Only One Lifetime

Finally, after 2 long years, I’ve graduated from New Staff Training of Malaysia Campus Crusade for Christ!

“Graduate? I thought you are working now? What do you graduate from?” you may ask.

Haha, sorry for confusing you (If I did). Well, to make you understand in an easier way: I am ‘working’ as a full time Christian Worker, where my first and foremost duty is to help people around me, and people I’m assigned to, to know the meaning of life, and the importance of having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In order to do that better, I need to be trained in various skills and knowledge. So this training is what we called “New Staff Training”. So this is why the term ‘graduation’ makes sense-  -I have graduated from the new staff training!

The graduation theme was 1 Dream, 1 Lifetime, 1 Generation. Our Theme song is Only One Lifetime. These speak exactly what has been in my mind for months. “I want to live to be your delight, Only one lifetime, only one lifetime, only one life to give you my all!”

God (well, He is also my Heavenly Dad, my boss, my lord and my friend at the same time) had been putting this quest inside my heart all these while: Live a life worth living for! I’ve been thinking: I am 25 now, if I can ever live up to 75 (Insya-Allah!), I have basically passed the 1/3 of my life span. Have I done anything significant? Have I been living a life worth living for? The Bible says: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalms 60:12) It is true. Unless we ‘number’ our age, we can never live rightly.

Imagine. All of the sudden, you now have the best car in the world (well, that’s it, that ‘best posh-car’ that appears in your mind now). It parks right in front of you. With the key and paper of ownership all in your hands (and of course the car works perfectly well!). You opened the door, jump into the driver’s seat, start the engine, ‘VROOOOM– VROOOOM’ as you test the car by pressing some gas. When you are just about to put down the handbreaks and release the car to freedom of running, you discover something: You can only drive the car using that tank of petrol in the car now. No refill is possible, because the petrol tank is totally ‘sealed’, no way to pump in any extra petrol.

Now, how would you use that car?

Would you put it right there and never drive it anymore? Would you drive to here and there with no purpose? Or would you plan carefully, and make sure you use the car to the fullest, that, when eventually, you finished the petrol in the car, you will say to yourself: I have the best meaningful times with this car, and I have no regrets owning it, even for just a while.

That’s exactly like our lives, isn’t it?

Now, how would you ‘drive’ your life? Have you done anything meaningful and significant?

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16: 26

As for me, I believe my life can be meaningful only when I do what my creator wants me to do. Because He understands what life is all about! I have no regrets to follow Him all these while, and I believe walking with Him is the best experience I can ever have.

Now, my concern is, what do you think that makes your life meaningful and worth living?

I love you my friend, and I hope that you will find true meaning of life in Jesus Christ, and willing to let Him lead your life now, just like what I am doing now. If you have not experienced how to live abundantly, please log on to (if you read Chinese) http://aibenfang.com/a/reallife.html and (if you read English) http://www.everystudent.com/my/features/reallife.html

The graduation was just a ceremony, though a very meaningful and significant one, but the most precious thing of it is this lesson that God has taught me

Thanks for being a support, a friend and a partner in this journey.  I hope that you will be benefited just as much as I have!

God changed my heart for Malaysia- – Sharing of my experience in NECF National Prayer Rally

I’m sharing this with a prayer, that whoever reads this will also share the burden I have for my nation. Let the Holy Spirit works in your heart.

The Excitement of the Prayer Rally

It was a phenomenal, spirit-thrilling prayer rally! I have not been joining NECF Prayer Rally for years. Somehow this year, I have such an eagerness to join. I believe it was God who urged me to join other Christian in praying for my nation. God has put in me greater knowledge about my nation in the past 3 years, and I think it has to do with what He wants me to do. I don’t want to miss out any of His plans for this nation. I believe this prayer rally will give me a clearer picture.

Condition of My Heart

I was a little bit late for the National Prayer Rally (30 Aug, 7pm, FGA KL). The main hall had been filled up by people and part of the congregation need to go to another hall to join by watching the live video from the main hall. I was excited about this prayer rally, as I told God: “God, I need a change within me.” Frankly speaking, I do not see the urge to pray for my nation like there’s no tomorrow. I’m still putting on an indifferent attitude towards the eternal destiny of my nation. My heart for this nation had long lost, and my passion ceased.

“God, tonight, please change my heart tonight!” I prayed, with anticipation.

The Opening Speech

God is always wonderful. And let me affirm this with you: When you ask God to change your heart, you will see immediate answer of prayer! God prepared my heart with the welcome speech by Rev. Eu Hong Seng, President of NECF. He talked on the lessons of 2 the mountains in the Old Testament time: Mountain Camel – Where Elijah prayed there by putting his head between his knees, an act of total dependence of God. He said “ Elijah’s pose demonstrated the urgency and restlessness making that prayer – Asking God to answer by fire!” He stated: “Let us continue to ask God, rain down fire of revival and burn this nation! A humble cry, to admit that only God can do such a work! Pray urgently, and restlessly!”

