Breakthrough Faith

We trace breakthrough faith through David’s victory at Baal Perazim and the prayer to let God burst through the barriers we cannot move. We also wrestle with doubt, evidence, and identity through John the Baptist’s question from prison and Nikita Kolov’s hard lessons about power, pain, and purpose. 
• David’s confidence rooted in trust rather than talent 
• Naming Baal Perazim and believing God can break barriers 
• A direct prayer for stronger faith and guidance 
• John the Baptist’s prison question and the ache of waiting 
• Jesus’ answer through visible fruit: healing, restoration, good news to the poor 
• Rejecting cynicism and acting on wisdom 
• Nikita Kolov’s five defining relationships and what each conflict teaches 
• Backstage politics, career-ending injury risks, and the ethics of protecting opponents 
• Mismanagement in WCW as a picture of systemic failure 
• Leaving a glamorous identity behind and redefining success through faith 
So let’s strengthen the body, let’s fund the mission, and let’s build the legacy at www.tranont.com/berob

Transcript

David And Breakthrough Faith

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Good morning. First Chronicles 1411 reads, David and his troops went up to Baal Praesim and defeated the Philistines there. God did it, David exclaims. So they named that place Baal Praism, which means the Lord who burst through. David's confidence came from his faith in God. He knew that he couldn't rely on his own talents or abilities. He was assured of victory and deliverance because he trusted God. He knew that the Lord and anyone who was operating within the Lord's will could burst through any barrier. As a result of his faith, David's fame spread everywhere, and the Lord caused all the nations to fear him. We all have obstacles in life. We face obstruction that seems insurmountable, but we must remember that nothing is impossible for the Lord. He doesn't fret over our trials or worry about our failures. As we establish a deeper level of trust in God, we will learn that his strength is more than enough for us. His strength is faithful, reliable, and better than any skill we could ever develop on our own. Lord, break through the barriers in my faith and in my life. Help me trust your guidance and power to accomplish your will. Amen.

SPEAKER_07 1:41

Who here has experienced John the Baptizer in some way? I know some of you rejected John. But some of you believed his message. He has had a profound impact on so many in this region. And these are two of his disciples, so let's welcome them. Some of you may also know that John is currently imprisoned by Herod in Makiris. I think it would be instructive for us to hear what's on his mind in the midst of such challenge.

SPEAKER_04 2:26

It's a difficult question. It might be better privately. It's fine. This is Hailey. Or should we look for someone else?

SPEAKER_05 2:56

Say that last part again. Should we look for someone else?

SPEAKER_07 3:04

For those of you who could not hear, John the Baptizer, my cousin, who has prepared the way for me, is now questioning if I'm the Messiah, or if maybe we should keep waiting. John is getting impatient, yes? It's one of his quirks.

SPEAKER_04 3:28

He has been in prison a long time.

SPEAKER_05 3:31

Word that reached our ears about what happened in Nazareth. That you said the spirit of the Lord is upon you to proclaim liberty to the captives.

SPEAKER_04 3:38

If you say you are here to free prisoners, then why does he remain? He rightfully wonders why you would allow his entire ministry to be halted by an impostered king.

SPEAKER_07 3:48

Proclaiming liberty to the captives can mean more than just freeing inmates. There are many kinds of captivity that keep people wrong. Is that what we're supposed to tell him? No, that's just for you.

SPEAKER_04 3:59

We heard our former comrades, Andrew and Philip, have gone to the Decapolis. Is that where you're planning to launch the revolution to overthrow Rome?

SPEAKER_07 4:10

I have something in mind for the Decapolis. And it will be revolutionary, but probably not in the way you're thinking.

SPEAKER_05 4:18

What are we supposed to report back?

SPEAKER_07 4:23

Careful.

unknown 4:25

Careful.

SPEAKER_07 4:29

Go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight. The lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The mute speak. And the poor have the good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me. I will always be offended by blasphemy.

SPEAKER_08 4:53

As should all of you. So what happened to his daughter? You know this isn't blasphemy. I did not see what happened. Your supposed rabbi disrespected me as a holy man. Another sign of his evil spirit. And I also don't know any of the details that happened. He is hiding something. And I cannot stand here and allow you all to be deceived by his sorcery. Even if I'm the only one willing to protect you.

A Warning To The Unmoved

SPEAKER_07 5:27

And add to that the dead are raised as well. And tell John I love him. Did my response to the baptizer's disciples sound to any of you like a rebuke? Yes. I can always count on you, Nathaniel. Many of you were baptized by John. I myself was baptized by him. You heard how strong he was, how passionately he believed. And yet now, even he has questions. When you went to the wilderness to see him, did you expect to see a reed shaken by the wind? Someone in fine clothing, like those in king's courts? Or did you go to see a prophet? A prophet? Yes. And I tell you, John is who Isaiah and Malachi spoke of. What did they say, Big James? Behold, I send my messenger before you who will prepare the way before you. Yes, and this should tell you something. Among those born of women, none is greater than John.

SPEAKER_08 6:46

And even he has questions. Another demon-possessed blasphemer. And you call him great. He called your religious leaders, you and men of God, vipers! Are you going to say something?

SPEAKER_07 7:05

I think his silence is his response. And here's what's so wonderful, though. None are greater than John here on earth. And the kingdom of God, the one who is the least, is even greater than he. And John himself would say the same. So please listen carefully. Do not waste the time right now to hear the truth that I have for you. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. And so many in this generation are missing it. Do not miss it. Those of you who have rejected John's message of repentance, and those who are now rejecting mine, you remind me of the children in the marketplace that play games while the adults are busy. And you know how they pretend to be adults in a wedding or even a funeral. You are like the children who refuse to play. Whether it's a happy game or a sad game, it doesn't matter what it is. And like Aesop's fable, the others say, We played the flute for you and you did not sing. We sang a dirge and you did not weep. You and those in your order say John has a demon because he lived in the wilderness preaching repentance while refusing bread and drink. And now the Son of Man comes, preaching salvation while eating and drinking and dancing. And I'm called a glutton and a drunkard. A friend of tax collectors and sinners. It doesn't matter what is put in front of you. You will reject it. Beware of this. Wisdom means nothing if it's not acted on. Wisdom is justified by all her works. As you see what is happening to those around you, as you see the lives being changed by repentance and salvation, do not ignore the evidence of the kingdom of God. Woe to you if you do not receive it.

Nikita Kolov’s Five Defining Rivals

SPEAKER_06 9:43

Pardon, and I would like to remind everyone that Quintus has imposed a limit of 25 people for all outdoor gatherings in the latter part of the day. My estimate we will very soon uh be at risk of detain.

Trusting God Without Answers

SPEAKER_00 10:01

In professional wrestling, few transformations are as dramatic as the one Nikita Kolov lived. He entered the ring as one of the most hated villains in the South. He left it as a man who found something bigger than championships or fame. But between those two points lies a story filled with conflict, pain, and the kind of rivalries that change a person forever. This is the story of five relationships that shaped Nikita Kolov's career. Not all of them were enemies, not all of them were friends, but each one left a mark that never faded. Some broke his body, others broke his trust, and one showed him everything he would eventually walk away from. The Russian nightmare was built to be unstoppable. With his massive physique, intimidating presence, and the backing of his uncle Ivan, Nikita Kolov became one of the most dominant forces in the National Wrestling Alliance during the mid-1980s. Fans threw trash at him. They screamed insults. They wanted to see him destroyed. That's how good he was at his job. But wrestling is a business built on layers. What the fans see is only the surface. Behind the curtain, there are politics, egos, jealousies, and the brutal physical reality that nobody talks about until it's too late. Kolov would experience all of it, and these five men would teach him lessons that no amount of success could have prepared him for. When Nikita Kolov turned babyface in 1987, he expected the wrestling world to embrace the change. The fans did. They were ready to cheer for the Russian nightmare who had once made their blood boil. But backstage, not everyone was celebrating. Ole Anderson certainly wasn't. Ole Anderson had been in the business for decades. He was a legitimate tough guy, a veteran who had seen every angle, worked every territory, and understood the psychology of professional wrestling at a level most people never reached. He knew how things were supposed to work. He understood the old rules, the traditions, the careful way you build a star over time. And when Kolov made the turn from hated Russian villain to fan favorite, Ole didn't see opportunity. He saw a threat. Or maybe he saw someone who hadn't earned it the way Ole thought you should earn it. Whatever the reason, the relationship soured quickly. The tension came to a head during a cage match in an arena billed as Moscow, Minnesota. The storyline was perfect. Koloff, now the hometown hero, would fight in his symbolic homeland. The fans were behind him completely. The building was going to explode with emotion. This was the kind of moment that could solidify Koloff as a main event babyface for years. Oll wanted him to lose in a cage match. As the babyface in front of his own fans, Koloff pushed back. When's the last time a babyface lost a cage match? He asked. That's not good business. It was a reasonable question. Cage matches were designed to be the ultimate payoff. The heel had nowhere to run. The babyface finally got his revenge. That's the formula. That had worked for decades across every territory in America. Breaking that formula didn't just hurt Kolov. It hurt the entire storyline, the promotion, and the fans who had invested emotionally in seeing the hero win. But Ole had the authority, ol had the experience, ol had the power to make the call, and old perhaps had the jealousy of a veteran watching a younger star rise too fast, get over too easily, and threaten the established order. The creative decisions that followed felt deliberate. Koloff's momentum slowed. His pushes got derailed. Opportunities that should have been his went to other wrestlers. And behind the scenes, he began to understand something darker about the wrestling business. Sometimes the worst opponents aren't the ones you face in the ring. Sometimes they're the ones sitting in the booking meetings deciding your future. Ole Anderson represented the old guard, the gatekeepers who could build you up or tear you down based on politics rather than performance. For Kolov, it was his first lesson in betrayal. The business wasn't just about working hard and connecting with fans, it was about navigating egos, respecting hierarchies, and hoping the people with power decided to use it fairly. It wouldn't be his last lesson, but it was the one that opened his eyes to how fragile success really was. In 1992, Nikita Kolov stepped into the ring with Big Bang Vader. It was supposed to be just another match. It became the end of his career. Vader was a phenomenon, over 400 pounds of power and athleticism. He moved like a man half his size. He could moonsault off the top rope. He could deliver devastating power moves. He brought an intensity and realism to matches that made everything feel dangerous and legitimate. In Japan, he was a megastar. In WCW, he was being positioned as the ultimate monster heel. But Vader also had a reputation. Some called him stiff, others called him dangerous. Sting, one of WCW's biggest stars, had been injured by him. Other wrestlers had complained about working with him. There were whispers in the locker room that Vader didn't always control his power the way he should, that he got too caught up in the moment and forgot he was supposed to be protecting his opponent. Koloff knew the risks. Every wrestler did when they worked with Vader. But this was the business. You did your job. You trusted your opponent to do theirs, and you hoped everything would be fine. During their encounter, Vader delivered a clothesline. The impact was massive. Then came the pain. Something tore inside Kolov's body, a hernia, severe damage, sharp, immediate, and unmistakable. But he finished the match because that's what you did in those days. You didn't stop, you didn't complain. You worked through the pain and dealt with the consequences later. The full diagnosis came later, and it was devastating. Neck damage. Structural problems throughout his spine. The doctors told him he had the neck of a 55-year-old man. The years of bumping, the physicality of his style, the accumulated damage from hundreds of matches had caught up with him all at once, and the Vader match had been the breaking point. He was only 33 years old. This wasn't about hatred. This was about the brutal reality of professional wrestling. Two men working hard, pushing their bodies to the limit, trying to give the fans the best show possible. And sometimes, in that pursuit, those bodies break. Vader didn't wake up that morning planning to end Kolov's career, but he did. The injury forced Kolov to make impossible choices, keep wrestling, and risk paralysis, risk spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair, risk never being able to hold his children or live independently, or walk away from everything he'd built, walk away from the only profession he'd known as an adult. Walk away from the fame, the income, the identity. He had a family. He had a life outside the ring waiting for him. The decision was agonizing, but it was clear. No amount of money or glory was worth the risk. His body was telling him it was done, and he had to listen. Vader took Kolov's career, not through malice, not through deliberate recklessness, through the simple, devastating physics of two massive bodies colliding at full speed, and the reality that sometimes in wrestling, even when you do everything right, catastrophic injury is just one move away. Professional wrestling has always walked a fine line between violence and safety. The best workers knew how to make it look brutal while protecting each other. They understood the craft, the timing, the trust required to throw someone across the ring and make it look devastating without actually causing harm. And then there was Abdullah the butcher. Abdullah represented everything Nikita Kolov stood against professionally. Where Kolov worked to make matches look realistic while keeping his opponents safe, Abdullah had a reputation for genuine brutality. He was known for using foreign objects, for bleeding profusely in nearly every match, for stabbing opponents with forks, for hurting smaller wrestlers, not as part of the show, but because that's how he worked. The stories about Abdullah circulated through every locker room in the business. Wrestlers who had worked with him came back with tales of unprofessional conduct, of being legitimately injured, of matches that crossed the line from performance into genuine violence. Some defended it as part of his gimmick, as the price of working with a hardcore legend. Others saw it as a fundamental betrayal of what wrestling was supposed to be. This wasn't personal animosity in the traditional sense. Kolov and Abdullah likely had limited direct interaction. This was philosophical opposition. Kolov believed in the craft of wrestling, in the unspoken agreement between workers to tell a story without causing real harm. He believed in protecting your opponent, in making them look good, in building a match that satisfied the fans without destroying the people in the ring. Abdullah seemed to reject that entire framework. His matches were often chaotic, bloody affairs that prioritized shock value over storytelling. He became famous for the scars on his forehead, the result of being cut open so many times that the scar tissue created a grotesque topography. And while some fans love the spectacle, many wrestlers saw it as unnecessary, dangerous, and disrespectful to the art form they had dedicated their lives to. For someone like Kolov, who took pride in his professionalism and his technical skill, watching Abdullah operate was a form of ethical disgust. It wasn't about disliking the man personally, it was about rejecting what he represented. The dark side of wrestling where the violence stopped being performance and became something uglier, something that damaged bodies and reputations and made the entire industry look less legitimate. This was the conflict between two visions of what wrestling should be. Koloff represented the athletic, story-driven approach that treated wrestling as a serious craft. Abdullah represented the hardcore shock value approach that prioritized immediate visceral reaction over long-term storytelling. And for Kolov, Abdullah embodied the wrong answer to a fundamental question about what wrestling was supposed to be. If Vader broke Kolov's body, Jim Hurd broke his faith in the system. Jim Hurd arrived at WCW as an executive with corporate experience, but virtually no understanding of professional wrestling. He had worked in television, he had business credentials, but he didn't understand the unique culture of wrestling, the importance of tradition, the careful relationships that held a locker room together, and his decisions reflected that ignorance in painful ways. Heard made changes that baffled the locker room. He tried to rebrand established stars with ridiculous gimmicks. He alienated top talent with his management style. He created an environment where dysfunction became the norm, where wrestlers didn't know if their jobs were secure, where long-term planning gave way to reactive, desperate attempts to boost ratings. The stories about Heard's tenure at WCW are legendary in wrestling history. He wanted to turn Ric Flair into a Roman gladiator character called Spartacus. He tried to cut veteran salaries while making questionable decisions about who to push. He created tension between the office and the locker room that made it nearly impossible to build coherent storylines or maintain morale. For Kolov, recovering from the Vader injury in this chaos was impossible. The company had no direction. Management had no plan for how to use him, even in a reduced capacity. Stars like Ric Flair, the face of the company for over a decade, were being driven away by Heard's incompetence. The Road Warriors left. Other veteran wrestlers were looking for exits, and Koloff, broken and trying to find his place in a company that seemed to be falling apart, realized there was no place left for him. Even if his body could have handled a return to active competition, the organizational structure wouldn't have supported it. There was no long-term vision, no plan, no respect for the wrestlers who had built the company. This wasn't about personal hatred. This was about professional frustration and disappointment. Heard represented the corporate forces that treated wrestling like any other business, not understanding that it required specific knowledge, relationships built over years, and respect for the craft and the people who performed it. Wrestling wasn't just about quarterly earnings and television ratings. It was about trust, continuity, and understanding what made the audience invest emotionally in the stories being told. Heard didn't understand any of that, and his mismanagement created an environment where recovery and reinvention were impossible. Kolov had given his body to WCW. He had sacrificed his health, his long-term physical well-being for the company's success. And the company, under Heard's mismanagement, had nothing to give back, no support, no plan, no appreciation for what he had done or what he might still be able to contribute. The combination of physical injury and organizational collapse forced Kolov out of wrestling earlier than he'd planned. But in retrospect, it also pushed him toward the next phase of his life ministry, family, and a complete reimagining of what success meant. Heard didn't just fail Kolov, he failed the entire company, but that Failure, painful as it was, opened the door for Kolov to discover a life beyond the ring that ultimately