‘Christ has given me purpose’

Today, we sit down with Mmeli Philani Mamba, who shares his born-again story and how an encounter with Christ transformed his life.

Before his encounter with Christ, Mamba describes himself as a trou­blesome young man who believed that everything was permissible. He lived a life of lawlessness, despite the fact that he was raised by his grandfather, who was a pastor.

“I had gotten myself into the habit of gambling, girls and a bit of drugs because of peer pressure. My life revolved around soccer, gambling and girls,” said Mamba.

Going to church had become a routine for Mamba. He lived at the church and, at the time of his encounter with God, he was part of the youth leadership.

REVIVALS

“My encounter with God took place in November 2019 when the committee I was part of organ­ised youth revivals. We invited two brothers who were in the same age group as us, but the difference was that they were genuinely servants of God,” he said.

During the service, while he was singing, Mamba says he sud­denly heard a voice speaking directly to him. “How long are you going to keep dis­regarding my name?” the voice asked.

Mamba says the vo i c e c h a n g e d everything because he was standing at the pulpit when he felt that God had revealed Himself to him in a pro­found way.

“I was already fa­miliar with the voice, as I had heard it ear­lier during my prima­ry school days. I quickly pleaded for mercy and forgiveness of my sins. Luckily enough, God be­ing God, He forgave me, even though I was serv­ing in His pulpit with dirty garments, as I had just come from my girlfriend,” he said.

Mamba says he then felt God in­structing him to live a holy life. When he asked how he would be able to do so, he says he was remind­ed of Luke 1:35:

“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

That day marked Mamba’s first en­counter with God and the beginning of his born-again journey.

“On that day, I got born-again and also received the Holy Spirit. I must say that I have no words to clearly explain what happened on that day, but I believe my life is a clear testi­m o ny of that encounter,” he added.

“Christ has given me purpose. I am now clear about my reason for existence. But before Christ, I was just a mis­erable young man whom everyone pitied when t h e y saw me. I have seen the light.” Mam­ba says his faith continues to sustain him through difficult times.

“Knowing that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me is what keeps me standing when I go through difficult times,” he said.

He adds that God had promised him that he would minister before multitudes, a promise he says came to pass in 2023 through The Mother of Gospel show.

“God was faithful to His word and blessed me with a recording which I had already forgotten about,” said Mamba.

Reflecting on John 3:16, Mamba says the sacrifice of Christ remains deeply meaningful to him.

“In all the things that God could love about heaven and its splendour, out of compassion He decided to shift His focus to us who had sinned against Him. He gave us Christ, who was His one and only begotten Son.

“That God sacrificed His only Son for me, a sinner, really touches my heart each and every time I think about it . There is surely no greater sacrifice than this one