Author of “Your Best Life Now” Joel Osteen is well known as a motivational speaker. But I had no idea of how Satan is using this man to completely mislead his congregation.
I don’t watch Osteen because I don’t need to be “motivated.” But a reader of my articles wrote to me yesterday about Osteen and was very angry at what she witnessed. She listens to him occasionally – just to see what he is up to.
I asked if she would send me a link to the sermon. She did, and after watching as much as I could stand, I realized that this man is truly a WOLF and is taking so many to hell with him.
I was enraged.
Here is part of the email sent to me:
“As I listened today, I was horrified to hear what sounded like him calling all who follow him to come out/away from those who refuse to be enlightened – who refuse to go onto the next level. He kept saying, very heretically, that “God wants you to attach yourself to someone who is higher up than you so you can benefit from their blessings.” He said that anyone who doesn’t want to advance to the next level (by attaching themselves to someone of a higher level, thus gaining some of their blessings) should be shunned because he wants you to have nothing to do with those who aren’t advancing to the next level.”
YES, brethren, you read that right. The unspoken reality is that Joel Osteen is saying to his congregation “Go and make more money so that you can bring me more money. And break off ties with the poor.” <hisssssssss>
Here is the sermon:
Two snapshots of Osteen’s website. Notice that he asks for money to hear his messages:
Brethren, I do hope that you are as outraged as I am. This man is a WOLF in the truest sense of the word. He is telling people to cut off relationships with people who are financially poor; and seek out the rich. WHERE is this found in the Word of God??
An Ungodly Pastor in my Life
My husband and I attended a Baptist church near our home years ago. I won’t go into the many unethical things this man did while he was the pastor, but for the sake of this article I will tell you this:
At a meeting of the Evangelism team, he told them NOT to evangelize in the trailer park because “We don’t want those kind of people in church.” He said that they had no money to give to the church.
Soon after that meeting, my husband and I left that church.
Read what Osteen says under the youtube version of his “Favor Connections” sermon:
“Sometimes, you will have to let go of old relationships, of old habits and mindsets that are keeping you limited if you are going to reach all that God has for you. Be encouraged during these times. You are making room for what God wants to do. You are rising higher, you are moving towards your destiny. Surround yourself with people who will challenge you, who will not allow you to remain in mediocrity. You are an eagle, designed to soar above the crowd!”
So, what my friend said about calling for people to be shunned was exactly what Osteen was asking. He was saying “Come away from poor people, and connect up with prosperous people.”
He even had the audacity in this sermon to use the Scriptures about Peter when the Lord told him to cast out his net once again. Osteen spoke only about Peter being “prospered” and nothing about the fact that Jesus was showing him that he would become a “Fisher of men.”
“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18-19).
Brethren, that was the lesson which our Lord Jesus was conveying to Peter and Andrew. He was not saying “Follow me and I will make you rich.” He was speaking of reaching people for the Kingdom of God – making them “Fishers of men.”
If you attend Osteen’s “church” or know someone who attends, please send them this article. Did you see the size of the congregation who is being misled by the devil using Joel Osteen? It breaks my heart.
Osteen will be unveiling his newest book called “Next Level Thinking.” He is using the pyramid scheme in his church to become richer and richer!
Pray for Joel Osteen that God would reach him. Many of us would say that he is beyond help. If God intends for this man to be saved and in turn begin to preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ – think of how glorious that would be!
Pray for those in the congregation that the Lord would open their eyes to the truth of the Word of God.
Show them that the words of Joel Osteen are NOT from God’s Holy Word.
Shalom b’Yeshua
MARANATHA!
Hi Geri I know the truth about Joel Osteen I know people who listen to him I have tried to tell them the truth they say I don’t listen to him so I don’t know what he said. I tried once to listen to Joel after 5 to 10 minutes I don’t remember how long I listened to him I couldn’t listen to him anymore and once we were talking about Joel Osteen I said Joel Osteen is damned I got backlash they didn’t like I said that. Joel Osteen’s lies are from Satan and from the pit of Hell.
I stated in the article what he said……..It was shocking, even for Osteen
Reblogged this on BibleProphecyWatch.
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I will pray. The only way some can be reached by the Hand of God, the Holy Spirit.
It’s shameful how many people this man is leading down the path of destruction. The ONLY person we need to attach ourselves to who is “higher up” is Jesus Christ. The good news is that we don’t have to pay for the privilege either. It is a free gift granted to us by His sacrifice on the cross.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” – Matthew 7:13-14
That’s exactly right, Jenny. When he started this sermon, he had the opportunity to continue in truth – just as you said – to tell the people that they need to draw closer to Christ to be more godly. But money (mammon) is Osteen’s god.
Reblogged this on Truth2Freedom's Blog.
Ok so I disagree with placing all the blame on this False Teacher for the road to hell that the people {who want what he is selling} are on. God has given those that attend Osteen’s Church the teacher they in their hearts desire, they want what Osteen has to offer and wish to live at his level of success due to a heart Full of Greed. The Scripture is Crystal Clear on this issue
2 Timothy 4:2-4
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.… End Quote
So lets not forget that these folks are “Complicit” and have chose the Wide Road that leads to destruction, Not because of the trickery of Osteen but because that’s where they prefer to be. Men like Osteen, Joseph Prince, Paula White, T.D. Jakes, Joyce Myers, Kenneth Copeland, and many others, are a “Judgement” from God on a Group of people whose hearts have been exposed and whose desires are for the things of the World.
I absolutely agree! But let’s not forget what the Word clearly teaches:
“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment” (James 3:1).
