Dramatic Call from the Lord!!!

I am Bishop Danilo O. Bantilan, the founding President of Church of Christ Brings Revival, International, Inc., and, recently, the founding President of Asian Revival College of Theology, Inc., located at 3f Elipe Building, Elipe Park Carmen Cagayan de Oro City 9000, Philippines. I was born in the province of Bacolod lanao Del Norte, one of the towns on the Island of Mindanao. ( Some called this Island a battleground of Christians and Muslims, and I accustomed to the Great War that has taken place here since my birth.) I was raised in a poor family, and my father was a drunkard who had no stable job at that time. My mother was a market vendor who went to the market every day to sell bread and coffee. Since I was born until this very day, she has awaken at 3:00 A.M every day to cook the food and prepare the coffee she will sell that day at the market. That was the only way she knew to provide what was needed to sustain her family. She and my father had eight children, four boys and four girls, and I was the fifth from the eldest. My family was a devoted Roman Catholic family, but my father was a quack doctor and practiced witchcraft. I had personally observed the work of darkness in our family, and the chaos and troubles we had resembled a war zone. There was no shalom, or peace, and all I heard every day was my mother and father shouting at each other because my father would come home late at night, and it was obvious that he had been drinking hard liquor. When I reached my high school years, my mother enrolled me in a Roman Catholic School managed by the priest and nuns. I will never forget what she said to me at that time. She said, “ You should study at this school so that, when you finish, you will not be like your father.” Even though I knew exactly what she meant, those words broke my heart because I loved my father so much.
While I was in the school, I was influenced by the (religious priests) indeed, I became their assistant during mass every Sunday, and I also became a member a Choir group. Deep down in my heart I felt that someday I would be one of them serving the Church. When I graduated from high school in 1986. I told my mother about my dream and desire to serve the Church. Her response was negative, which did not bother me, because I knew that she felt she could not afford to pay my tuition to go the seminary to be a priest. One day my oldest brother came home from his service in the Armed Forces of the Philippines for a vacation break. He said he had a good news for me. He said that there were job opening in Cagayan de Oro City, he asked me to go there with him and apply for a job since I could not go to college. It was a nice gesture on his part, but I was not happy with his plan Because it was counter to my desire to become a priest and serve God. He also challenge me to become a soldier like him, and even though I felt I had no choice but to go with him to Cagayan de Oro City, I was quite frustrated and unhappy about the situation. then, I asked my mother for permission to go with my brother to Cagayan to apply for a job, and she said, "Yes"! You should go. " but when I looked at her, there were tears flowing from her eyes, and she said, " While you are young, you stayed with me, but now that you are older, you will depart from me and go away from home, but go and be a good boy" My mother loved me so much because I was one of her favorite children in our family; she called me "Tata" which means favorite, and I never forgot this blessing from my mother.
Sometimes our human plans and ways are not the ways of God. Why? Because I found my Savior, Lord, and King in Cagayan de Oro City. One of my friends from my home town, who was already a Christian, lived in Cagayan. He invited me to attend the Full Gospel Church with him, and, for the first time , I felt that I clearly understood the meaning of life and a sense of direction. There was a big difference between that experience and what I had known as a member of the Roman Catholic Church. My experience at the Full Gospel Church changed my life dramatically and became a real turning point in my life. My personal encounter with God took me to a higher level of faith in God, and I made the commitment to serve only Him no matter what happens. Then Persecution began; my brother was very angry with me because he had invested a lot of money and effort to get me to apply to service in the Armed Forces. I had passed all of the examinations, and I was already in the Camp preparing for my training to become a soldier. Instead, I decided to quit immediately, my favorite verse in the Bible at the time was when Jesus said, " If you want to be my disciple take up your cross and follow me" (Mathew 10:38.) This verse has brought me a Spiritual strength in the lord. thus, I was very determined not to pursue a Military career, because I knew my God, and I heard His call to study in the Bible College of the Seminary. In 1987, I was reading in the Gospel of Mathew, and I forgot to eat lunch; instead I went to sleep on a bench inside the Church. While I was asleep, I dreamed I saw God likened to the face of my Earthly father; His face and eyes were as shiny and bright as sun at noontime. Then, I fell off the bench on to the floor and I could see nothing but the light from God. After a while, I saw the face of my heavenly Father again. His hair was gold, and He was clothed with a white robe. He was holding a golden Bible in his right hand, and He gave it me. After He handed the Bible to me, amazingly, it was like a video film, and I saw myself preaching to a crowed of people, teaching and healing them. After I woke up, I cried a lot and said “ Lord, I will respond if You will help me, Lord. But why me Lord? Because of You, I will dot it.” I saw myself as in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 6, where the prophet said, “Here am I, send me” I also thought of the Apostle Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, described in Acts 9. through my personal encounter with God, I am totally convinced that the Lord has called me to be one of His instrument to glorify His name before He takes me home in heaven. I now understood that God will make a way when there seems to be no way. It was really a realization of what I had dreamed years before in high school, that is to become His servant through God’s Divine providence. It is good that I failed to fulfill my ambition of becoming a priest when I was in Roman Catholic Church. I now realize that God intervened because He had not yet revealed His plan for me to become a Pastor. The bible says, “ Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalms 37:4 KJV0. Then, I enrolled in Mindanao bible college at the Seminary, and one day while I on the Campus, I received news that my oldest brother, the one who took me to Cagayan de Oro City, had died. When I got home, one of my brothers said, “ You must take his place as a soldier! “ “I said No, that is not what God has called me to do.” After the funeral, I returned to the Seminary. A year later, I received the bad news that my father was dying, and I rushed immediately to my home and ministered to him. I asked my father to confess his sins before God and receive Jesus in his heart. He cried, and I knew that the tears that flowed down his face indicated his repentance. I was so happy at that time, because, before he died, my father got saved and accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior. I graduated from the Seminary in 1992 with the Bachelor of Theology (B,TH.) Degree. While I served as Pastor of one of the largest Churches in the City, I also pursued my studies by taking the program to acquire my Master in Divinity (M.Div.) Degree, which I successfully completed in 1997. And I take another course Doctor in Theology (Th.D.) which I successfully completed in 2008. Recently I take another two Doctorates, Doctor in Religious studies (DRE.) in progress. I’m thankful to the Lord for His amazing grace and provisions to guide and led me to His perfect plan and design to be one of His co- worker servant and steward for His Kingdom. In the midst of the mountains of desperation ups and down in life especially in the ministry, problems, trials, persecutions and temptations, I felt His mighty presence gracefully holding me with my cooperation and in conformity of His will, I have come out victorious and not defeated. I’m now on the way of my destiny in Him alone and His ministry is fast growing, locally and internationally. As I looked back my early conversion at the age of 18 years old, as a young boy serving God. Oh! what amazing grace beyond of my imagination or think on how He keep my life for a great purpose. He answered my prayer that I could able to pursue my studies in Doctorate. To God be the glory the things that He has done, may His name be glorified in my personal testimony. One thing that I have learn from the Lord is, we should know that we have been called and should be determined in our destiny, by holding His hand no matter what happen, be firm in our decision, especially when we know that it is the will of God. We don't have any other business while we are on this planet earth is to please our Creator, the great Engineer the potter and King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ our savior. Thank you and May the Lord will bless us all.


In Christ’s Kingdom
Bishop Danilo O. Bantilan, Th.D.,DRE
Founding President of Asian Revival College of Theology, Inc.
3f Elipe Building, Elipe Park Carmen Cagayan de Oro City 9000 Philippines
Website: www.arcteduc7.com