TRENDING: ‘Testifier defeated armed men in her dream’- Chosen Church refutes viral testimonies

The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries has reacted to viral footage of its church members sharing dumbfounding testimonies.

On Monday, the dramatic miracle stories shared by church members in viral videos ignited social media discussions and prompted an online challenge.

One of the most widely discussed testimonies shared by members of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, founded by Lazarus Muoka in 2002 with headquarters in Lagos, was that of a woman who claimed to have overpowered four armed robbers.

The woman said: “One Friday, I was in my shop when suddenly my legs gave out, and I could not walk, talk, or do anything. I began praying for God to decide where I should go and who would take me home. After praying, I went home, and around 1:00 a.m., I fell asleep. In my dream, I saw four people with their heads covered, holding AK-47 rifles. They beat me, saying they had been searching for me and that someone had paid them to break my legs.

“The people there told me not to speak, but I insisted, saying, ‘I am a chosen, I am chosen. You wicked men, who are you?’ They started trembling. I demanded the gun, took one and slung it over my shoulder, then took the second and did the same, and grabbed the third in my hand.

“As I held the gun, one woman said there were no bullets, but I saw there was a bullet inside. All of them then begged me for forgiveness. I threatened to shoot them, but they pleaded with me. I told them I would take them to my G.O. (General Overseer), and my G.O. said I should not keep the gun but take it to the police station. They followed me to the station, and I woke up as I began to speak. I then prayed, ‘God of the chosen, deliver me,’ and now, I am walking again.”

In its Tuesday report, the Vanguard newspaper said the church’s Head of Public Relations and Media, Chidi Louis, debunked the viral footage and tagged them as fabricated.

Vanguard quoted Mr Louis as saying: “Nigerians should disregard the fake video and visit our church platform to listen to the complete testimony for better understanding. The woman’s story occurred in a dream, not in reality.

“Don’t believe everything you see on the internet. Bloggers often edit content to ridicule the work of God. Most of these bloggers are wicked and devilish.”

More so, the church debunked the video on its TikTok, noting that the clip was fake. The full clip of the lady’s testimony was also posted on the church’s TikTok handle, clarifying that her story was a dream.

Lion Dream and others

PREMIUM TIMES checked the church’s TikTok account to verify the credibility of trending videos purported to be real testimonies.

In one of the videos that went viral, Peter Chukwu, a church member, recounted a dream in which a lion miraculously saved him from a prison.

Mr Chukwu explained that in his dream, he was convicted and imprisoned, noting that despite efforts of his lawyer and others to secure his release, all attempts proved fruitless until he encountered the Chosen church signature reflector aprons.

Recounting the dream, he said, “I want to share something. Before they released me, my lawyer told me I would be freed from prison, but it didn’t happen until I had contact with the angel of our pastor. In the dream, I saw myself in church, and the pastor was ministering to a congregation. He used Exodus 23:25-27, and then I woke up. When I fell asleep again, I saw handcuffs on my wrists.

“As I was walking, I came across two dirty aprons, but I couldn’t pick them up because of the handcuffs. I bent down to try, and as soon as I touched the aprons, the handcuffs broke. I looked around for the people who had put the handcuffs on me, but I couldn’t see them. Then, I heard a voice telling me to go and meet my pastor. I began walking towards my pastor. On the way, I saw a prison open, and everyone ran out.

“I didn’t want to follow because I was worried about what people would say about the church and the pastor. Suddenly, I felt something hit my back and lift me, carrying me like an aeroplane until it dropped me by the expressway. When I turned to see what had carried me, it was a lion. The place where the lion dropped me was very tight and narrow. It raised one of its paws and motioned for me to go in a certain direction. As I left, it said goodbye to me. I was scared and didn’t realise it was a dream until I woke. At the next court case, they released me.’”

Another trending video obtained by this newspaper featured a man recounting how he survived a kidnapping, multiple machete attacks, and gunshot wounds, all without sustaining any injuries.

He said: “The other person shouted, ‘Kapo, what is he talking about?’ Before I knew what happened, they macheted my head, but it didn’t penetrate. I only heard the sound. Then, another person shot me in the head, but it didn’t penetrate either. One called the commander and said, ‘Let’s take this one into the bush or outside.’ They started pushing us to where the God of the Chosen finally proved His power.

“All of us entered the bush, and as we went, I turned to the commander and asked, ‘Why are you taking me into the bush? My Jesus wants to see me in Ijesha, and you’re taking me to the bush.’ The one who had macheted me was provoked and said, ‘Ever since you’ve been here, you’ve been disturbing us.’ He wanted to slap me, but his hand got stuck in the air.”

In another video, a woman testified how armed robbers repeatedly shot her husband without being harmed after she instructed him to declare, “I am chosen.’

“I told my husband to declare that he’s chosen, but he was afraid when he realised it was kidnappers. When he finally said, ‘I am chosen,’ the kidnappers asked, ‘Who are you?’ They told him they weren’t there to play, then took out an AK-47 and shot him in the chest.

“I kept declaring, ‘I am chosen! I am chosen! The God of my pastor, where are you?’ They told me to keep quiet, but I continued, calling on the power of my pastor’s God. They shot my husband again, and even though they kept shooting repeatedly, the bullets could not penetrate”, she recounted.

Similar testimony-style content

The viral footage quickly inspired social media users to produce similar testimony-style content within hours of its release.

In one video shared on Tunde Ednut’s Instagram page, two men who woke up hungry with no food in sight shouted, ‘I’m chosen’, and miraculously, a meal of fried rice and chicken appeared before them.

Later in the same video, their empty refrigerator was magically stocked with drinks after repeating the phrase, ‘I am chosen.

In another viral post, a screenshot showed a conversation with a sex worker who usually charged N150,000 per night. She agreed to service her client for free simply because he typed ‘I’m chosen’ during their negotiation.

Numerous pieces of content have since emerged, centring around the viral catchphrase, ‘I’m chosen.’