I agree with you that his congregation are the “itching ear crowd” but I once again stress that Osteen will be judged more harshly. He never wanted that position to take over his father’s ministry. But I think that once he saw that his charisma and motivational sermons would be a gold mine for them – he is just getting worse and worse.
jesus made it very clear that a paid preacher to preach the gospel is a wolf in sheeps clothing, salavation is free a gift from God you do not have to pay for salvation but simply ask for it.. BEWARE OF THE PAID SHEPHERDS THEY ARE CALLED HIRELINGS
Just because a preacher is paid does not mean he, “careth not for the sheep”, nor does it make them “wolves”!, as we must respect the preacher and his message, by paying them.
Paul supports this point from two Scriptures: Deuteronomy 25:4, which commands that oxen should not be muzzled when they are threshing; and, Luke 10:7, Jesus’ words about the worker being worthy of his wages. (Note that Paul put Luke’s gospel on a par with Old Testament Scripture.) The Scripture comparing pastors to unmuzzled oxen may not seem too complimentary. But as Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 9:9-11, it’s an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God showed concern for oxen to be “paid” for their work, doesn’t He care much more for those who labor in the gospel? They have a right to receive a decent wage for their work.
Charles Spurgeon once had the officers of a small country church ask him to recommend a pastor for them. But the salary they were prepared to pay was so small that he wrote back to them, “The only individual I know, who could exist on such a stipend, is the angel Gabriel. He would need neither cash nor clothes; and he could come down from heaven every Sunday morning, and go back at night, so I advise you to invite him” (Autobiography [Banner of Truth], 2:108).
“Man shall not live by food alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4), so when you go to a restaurant to eat food (which is, according to scripture, lowly compared to Gods word) you tip the waiter for serving you, right? Well, you get the point!
i respect your opinion, but was Jesus a paid messenger? were the 12 disciples paid messengers, no they were not..sad a preacher refused to give message of jesus because of NOT ENOUGH MONEY. WHEN THE TWO WITNESS APPEARS AGAIN, to spread the good word will they require to be paid? or will they give their lives in payment to spread the gospel to the lost?
Actually, I don’t know how this forum went off course regarding my article. The main point I was making is that Osteen is truly telling his congregants that they should pull away from the mediocre people who are content where they are financial; and connect up with the wealthy. NO ONE can try to convince me that he was speaking in Spiritual terms. If one listens to every word of that sermon, it is clear that Osteen is talking about money (Mammon).
Please find me a sermon from Joel Osteen in which he addresses SIN and Repentance …….I would certainly like to hear that.
I wish he would define “destiny.” I truly believe after the rapture his church will be filled with very angry people wanting to do him harm. Then the smog and lights will be meaningless. The people will demand what Jesus really taught.
Thank you Sister Geri for this great article. Definitely, he said things that make this a classic pyramid scheme. At one point, when he mentioned that other ‘churches’ gave money to his ministry, I thought I’d choke. What? Churches should be supporting missions, etc, not making the rich even richer! Many years ago I went to a church in Fenton Mo, the one that spawned Joyce Meyers, at the invitation of a friend. I didn’t know anything about the church. I was raised in a Penticostal church, and I’d seen a lot up until that time. But what I saw that night was EVIL, and the Holy Spirit told me so. The Holy Spirit told me to GET OUT of that church, that what was happening was NOT OF GOD. That church today is plastered all over billboards with its pastor, his wife, and Joel Osteen smiling big with their latest fashions and hairstyles. I always wonder, why don’t they put JESUS on those billboards, why don’t we see something about SALVATION? But it’s Joel and that ‘cute’ couple, with their perfect white teeth and their tickled ears. This message is not about a preacher being paid. Preachers deserve good salaries, if they are truly feeding the flock. But ‘MILKING’ the flock and leading them straight to hell is a whole other matter. When I watch this video, I see much more than the money angle….I see him preparing his followers to line up and follow those in front of them, those more prosperous. I see him telling his people to turn on those who refuse to line up and follow. I see him telling his people that those who refuse to work toward the next level aren’t worthy, and that will prepare those striving for the next level to rejoice and be glad when the ‘unworthy’ are missing (raptured!). Just a forshadow of when they’ll rejoice and send gifts because the two witnesses lie dead in the street for all to see. Add coveting, idolatry, pride, and so much more, this message is filled with error. AND, he lets it slip that he didn’t get ‘called’ to preach, but he gathered tapes of others and watched to learn from them. He is a combination of the preachers he watched and copied. HE IS A COPY, AN IMITATION, Just like the anti-christ. As it says, there are many anti-christ all around us. Osteen is one of them. So let him get paid, noone says he shouldn’t be paid. But don’t miss that he seems in this message to be playing his part in the delusion being cast upon all who refuse to see their sin and their need for a Savior, Christ Jesus. These people in his audience hold up the bible, yet they know not what it says! And he holds it up to fool those he speaks to that he knows what it says. He knows enough to twist it for his own good, one of satan’s best tricks – use a little of God’s word with a lot of deceit, and those who are unaware will be caught off guard and will be devoured. So, the most frightening part to me is that he is calling those who follow him to separate themselves from those deemed unworthy – those who refuse to work toward the ‘higher’ level of materialism, selfishness, covetness…all things God hates. What this message says is WRONG. It is NOT of God. We are to seek God through Christ Jesus, not seek man to benefit from his blessings. And God NEVER said to shun a group of people for self gain. In fact, God calls on those who love him to suffer if need be to help those in need. So God’s word and Joel’s do NOT coincide.
Well said, Robin! By the way – Robin is the sister in Christ who sent me the email about this sermon!