Read: Why The Lord's Chosen church is trending online

2 months ago 168

From time immemorial, humans have been fascinated by things they can't explain. An occurrence that cannot be explained by science or human reasoning often attracts man's attention. People who believe that a supernatural being controls man's affairs often refer to this type of occurrence as a miracle.

Pastor Lazarus Muoka of The Lord's Chosen church.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

"A miracle is an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs."

Also, the Cambridge Dictionary defines a miracle as:

"An unusual and mysterious event that is thought to have been caused by a god because it does not follow the usual laws of nature."

The Lord's Chosen and member's miracle testimonies

The Lord's Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement, a Nigerian church with a large congregation, has been trending lately over miracles.

Founded in 2002, The Lord's Chosen is one of Nigeria's mega-churches with branches in all the nooks and crannies of the country. At the helm is Pastor Lazarus Muoka, known for his interesting voice and the insightful ways he explains the Bible.

On its website, the Lord's Chosen outlines its vision:

"The Lord's Chosen is a church inspired by the Holy Spirit to bring the knowledge of salvation to all the kings and their subjects, to the masters and their servants, to the rulers and all that are being ruled all over the world. We have been called for this purpose of preparing souls for heaven at last in fulfilling our mission and mandate and you are part of it."

As seen in videos trending online, The Lord's Chosen also believes heavily in miracles. Over the past week, the internet has been inundated with short clips of members of the church giving testimonies of the miracles they have received from God in moments of distress.

There appears to be a strong belief among members of The Lord's Chosen that they are 'special,' 'untouchables,' and that they can never come into physical or spiritual harm even if 'others' are being harmed.

Some quotes by Pastor Lazarus Muoka on the church's website suggest that being a Chosen member shields one from danger.

The respected man of God is quoted on the church's website:

"Whenever you come in contact with any danger, just declare 'I'm a Chosen' three times and ask the danger 'What are you?' 'Who are you?' and the danger will be averted. No Chosen will die a day before their death. It is from Chosen to Heaven. What God cannot do does not exist."

Members share extraordinary testimonies

This explains why in many of the testimonies seen in trending videos, the testifiers are heard saying they used the quotes and it worked for them.

Some of the videos were shared multiple times on TikTok and other social media platforms mostly because some people did not believe the testifiers were telling the truth.

For instance, one of the testifiers, a man, claimed he escaped from the hands of assailants unscathed.

According to the man who spoke in front of a large congregation, the assailants shot him and the bullets did not penetrate.

He also claimed that one of the assailants used a machete on him and his body repelled it.

He noted that the 'God of Chosen' crowned the miracle when one of the assailants tried to slap him, and then the attacker's hand hung in the air.

Some people say the testimony does not make sense and insist that a civilian under attack cannot repel a bullet or machete, but others also insist miracles are not meant to make sense.

In another clip, a member of the church testifying before a congregation claimed that a lion carried him to safety.

In his words:

"Something entered my back, lifted me up. It carried me like aeroplane to express. When it reached there, it dropped me. When it dropped me, I turned to look at what carried me and as I looked it was lion. So when the lion dropped me, the place was very narrow and tight, it now raised one hand up and asked me to go like this (pointing to the left). When I go, the lion said bye bye."

There is another video clip of a woman who testified that she was able to disarm men wielding AK47 riffles.

The woman claimed she overcame the armed men and also made them to be arrested, though the church later said the testimony happened in the woman's dream.

The church said:

"Disregard the fake video circulating the internet just in a bid to discredit what God is doing. Listen to the full testimony here. She defeated the armed men in a dream," wording introducing the clip read."

Are the testimonies real?

Some people who do not believe in such miracles or who believe that the testimonies at The Lord's Chosen are exaggerated often go to the comment section of the videos to criticise them and often label the testimonies as fake.

Reverend Father Kelvin Ugwu, a popular Nigerian Catholic priest on a mission in The Gambia has often criticised unverifyable miracles shown on the TV channels of some Nigerian churches.

In one of his posts, Father Ugwo said, without referring to the Lord's Chosen:

"Don't be carried away by the miracle testimonies you hear in churches or ministries; as long as they have not been independently verified, treat them as fake and lies."

Father Ugwu is often of the opinion that before an occurrence can be called a miracle, it must be independently verified, and the person who received such a miracle must be known.

Miracles must be verifiable, says priest

Speaking to Legit.ng on the topic, another priest, Reverend Father Oselumhense Anetor, known on Facebook as Fada Kay Media toed the same line as Father Kelvin Ugwu.

Fada Kay who is the priest in charge of St Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Ahia and Udakpa, Ubiaja Esan South East LGA of Edo State, said miracles must be verifiable.

He told Legit.ng:

"When Jesus turned water to wine, the head waiter tasted it and confirmed it was indeed the best wine he had tasted that day. Don't forget the waiter didn't even know where the wine came from. He was unbiased in his judgment."This is why the Catholic Church teaches that miracles must be substantiated by credible testimony and thorough investigation. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, miracles are known through personal observation or the testimony of others, and their miraculous nature must be evident, requiring a rational explanation beyond natural forces. The Church emphasizes the importance of discerning the authenticity of such claims, as outlined in the "Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena," which stresses the need for careful study and evaluation of the circumstances surrounding alleged supernatural events."

But amid the trending videos and some negative comments, the Lord's Chosen appears to have taken the trend with a pint of salt.

A few members who reacted vowed to continue going to the church and noted that those criticising the miracles lack an understanding of what a miracle is.

Father Ugwu made a post regarding the handing of the viral trend by the church. He wrote:

"So far, I have not seen any core chosen member insult people online or even threaten to sue anyone (I stand to be corrected). I have not seen them insult ministers, call them bastards, or call them content creators or bloggers in a derogatory manner. If that is true, there is something to learn from that."The truth is, the testimony you give in church, the shouting and prayers you make or the days of fasting you keep do not really move people's hearts as much as your character. This is what the Bible meant in Matthew 7:16 when it says, "By their fruit you shall know them."