some years ago, when Deeper Life Christian Ministry began to demand
that doctor's reports attesting to or corroborating faith healings
that had taken place in some of the church's programmes, be attached
to the testimonies being submitted by recipients of such healings from
ailments like tuberculosis, goitre, diabetes, fibroid, rheumatism,
cancer, anemia, elephantiasis, kidney problem, hunchback,
stroke/paralysis, mental disorder, infertility, high blood pressure,
etc. Since then many of them have been wondering why. Is it because
the church does not believe in what the Lord has done in the bodies
and lives of sick people through Pastor W.F. Kumuyi's prayers? Or, is
it being forced to embark on such a course to please sceptics and
critics?
As the ongoing Lagos city-wide crusade tagged "Supernatural Encounter
With the God of Wonders," and being organised by Deeper Life, in
conjunction with Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and
Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), enters its third and final
stage, with an edition fixed for today at Sports Centre Playground
located on Orile-Iganmu-Mile 2/Badagry Expressway, and the grand
finale slated for tomorrow, at the National Stadium, Surulere, a
crusade, which has witnessed surfeit of faith healings since it began
on September 8, at Police College, Ikeja, Pastor Jerry Asemota, the
Deeper Life Church Secretary, explains to Saturday Sun why the church
insists on medical reports from beneficiaries. Excerpts:
"The whole idea started when we travelled to Jamaica and were
publishing, through fliers, some of these wonderful healings and
deliverances that had taken place in G.S' programmes held in Nigeria
and in other parts of Africa and some brethren that attended the
programme from the United States of America said that in America
people are very cynical; they don't just want to read about
testimonies; they want proofs. They, therefore, suggested that for
people outside the Christian faith to believe those testimonies, there
might be need for confirmation or corroboration from qualified
medical personnel and authorities.
"We thought about it and said why not, after all, it is not as if
these wonderful testimonies that recipients are giving, some of them
by otherwise intellectual people and, sometimes, agnostics, is
make-believe. We discussed it with the General Superintendent
(Pastor W.F. Kumuyi) and he approved, saying there's no way their
findings will undermine our faith. That's why we insist on that. It
will also help the doctors who have been treating those patients or
handling their cases to know that this is not the handiwork of drugs
but of God.
"In fact, since that directive came into existence, the Lord has been
proving Himself mighty and omnipotent in the lives of people, in the
face of medical examinations. Let me start with this miracle that took
place somewhere in Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos. There, one of our Christian
sisters who did not have a child while her marriage was young and who
was well into menopause, miraculously conceived, at the age of 59, and
gave birth to a bouncing baby boy if I am not mistaken. I think one of
your titles, Sunday Sun, later made its front-page story after
carrying out its own independent investigation and talking to both the
sister and medical doctors who handled the case. To show that it is
not a fluke, she conceived again and gave birth to another baby, at
the age of 61 or so. These are some of the things that medical science
cannot explain but they are happening, to the glory of God.
"In Nembe, Rivers State, a couple who are non-Deeper Lifers,
attended one of our annual December Retreats. It happened that the
man had a younger sister who lives in the US but who was diagnosed of
cancer. According to what they said, the woman had been in the
hospital for many years. During the programme, the couple called the
woman to say that they were at the Deeper Life campground and that the
GS (General Superintendent) had just prayed for those suffering from
cancer and that they believed God would touch her and heal her. Now,
it wasn't as if they put the phone on and the GS was praying. No, he
had finished praying when they communicated with the woman by phone
that the GS had prayed and that they believed on her behalf. That was
on a Saturday. Some days later, the lady's family in the US called
back to say that the cancerous tumour had dried up completely.
Initially, they did not know until they went back to the doctors who
had been handling the chemotherapy for years and they, after carrying
out some medical check-ups, confirmed that the cancer is gone for
good. So, the family called to tell the couple in Nigeria and the
couple went back to our church to say this is what happened. That was
how the Lord solved that problem.
"Then the GS was in Zambia. He ministered to people with diverse
sicknesses and illnesses. It so happened that there were two
participants who were suffering from HIV. But they believed the word
of prayers from the man of God. You can always confirm this from
Pastor John Amoni, the National Overseer of Zambia. He is a solid
intellectual who does not believe in peddling make-believe stories.
After the prayers, as directed, they went back to the hospitals which
had been handling their cases, to find out if, indeed, the healing is
genuine. By that time the GS had, after the programme, left the
country and returned to Nigeria. Initially, their doctors who did not
share such religious belief were said to have been sceptical and even
passed some comments that showed their scepticism. But they were
surprised when a test was conducted and there was no trace of HIV in
their patients' blood. Not satisfied with their findings, they ordered
for a rerun in two other reputable medical laboratories in the
country, known for handling cases of HIV. But the result was the same.
There was no trace of the virus in their system.
"Since he started the programme, the Lord actually has been moving
very wonderfully. On some of the occasions I have had the privilege of
going with him. I was with him in Aba crusade programme. That was last
year. In that programme, as usual, we had deaf and dumb class. After
his prayer for all classes of people with different ailments, he also
prayed for the deaf and dumb. A boy instantaneously got his hearing
and speaking organs healed. I have forgotten his name because he
mentioned his name. What happened is that after the prayer session,
they noticed that the boy had left where he was and was talking to
somebody, I think a relation. The relation came to the leader to say
it is like this boy has started talking o; it's like he can hear and
talk.
According to the testimony, the leader initially doubted the
relation's word and wondered how he knew when he himself, their
leader, is not aware. But he eventually he said: 'ok, we will test
him to know whether you are correct but we would not test him while
standing in front of him; otherwise he can easily read our lips and
know what we were trying to say. The leader said we would rather test
him while standing behind him. If he was able to repeat what we said
then truly he had received a miracle.' The relation agreed. He now
took him aside and started speaking to him from behind: 'What's your
name?' The boy mentioned his name. In fact, he answered all the
questions posed to him. So, he went up to the stage to testify. And,
as he was testifying, everybody was rejoicing. Later, he came back to
his seat. But as soon as he came back, one of his colleagues in the
deaf and dumb class got up and said, 'I too can speak now.' Just like
that. Everybody was surprised. He was interviewed and asked the same
set of questions they asked his colleague, from the same angle, that
is, from the behind. And, they found out that indeed he had received a
miracle.
"I would like to think that God is using the doctors to confirm the
fact that claims about some supernatural healings are not fake. That
way, sceptics could easily believe in the handwork of God. But to us
believers, we don't need that to believe although it could help to
make assurance doubly sure. So, I don't think the resort to medical
confirmation should weaken our faith but rather it should reinforce
it."
-TheSunNews
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