–Pastor Lazarus Muoka, General Overseer, Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries

Pastor Lazarus Muoka, General Overseer of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries has made significant impact in the Christendom. God has been using him to heal the sick, deliver the captives and win more souls through his special gifts of deliverance and healing. His church is known worldwide for spirituality and holiness. In this interview, he told Gilbert Ekezie that he has the vision to heal, deliver, bless and win 10 billion souls for God and wants the world to witness the power of God in action. He also explained how he founded Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries and challenges he encountered.

Who are you sir?
By the grace of God, I am Pastor Lazarus Muoka, the General Overseer of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries. By His grace, God Almighty has put us in this office.
 

How did you become born again?
I first heard the word of God in the bus. A preacher preached and told us how we should give our lives to Christ. But I knew that what he preached was good and that one should be born again. The yearning to become a child of God where that truth can be preached made me continue to search for a place where the word of God is preached very well. I ended up in the same church the preacher worships. When I got there and heard the same word of God, I concurred with the preaching, because I had already given my life to Christ and from there, I also discovered that the yearning was really so intense in me.  As a result of my yearning, I went to a brother who I knew was a born again, who gave his life to Christ and gave testimony on how his two containers were seized because he refused to give a bribe of N5 or N10 to those in-charge. True Christianity and salvation. So, when I asked him, he said he had a calling for the catholic and that he wanted the Catholics to be born again, so, I love the vision. I had a fellowship with them and from there, continued to worship with them. I later became a pastor of the church for many years before God called me to establish the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries.
 

How did the General Overseer of your former church react when you wanted to leave?
Leaving my former church was not easy for me. The General Overseer did not want me to leave but because it was God’s will that I should go and accomplish some missions, I had no option than to leave. Actually, the General Overseer and many church members were not happy. But today I have realized why God pulled me out of the church.
 

What business were you into before becoming a full time pastor?
Well, I was motor parts dealer. I was importing motor spare parts and I had an office in Lagos. But then, I believe there is a reason God brought every individual into the world. Even while I was doing the business, I loved God and feared Him, not knowing where He wanted to take me. Eventually when I became born again, I knew it was the right decision because God really manifested Himself in me.
 

Did you ever face any challenge for being born again?
Obviously, Christian life is very challenging in all ramifications. Certainly, immediately one becomes born again, problems will come from his immediate family, friends and the former church. So, they will be will begin to wonder what happened to you. Like in your church, they will ask, “if you say you are born again what happens to us?” And, for some of us who contributed to growth of our various churches, the members will not want to lose us. Also in business, the way you do business will change. One of my friends called me Larry sorry and I began to ask him what was wrong with me. They took my goods because I refused to belong to their association. As a born again, you may not get a shop, because you do not belong to their association. These and more are the stiff challenges one may face after being born again.
 

How could one overcome these challenges of being born again?
As a born again Christian, you rely on God to give you the grace that will sustain you when you are under persecution.
 

How did the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries come to be?
I had a revelation then in my former church where I was given a letter to become a pastor and money in the dream, but I rejected the offer because I cannot be bribed. I chose to take the letter to become a pastor and rejected the money. It came repeatedly but I remained in my former church until it was God’s appointed time for me to leave. The branch of the church where I was pasturing in Lagos was like the headquarters of the church due to the huge crowd and what God was using me to do then.  However, I continued to serve God at the church, but when the time came in 2002, I wrote a resignation letter to the General Overseer and he was not pleased. But after many revelations, I finally left the church to start the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries in a batcher built on two plots at Ilasa, Lagos.
 

How then did you pull the crowd within a short period of time?
The truth remains that If God calls you; He will establish you, no matter the situation. He will attract the people. Though, you cannot see God, but if you do His will, you will prosper and that is what we preach here. Our credo at the Lord’s Chosen is “Do the will of God and prosper.”
So, when the Lord’s Chosen was established, people were coming from different places through the inspiration of God. Few days after we started, a man came with Lincoln Navigator jeep from Apapa, Lagos and told us that God asked him to join us. He eventually gave us a cheque of N1million.  You see, when one has a personal encounter with God, he will relieve your problems. Today, many people come from America, Britain, Australia, Asia and other parts of the world to seek God’s face at the Lord’s Chosen. When we were at the former location, the present place was like an abandoned bush and nobody dared to go there. But, we did know that God kept it for us. So, if God calls you, He will bring people to support you. So, it all depends on how one was called.
 

Why did you name your church The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries?
God, not me, owns the Lord’s Chosen and nobody will say he knows what is happening here, not even me. By the grace of God, there is nothing that has not happened here in terms of miracles and that is why many people are fighting us. But they cannot overwhelm the power of God.
 

Could you say some of the challenges you faced at the beginning?
The host community was fighting the church when they saw that there was a huge crowd all over the streets where we worship. Then, they threw stones and sticks at us during services. In fact, they wanted us out of the area at all cost. But after some time, they started to open their doors to us; probably because God began to deal with them individually.
 