Mountain Moriah- A mountain where Abraham was tested to sacrifice his only son Isaac. He said “Nothing significance is ever achieve without sacrifice. Revival happens when God’s people willing to give what is best to God!” My heart cried when I see myself make no sacrifice for my nation, not even prayer time. “God gives us to give when we have the heart to give!” He closed his speech. I then, made a prayer to God: “Father, yes, you give us that heart and I want that heart, a heart for my nation”

“Has Malaysia Born in your heart?” – Ps. Philip Mantofa

“Has Malaysia born in your heart?” He asked this question right after he went on stage. “I’m not asking whether you are born in Malaysia, I’m not asking your nationality, what passport you hold in your hands. I’m asking whether you have the heart for this nation! If you do not have, ask God for it!” This statement blew me away. Yes, I am a Malaysian, but do I have my nation in my heart? I wept over the condition in my heart.

“God’s calling for me to come to Malaysia this time is to wake up the Holy Giant in Malaysia” He said. Long in sleep? I can see myself as someone like that. He further prepared us by saying: “Sermons are always meant to entertain, but messages are always meant to change. Listen to what God has to tell you tonight!” Yes, God had a personal message to all of us there, and here it is: He spoke from Numbers 13:31-14:9. An incident I always identify myself with. An event where differentiates people with real faith and people with temporal faith. There were great fear and great faith existing at the same time, there were 10 people saying negative things about the promised land of God, yet there were significant 2 persons, trusting in the promise of God, not knowing how, insisting that God will grant them the land according to His promises.

Grasshopper vs. Giants Mentality

For the Israelites, some see themselves as grasshoppers as compared to the Canaanites. “How do you see yourself, people of God in Malaysia? Grasshopper? Or a Giant?” Frankly speaking, in terms of size, and the guts to stand up for righteousness, or standing against the ungodliness of what happen in our society nowadays, I cannot deny that we see ourselves as grasshoppers at times. “God wants us to see us as Giants, not grasshoppers! Distorted eyesight! We’ve got saved from sin, yet we often walk blindly in our path of salvation!” What a statement! Sharp and clear!

Prayers of Faith

“When you really know God’s desire and message, how would you respond?” He asked us. “Are you keep on praying yet do nothing? Do something before God let you see that He grant you what He promised! God says: “As you respond to me by faith, I’ll be responsible to do what I promised to do!” He said. “If prayer doesn’t make you know clearer of what you need to do, don’t pray as if you care!” True and genuine prayer leads to action. You cannot pray for a person’s salvation without asking God to use you as an instrument of God’s love to that person’s life, and make God known to that person. You cannot pray for the salvation of a nation without bringing positive impact or making a difference to the nation.

Suddenly, I get it. I get what God heart is. He whispered: “ Malaysian, you have prayed too much, and you have been complacent with your current situation now. Now go out, and do something!”

Call to Action

He then called us to the following actions:

1. Pray for Muslims – Make yourself a friend to them and love them, even though love brings much hurt! The sin of the church today is creating more ‘commandments’ to stop evangelism from happening to our nation. Although you are restricted by the law to share Gospel to them, but you are not restricted to ‘live out’ the Gospel to them!

2. Grow Christian Influence – Bring more non-Malays to Christ, equip them and grow them (businessmen, politicians). Win the leaders, influence others to a point where the government see that people are free to decide what they want to believe (law enforcement) – The Lord has the ultimate authority to decide the law, not government, not law makers!

3. Encourage and support each others! Do not compete among yourselves, church! (English churches, Chinese churches, Tamil churches, Orang Asli churchs) Unite as one, share resources! Stop criticizing others! Prepare workers for revival: Win more non-Malays!

4. Stop singing lullabies to your church or nation! Wake up! Sing song of praise! Sing songs of victory! Do not be complacent!

Miraculous Moment of God’s Conviction in the Spirit

He ended his message with a very emotional illustration of how much he is convicted for our nation! It was a miraculous moment where I myself sensed strongly how much God desires us, His people in Malaysia, to move out from our comfort zone, and do what God desires, with full of faith and brokenness inside. It was a moment where I deeply sensed the grief of seeing my own people, people of Malaysia, going to the dreadful hell without salvation. The horror of hopelessness in their soul made me want to break myself in deep mourning for forgiveness over my nation.

Like Joshua and Caleb in the incident, they tore their clothes when they see the others do not believe that God will grant them the promise land. “How many people in this land are convicted to tear their clothes for their nation? Grief breaks free faith!” That night, the same spirit that filled me the day I accepted Jesus Christ, convicted me to love this land again. The whole congregation, about 1,500 of us, from different races, knelt before God and prayed like there’s no tomorrow! We wept as we repent for our indifferent attitude, we wept for the lost, we wept as we really long to see God work in our nation, and we cannot do it on our own!

The Difference in the condition of my heart

I left the prayer rally with a renewed spirit. A spirit in my heart that urge me to pray and give until something happen in my land. Today, when I say I love Malaysia, it is not very much because I am born in this nation, it is because God had made this nation born in me. Just like my national anthem sings: “Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku” (My nation, where my blood is poured onto). If it cost my life to bring my nation come any closer to God, I am willing to lay it down, for the Glory of God.

I hope this sharing of what I learned in the prayer rally bless you in some ways. Let our love for this land not just stop in prayer, but in our day-to-day life. Ask God how you can make a difference for this nation, and He will show you how!

Congregation Mourned for Revival

Pastor Philip Mantofa from Surabaya, Indonesia