The Prophet that is Owuor – Mega Healing Crusade

In our continuing series on why people are continually being deceived, today we look at the Mega Healing crusade.

What characterizes and perhaps the most outstanding thing about Owuor is the Mega healing crusade. These are smack with testimonials of the great work of the Lord but somehow always find a link to the MOGs involvement. Notice that this invitation is sometimes camouflaged in the idea of being a repentance and holiness crusade, with miracles being the means to authenticate his ministry. I have noticed too that he keeps inviting the TVs to zoom into an alleged miracle or move of God especially after blowing into the microphone. So, what is so wrong with this? You might ask. As I have previously intimated, I do not want to pursue the issue of whether these miracles are real. I am here more interested in how this contributes to the deception.

What better way to do this than to ask the age-old question of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do)? WWJD is what they told us to think about before doing something. We even wore tags and T-shirts with the WWJD tagline perhaps as a reminder or better still an activity to help us try and emulate Him. But how should we know what Jesus would do in a certain circumstance? Don’t we know too well what happened to the woman caught in adultery. Everyone, (at least the learned theologians of the day) knew very well that she deserved to die. Surely, even Jesus would throw the first stone. But… he looked down and started writing. Such an anti-climax it was. All the stones they had carried were useless…. While we know too well their ulterior motives, we have to commend them for one thing: They asked Jesus what to do. So, would Jesus perform a Mega Healing Crusade? I mean wasn’t He all over healing people?

Compared to the modern-day way of doing ministry, Jesus seems not to be quite strategic. He seems to walk in and out silently hoping for the least publicity. In practically all his miracles, he kept insisting that the miracle be kept secret. Consider, for example, in Lk 8:40-54 the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead. One would think that Jesus would take advantage of such an event to publicize his ministry. I mean since the days of the prophets, there had not been heard of one who had raised someone from the dead. In a rather unexpected move, Jesus charges them all not to tell any-one of this. Jesus never invited people to heal them. This is intriguing because today we are experiencing a big shift with miracles taking center stage in church.

The real reason I believe is that we, especially Africans, relate more with a God of power more than a God of love and responsibility. I am quite perturbed by the level at which we quote scriptures that talk about the power and dominion but rarely think of the responsibility and relationship that we should cultivate with God. Quite common in our services, we want to be told how we will overcome and be healed topped up with occasional notices of how our enemies will be subdued. These we always follow with shouts of ‘Amen’. Take for example the scripture in John 14:12. Many are mesmerized by the idea that we will do greater works than Jesus but few, if any, actually ask themselves which works Jesus was talking about. We all want these works to be miracles. We are more at home when God demonstrates his power and might. We somehow know and are happy that we will receive power but are not quite excited with the fact power is meant for witnessing (Acts 1:8).

We want God to be more forthright and visible than He already is. We would all, am sure, be glad if God dealt with our life issues instantly. Wouldn’t it be great if all those trying to oppose the gospel would see a bright light and fall to the ground as we share the gospel with them? Better still, wouldn’t it be so outstanding for us if when we prayed for the sick in the name of Jesus they would be instantaneously healed? What about our enemies? I have always wanted a matatu’s tyre to burst because of changing dangerously into my lane. I remember being so excited after a conductor was arrested by the police a few meters after denying me the opportunity to alight.

It is this hunger for the miraculous that gives preachers like Owuor traction. Any man who can promise to heal even chronic illnesses or immediately change people’s courses of life will quickly attract a following. Power easily appeals, entices and leads many astray. We will be poor bible students if we miss the subtle mention of instances when people tried to make Jesus king but he fled.

We have then to be wary of inviting people into the miraculous. They will always need more miracles to titillate their insatiable hunger and desire for the miraculous. When God fed his people with miraculous manna, they soon forgot and started wishing that they were still eating the water melons and pastries of Egypt. Never mind that they were the same people who cried to God for redemption from slavery. In John 6, after the miracle of the feeding of 5000, they followed Jesus the next day hoping perhaps to have another bunch of loaves multiplied. I guess perhaps they even had a pawn carrying 6 loaves and perhaps 3 fish just to have a greater share than the previous day. Jesus just reminds them that they came to him not because they were interested in Him but rather to have a fill of their stomachs. Miracles like healing can wow people to believe, but, they will never sustain them in Christ. Signs and wonders were left only with the duty of following but never to lead.

I must be careful here lest I fall into the equally tragic ideology of stripping the gospel of any form of power. Actually, this distinction am creating here between God’s love and power is only apparent. In real sense relating with God involves experiencing His power. However, when we, as is the case most of the time, are always engrossed with the power we miss the real Jesus. In fact, the failure of these mega healing crusades is inviting people to the wrong Jesus i.e. the Jesus who is only interested in our felt needs. These crusades only appeal to the suffering and vulnerable side of the sick without inviting them to the real deal. The Jesus who heals the heart not just the body. The Jesus who chose to reveal himself as a suffering servant and not a conquering king.

The way to God is a path of relationship. God is interested in men who pursue Him for relationship but not power. It is indeed true that the church of God needs more of the spirit’s unction and revival but this power is for the growth of God’s kingdom. If we have to crave power it has to be for the salvation of men not just a change of their physical state.

So, would Jesus perform a Mega healing crusade? I suppose I should let Him answer that for Himself. However, as a wise man once said, if we keep asking WWJD without seeking the scriptures to be his disciples, we might keep ascribing to Jesus things that He would not really do. We need to interrogate our lifestyles and consider what it is we are most interested in from God.