I cannot express to you what I am feeling since writing the piece on Joel Osteen. I was called a Pharisee. I was told not to “judge.” I was also told that I am a very bad influence on baby Christians!
I can almost hear the “hissssssss” of the evil one. He is overjoyed that most churches are filled with people who know NOTHING about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They know much about the “Social Gospel.”
Satan is still saying “Did God say….?”
Your Best Life Now
As I’ve said in many articles about Osteen – he is a motivational speaker. I believe that his motto must be “Keep the people happy and make them believe that all that matters is their happiness.” And may I add that Osteen knows that his style of preaching (which is NOT the Gospel of Christ) is packing the people in, and their money continues to flow into Lakewood.
Does this remind you of a passage of Scripture?
“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9).
Rick Warren
I am quite sure that if I wrote a piece on Warren and how he is embracing the Vatican, the pope and Islam; I would be slammed by those who are blindly following this man.
The People have no excuse
Some might say “Well, this is what we are taught – what do you expect when we trust our pastors?” Here is what the Lord expects:
BE LIKE THE BEREANS!
“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17: 10-11).
Can you imagine that the Berean church was listening to the Apostles and disciples of Christ? They received the word with all readiness BUT they also searched the Scriptures to confirm that what they were told was so! I am thrilled whenever I read this passage.
How does one receive discernment?
All believers should pray for discernment. This is actually my number one spiritual gift from God. Number two is Evangelism.
Reading and studying the Bible will bring discernment to the body of Christ. If you are trusting in a man up in a pulpit, yet you very seldom pick up your Bible and pray and study God’s Word; you are vulnerable to the evil one and his wicked whispers.
Paul said:
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
This is how the mainstream protestant churches have fallen away and most have no idea how to be saved, let alone how to lead another to Christ. The blind leading the blind for sure. This is why most of the Church is now anti-Israel and have nothing to do with Bible prophecy. They just figure that Israel is out of the picture and is no longer God’s Chosen; they believe that Revelation is for the Church – not for Israel. This is called Replacement Theology and it is a lie from the pit of hell.
READ YOUR BIBLES!
Many so-called Christians believe that the Bible is simply a book written by men. If they read the Word, they would clearly see that these men were under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as they wrote.
Every word in the Bible is “God-breathed.”
I love the people who hate me
I pray for them, and I forgive the vitriolic emails and comments they send to me. Many are lost. Only God knows. But this I DO know: When these people stand before our Lord, and are told that He never knew them – there certainly will be outrage and incredible sadness that they did not read His Word and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Oh, and for those who think that Joel only makes money from his books and other media (which he is now telling the press) I thought that you might be interested in this “TicketsNow” site. Joel charges for parking and for seating. Very enlightening.
From ticketsnow.com (click here to see the sale of tickets by the Osteens for parking and seating)
Keep up the (Good) Lord’s work, I agree with you!
I agree with what you said if I can say something I was called a Pharisee once for saying we are in the End Times and the the Rapture of the Church can happen at any time or something like that I don’t remember the whole thing happened a long time ago. Do people not get a Pharisee is someone who taught the law am I right? People just don’t get us who know the truth about the End Times and Joel osteen. Read your bible that was great to put that in the article. I have heard judge not taken out of context it’s crazy.
HEALING GRACE FOR YOU , WE NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT AT ALL TIMES TO SHARE GOD’S WORD WITH OTHERS, JESUS WAYS ARE FAR ABOVE MANS WAYS. JESUS IS THE SAME TODAY YESTERDAY AND FOREVER.I PARY FOR GOD’S STRENGHT FOR YOU FOR SHARING GOD’S TRUE WORD. GRACE IN JESUS HOLY NAME AMEN. JOHN 1:1:2:3: JOHN 3:16
Also we are instructed to teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16), and 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that all scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Sadly Pride is the sin that prevents so many christians from accepting the discernment from mature Christians and the arrogance and cherry picking of what they’ve heard or read causes them to spout the verse ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged’ Matt. 7: 1-3 never realising what that truly means. Yes, they truly have not understood discernment, and would rather judge others and have the ‘ feel good’, ‘best life now’ preached to them. Praying for many friends and family who do not understand this.
Keep discerning and praying. I think you are wonderful and your love for the Lord shows!!!!!
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S7, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
I agreed with you!! Most true born again Christians know that what he preaches is prosperity gospel! It is not going to ever get people to repent of their sins & get saved!! God says a lot about being held accountable of Pastors & their congregations!! I would not want to be him!!!
The word says that in the last days people would not endure sound doctrine…and they would seek Preachers that would tell them what they wanted to hear.
