on tomorrow’s broadcast.
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth