Interview with Pastor Philip Mantofa
Pneuma: When did you sense the Lord’s call to ministry, and what is the specific calling that He has placed on your life?
When I was six years old I had a vision. I was not born-again at this time but I had a vision nonetheless. I believe that this vision was the first indication that there was a call of God on my life. I saw a large stone in front of me. The stone looked like it was rolling toward me. It was very close and was going to crush me. I did not know what the vision meant. Right before the stone got to me my mama slapped my cheeks and asked me what was wrong. Suddenly the vision was gone.
I forgot about that vision until the Lord Himself reminded me of it after I had repented (at the age of eighteen). I asked one pastor the meaning of the vision. He said: “That was a solid hard rock which would crush your life. But after the rock crushed your life, it was no longer you who lived but Christ who lived in you!”
When I repented the Holy Spirit spoke to me: “I called you! Follow Him just like when He called His disciples and said: ‘Follow Me!'” Since that day I have abandoned all of my hopes, desires, and aspirations and have followed Jesus. At the time, I quibbled a little with the Lord because I was not certain if that was from the Lord or not. “You do not have the right to quibble with Me!” the Lord said. “Your mother has already surrendered you to me. Your mother gave you to me in a vow when you were sick.” I asked my mama about this and found out that it was so. At first my mother forgot; but finally she remembered her vow; she had never told me about it. She was surprised when I asked her about it. My father did not know my mama had dedicated my life to the Lord. It was a secret promise between the Lord and my mama. No one else knew because my mama had said it in her heart. When I asked her about it, she said, “How did you know about that?” I answered, “The Lord told me I could not run away from Him because I had already been dedicated to Him by a vow.”
Early in 2003, I had a supernatural experience while I was alone in my bedroom; I met the Lord Jesus. I felt a strong urge from the Holy Spirit to pray and I obeyed Him. The presence of God was very powerful in that place. I felt unworthy to receive such a great honor. At that time I uttered one sentence that today has become the vision for Mawar Sharon Church. “We will build You 1,000 strong local churches with 1,000,000 disciples!”After I finished that sentence, the visitation ended.
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