The word also says that in the endtimes he would send a strong delusion.. to those that refused to hear the truth.. remember the parable of The Ten Virgins? It’s talking to the church..
I’m with you Sister! Many are blind and want their ears tickled rather than face the truth! Every time I read your articles, I hear the truth and know they are inspired from above. Keep informing, time is so short, your articles can continue to help people know the truth even after we’re gone😇 God Bless you & continue to lead you to inspire….
You are a precious woman of God who has a lot to say and is passionate about your faith walk. Clearly you have a heart to see the many that remain in bondage to sin and satan, set free. May I make a humble suggestion? Perhaps it would be more beneficial for the sake of the lost and for the glory of our soon-coming King, to focus on those things that are beneficial for the building up of the Body. I know you receive a lot criticism at times but at others, you are applauded. Either of these, though they MAY be an indicator of a wise and discerning person using their gifts appropriately, may also, possibly be, a poor indicator that what we are doing or saying is pleasing to Him. With the Word as our guide I would lovingly encourage you to focus on what is good for the building up of others and shy away from what can appear as tearing down. May He continue to bless you and give you even greater discernment and love
ahava b’Yeshua HaMashiach
alex
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Good for you Geri! That Osteen guy may be rich but he’s an ‘a dime a dozen’ deceiver.
Geri, you “keep on keep on”!! You are one of a few people/groups, who share the Truth! I want to apologize…I have not kept you lifted up in prayers for Strength/Protection, as I should have continually been doing. I will be doing this now. Please forgive me. Your commentaries and research are highly valued. Your speaking out, telling/revealing truths are highly valued. Honesty hurts. So does Truth. I finally (yrs ago) asked the Lord and His Holy Spirit to reveal His Truths to me as I read the Words of GOD. What wonders and Truth HE Reveals! But, in the “church” buildings?? It is rare to find Truth being taught. It is even more rare to find prayer meetings and corporate prayers. I truly believe what I heard many years ago…”God is Calling HIS church Out of the denominational and non-denominational buildings.” This is Not to say that there are Not buildings that have Godly teachers and assemblies…it is just that they are “few and far” in distance. Blessings, woman of GOD!
Blessings in Yeshua to you 🙂
I’m sending my love your way, as I think, you think, that you are doing the right thing by taking this stand. However, Do you see into Men’s hearts as God does? Your message would be better in my opinion if you were praying for Joel and his family and church rather than condemning it based on what “you think you know”. I spent 10 years in prison on drug charges as a runaway kid from a broken home. Joel Osteen and many others brought hope to my spirit by believing that by faith, mountains could move. Pray for all our Pastors who believe in Jesus Christ. It isn’t easy! I want to condemn the homosexual Pastors I see leading the charge with the Democratic Party under false banners of racism. But am I not being used by the enemy? What if someone is leaning toward God under that gay Pastor and comes to saving faith? What if my condemnation pushed that person away before that time? By reading what you wrote I see you have great discernment! But, just because “YOU” believe that is your #1 “Gift”, don’t turn that gift into Pride.
Believe me, pride does not enter into my gift of discernment. Sometimes it feels more like a curse. But I must say to you that if we do not adhere to the Word of God, the chance of sliding down that slippery slope away from the TRUTH is inevitable. God is God and we are not. I pray for Joel Osteen – I do. But when he writes books like “Your Best Life Now” what is a Christian to think? My life before I came to Christ was much simpler – but I have found Truth in Jesus and His Word. I know that the persecution comes from friends and especially from my Jewish family. I was banished by many of them. When Joel speaks of your best life now – he is speaking of monetary gain and happiness. Jesus gives us “Joy” in the midst of suffering. Happiness depends upon what is “Happening.” Joy abides in us forever because the Holy Spirit lives within us. I pray that Joel will begin to really see that the Gospel of Christ is to be taken so seriously. And we should not expect that our lives suddenly become so wonderful. We share in the sufferings of Christ. That is a privilege for us. Do you think that the martyred Christians were thinking of their best life now right before they were beheaded?
Paul praised God the gospel was being preached even by his enemies for the wrong purpose. I don’t even know if he considered them brethren or prayed for them. If a pastor is molesting children I would expose that too and not be concerned because he could be harming more people than he’s helping. You have the words from Jesus and that is what gives you hope.
I’m sorry you’ve had to put up with it. I appreciate all you do–I can only imagine how you feel. Keep fighting the good fight….
Hi Geri,
What a joy to find this blog article. It makes me very happy to find another discerning Christian believer who is willing to speak out for truth and expose liars and heretics.
I will read more of your articles.
God bless,
Helen
Ps – I am just starting to get braver over on my blog too 🙂