proved more meaningful than anything he had achieved inside it. Rick Flair was never Nikita Koloff's enemy. In the ring, they told incredible stories together. Flair was the greatest performer of his generation, a master of psychology, pacing, and emotional storytelling. Working with him elevated everyone around him. Their matches were main events that drew money and satisfied fans. Professionally, their relationship was successful and mutually beneficial. But after Kololoff left wrestling and found faith, Flair became something else, a reminder of everything Kolov had rejected. The Nature Boy lifestyle wasn't just a character Flair played, it was who he was. The excess, the women, the alcohol, the limousines and private jets and expensive suits, and the whole performance of being the man. Flair lived large, spent extravagantly, and embodied a philosophy of life that prioritized pleasure, status, and the moment over everything else. It wasn't fake. Flair genuinely lived that life. And that's what made it complicated for Kolov. When Kolov became a born-again Christian and devoted himself to ministry, he looked back at his wrestling career with different eyes. He saw the temptations, the moral compromises, the lifestyle that prioritized fame and money over family and faith. And when he looked at Flair, he saw the ultimate embodiment of that. Lifestyle still going strong. This wasn't about professional jealousy. Kolov didn't want to be wrestling anymore. He had found something he believed was more important. This wasn't about personal betrayal. Flair had never wronged him directly. This was ideological separation. Koloff looked at the life Flair represented and saw the emptiness he'd walked away from. The ego, the pride, the cost of fame, the toll that lifestyle took on relationships, health, and spiritual well-being. Flair in Kolov's post-wrestling view symbolized the values he no longer believed in. Not because Flair did anything wrong to him personally, but because Flair embodied a philosophy of life that Kolov had fundamentally rejected. Flair was living proof that you could be the best in the world at what you do and still be, from Kolov's new perspective, spiritually bankrupt. It was the most complicated relationship on this list because it mixed respect with rejection. Koloff could acknowledge Flair's talent, his work ethic, his importance to the business, but he could no longer endorse the lifestyle, the values, the worldview that came with it. Flair represented who Koloff used to be and who he never wanted to be again. In interviews after his conversion, Kolov spoke about the emptiness of fame, the superficiality of the wrestling lifestyle, the way success in the ring could mask failure in life, and whether he named Flair directly or not, the Nature Boy was always there in the background as the ultimate example of what Kolov was talking about. The man who had everything wrestling could offer, and still, in Kolov's view, had nothing that truly mattered. Five men. Five different types of conflict, five lessons that shaped Nikita Kolov's understanding of professional wrestling, and ultimately his decision to leave it behind. Ole Anderson showed him that politics could be more dangerous than any finishing move, that the people who controlled your career could destroy it not through competition, but through ego and jealousy. That success in wrestling required more than talent and hard work. It required navigating a system where fairness was never guaranteed. Vader showed him that bodies break, no matter how strong you are, that one move, one moment, one collision could end everything you'd built. That the physical price of wrestling wasn't just soreness and fatigue, it was permanent damage, chronic pain, and the very real possibility of catastrophic injury that would affect the rest of your life. Abdullah the Butcher showed him that not everyone shares the same professional code, that some people approach wrestling as violence first, and storytelling second, that the business had a dark side where professionalism gave way to brutality, where protecting your opponent became secondary to creating shock value. Jim Hurd showed him that systems fail, that even a major wrestling promotion could be run into the ground by incompetent management. That loyalty to a company didn't guarantee the company would be loyal back, that sometimes, no matter how much you've sacrificed, the organization will have nothing left to give you. And Rick Flair showed him the life he no longer wanted, the excess, the ego, the lifestyle that looked glamorous from the outside, but seemed hollow from Kolov's new perspective. Flair was the mirror that showed Kololoff who he used to be and who he had chosen not to be anymore. Together, these five figures shaped Nikita Kolov's journey through professional wrestling and beyond. They took pieces of him, his momentum, his health, his trust, his career, his old identity. But maybe in the end, they helped him find something more lasting than any championship ever could. The Russian nightmare was unstoppable in the ring. But these five men, through betrayal, injury, ethical conflict, systemic failure, and ideological opposition, taught him that some battles can't be won with strength alone. They taught him that wrestling, for all its glory and excitement, came with costs that eventually became too high to pay. Kolov walked away from wrestling while he could still walk. He built a new life, found new purpose, and became living proof that there was life after wrestling, meaning beyond fame and identity beyond the character you played. The lessons were painful, the losses were real, but the transformation was complete. And perhaps that's the real story. Not the conflicts themselves, but what Kolov did with them. He didn't let bitterness consume him. He didn't spend decades relitigating old grievances. He took the lessons, acknowledged the pain, and moved forward into something new. The Russian nightmare conquered the wrestling world, but Nikita Kolov conquered something harder: the need to stay in that world when it was destroying him.

SPEAKER_03 27:42

You may have some things you don't understand. You can't figure out, you don't see the answer. That's okay. You don't have to see it. This is a key to faith. Trusting when you don't understand. Trusting when you don't have the answers. Trusting when it seems like just the opposite of what you were hoping for. Quit worrying about those things you can't figure out. God has you in the palm of his hand. I know not how this is going to work out, but I do know who's on the throne. I do know who's directing our steps. I do know who's planned out our days.

Wellness Sponsor And Closing

SPEAKER_02 28:21

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