A Muslim man meets Jesus

Healed by the Son of God

At every CfaN Gospel Campaign, we preach the unabridged, unchanged Gospel of Jesus Christ, because Jesus is the same today as He was in the pages of the New Testament. He is still in the business of healing and restoration. In fact, when we preach Jesus resurrected, miracles are the natural consequence.

That’s right – I said “natural”, not “supernatural”, because miraculous healings are His nature! It is completely natural for Jesus to heal and deliver. No man or woman can heal the sick. No preacher or pastor or prophet has the power to restore broken bodies and minds. It is all – and only – Jesus. And when people see His power, His love in action, they are drawn to Him. They are confronted with something they must choose to accept or reject – that Jesus Christ is the living Son of God. No ordinary human can do what He does, and certainly no dead man. When Jesus heals the sick, spiritual eyes are opened and lives are forever changed.

Today, I want to share a story with you, a testimony to God’s unconditional love. It is the story of a Muslim man with a weary heart, who had given up on his long search for meaning and faith – until Jesus, the living Son of God, stepped in.

Born a Muslim, he rejected religion

Mohammed Haruna was born into a Muslim family in Ghana, West Africa. As a child, he learnt about religion, but his heart was restless. He felt like there was something more, something he was missing. Longing to know God, he tried to switch from Islam to Christianity, but without a personal relationship with Jesus, he soon came back to Islam. Although he believed God existed, he couldn’t figure out how to truly know Him.

As time went by, he lost hope that it was possible for anyone to know God in any meaningful way. In 2003, with a heavy heart, he decided to leave all religion behind. He would no longer pretend to be a believer. That decision had terrible consequences for him, because it was something his extended family – and the wider community – could not accept. Suddenly, he found himself rejected by everyone, except his wife and two children. Life had become barren and lonely. For the next few years, Mohammed struggled with deep depression.

Isolated, angry and confused

Then things got even worse. In 2010, Mohammed began to lose his hearing, eventually becoming deaf. His world shrank. It became difficult for him to find work as a mason, because he couldn’t communicate properly. When someone wanted him to take notice, they had to physically tap him to get his attention. He spent whatever he could on medicines and remedies, but nothing made any difference, and he tried to adjust to a life of isolation and silence.

Just a safe place to sleep

And then, in November 2013, Mohammed decided to take a trip to the nation’s capital, Accra, to visit his stepbrother. The final day of his visit was November 9^th, and he planned to take the train back to his home town of Gumbaga. But somehow, circumstances conspired to delay him, and by the time he finally got to the station, he had missed his train.

Resigned to the situation, he tried to think of a safe place to spend the night, and “Independence Square”, a well-known plaza in Accra, came to mind. Wearily, he made his way there and found a bench to lie down on. Since he was deaf, he had no idea why there was a big crowd gathered, and he didn’t care. The noise of the CfaN Gospel Campaign happening the plaza didn’t bother him. He couldn’t hear it. And so, he quickly fell asleep.

Unexpected and undeserved grace

His sleep was suddenly interrupted. Mohammed woke up with the curious sensation of liquid in his ears. As he removed the liquid with his fingers, his ears popped open. His hearing had returned. And the first sound he experienced after two years of silence was the voice of a preacher praying for the sick. Mohammed could hardly believe what was happening. But this he knew: Jesus Christ had just healed him. He rushed to the stage to share his story. Overcome with emotion, he stood trembling before Daniel Kolenda, with a look of astonishment on his face. “My name is Mohammed,” he said, and proceeded to tell his story. “I wasn’t even trying to come here! I didn’t even pray. I didn’t do anything. I woke up – and I can hear!”

Daniel asked Mohammed if he knew the name of the one who healed him. “The messenger of the Almighty God … Jesus,” he said. Still reeling from shock, Mohammed struggled to find the words to describe what had just happened to him. Daniel explained to Mohammed and the crowd; “Jesus is not just a messenger. He is the Son of the living God. He is the way, the truth and the life…”

“Tell my wife – Jesus is the Son of God!”

By the end of their conversation, Mohammed wanted to get the message to his wife. Excitedly, he announced the name of his home town and said, “If anybody knows me … tell my wife, ‘Jesus is the Son of God!’” The crowd erupted in praise. No football team had ever received such an ovation. The people were jumping and dancing and shouting for joy.

After all these years, Mohammed had finally come to know the true God. Now he hears the voice of his Good Shepherd, Jesus, and joyfully follows Him. And the message he shouted to his wife from the platform, is the message his testimony shouts to the world: Jesus Christ is the only Son of God. He alone reveals the Father, heals our bodies, and saves our souls.

Let your faith arise!

I pray that this testimony has touched your heart and encouraged you in your faith today. No matter what your situation may be, no matter how tough the outlook is in your life right now, put your faith in the Son of God. Jesus knows exactly where you are and what you need. It’s not about us, how good we are, how clever we are, how much we try. It’s all about who Jesus is. It’s all about grace that we could never deserve, freely given to us by an unchanging God.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
James 1:17

Together with you in Jesus,

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
and the whole CfaN team

P.S. Will you send us to preach the Gospel and pray for the sick in Abeokuta, Nigeria? In 2 weeks, we’ll be there for our next CfaN Gospel Campaign. If you can help us meet the financial costs of this massive event, we thank you with all our hearts.