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As a General Overseer of one of the major Bible believing Pentecostal churches in the world, what does it take to run a church successfully?
It only takes holiness and the grace of God to succeed in the affairs of the church. If one does not hear from God, there is no how he can live up to expectation. The church is a thing of God that needs genuine spiritual strength to handle and if one is not really called by God, he should forget it.
 

You are known to be a healing and deliverance pastor, is it true that demons attack those who have such calling?
I am not aware of that, because it has never happened to me. It can only happen to those who are not spiritually strong and did not have such calling to do so. But for me, I think that demons cannot fight someone who is stronger than them. However, devil can fight you back through inciting people against you, by giving you bad name for instance. So many people come here as fraudsters and after helping them they turn their backs against us. They may say they gave you money or something like that in order to tarnish your image. For instance, all those fighting us are those whom we helped and ministered to and at the end, they revolted. So, I think, that is the only way the devil can fight back, they cannot come and slap me, because what is in me is stronger than them.
 

Why is it that some people’s problems persist after being delivered?
The reason is that after being delivered from a demonic attack, some people will go home and relax, thinking that it was the end. You see, when one is delivered from any attack, the person should remain strong in faith, repent from his evil ways and always be in prayer, so that the demon will run away entirely.
 

What challenges have you encountered in the course of your ministration?
God has called me and I must obey no matter the challenge. God therefore will make a way where there is no way for you. When I traveled to Australia recently, many were happy to see me. In most cases, when I go to any country, they embrace me and want me to pray for them. The last visit we made, our aircraft had fuel leakage around the Sahara Desert, thereafter, the pilot announced that there was a problem and I remembered the dream I had before the trip concerning the aircraft. Luckily, it went back to land somewhere.
 

You just concluded a 2-day crusade themed Hope for the needy. What are other programs lined up for December and the New Year, 2017?
Our church’s 14th anniversary will hold on December 24th. Only God can do this will follow from Dec. 25th- Dec.26th. Then on Jan 1, 2017 we’ll host a programme titled Changing of new garments, where all the problems will be thrown away. Then, the mother of all crusade titled What God has determined will be done, will hold from January 6th- January 8th 2017.
 

What should we expect from the forthcoming Mgbidi International Crusade?
God has been touching lives through the crusade and has determined to use the forthcoming one to solve various problems confronting humans and nations all over the world. We are reviving the body of Christ because we are heaven-conscious. I am happy that many churches are queuing into what we believe in. As we pray at the crusade, no power will hinder what God has determined for anyone.
 

The Mgbidi crusade is adjudged to be the largest crowd puller, what makes it unique?
Well, the Mgbidi crusade is where God magnifies Himself. It is a pilgrimage for Christians established by God for all. God will bring all the body of Christ there, so that God will take them away. It is a programme for all the churches. It is a place where God has determined to show Himself and all who bring their problems there will smile home. We ensure that every arm of the security is there to ensure that lives and property are secure. Already, our vehicles are being put in order to ensure that transportation does not limit us. Also, other necessary preparations are being made for the successful mother of all crusades.
 

What are your predictions for 2017?
Nigerians should pray because it is only God that will give us what we want. It is only prayer that will save Nigeria.
Do you think Nigerians would come out of the recession soon, considering the situation on ground?
I am seeing recession as an end-time problem all over the world. So, we need prayers to be free from it. We need to rely on God who will give us breakthrough in a situation like this. So, God is able to sustain His people.

Could you advise Nigerians?
I want Nigerians to stop complaining about recession. It’s unfortunate that it came, but we should revert to prayers for the nation and government. If we do not, things will deteriorate. In time of famine, God’s people will surely be alive. Certainly, with prayers, government can do so many things. So, if we refuse to pray for the government to give us what we need, whatever we see, we take.

How do you relax?
My time and programme are in the hands of God. I only relax when God gives me the grace to do so, then I will rest in my room.

What major remarkable miracles have been witnessed in your church?
What God has done in the Lord’s Chosen are numerous. Those into armed robbery, rituals and cultism have received genuine salvation. Yoke of sins have been broken, a dwarf grew up to a full age and hunchbacks vanish, cases of many years of bareness, madness, stroke and imbecility have been healed. Also, God has made many billionaires here, the deaf and dumb have received healing.
In fact, God is established here for churches and people to be free. The church is a refinery where souls are healed and refined and God in the church solves every kind of problem.

What do you hope to achieve for the rest of your life?
My vision is to win 10 billion souls for God, healed, delivered and blessed. God called me to serve Him.
I will make heaven and be with God forever. I am also available for God to use me to touch the lives of those who are in one problem or the other and that I would continue to do for the rest of my life. Therefore, I want the world to come to The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries to witness the power of God in action. It is not human; only God can do it.