The DARK World of Joel Osteen

Why are all these pastors so similar to Joel Osteen?

I want to talk to you today about the power of favor.

So just look at somebody wink at them and say I got the favor of God.

Say it like that.

Say it kind of yeah like that with a little bit of swag.

I got the favor of God.

I got caught up with this idea that this is going to be a year of favor, and I really believe it.

I believe there's gonna be favor on your life.

Do you know that there's a place a circle of favor?

Amen the crown of favor that God Jesus paid for you to have with your name on it.

I think God loves people so much that whether they accept or reject him.

He's still gracious.

The Bible says Jeremiah 29 11 for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord

God already has the plan.

In fact the pressure is off of you.

You don't have to come up with the plan all we have to do is say yes to the God plan.

Joel Osteen megachurch pastor Lakewood Church.

God never called us to be judges.

He called us to show his mercy as long as you go around.

Pointing out everybody's faults and judging and condemning and being critical you'll never reach your highest potential

in life.

Stephen Furtick megachurch pastor Elevation Church.

I want to speak to you today about the power of potential.

Carl Lentz megachurch pastor Hillsong Church.

I mean God's the judge.

People have to live to their own convictions, and I think if I have to tell you.

Chad Beach megachurch pastor.

Zoe Church where celebrity Chris Pratt attends.

We say all the time if you were to meet Jesus you would have been the most light person you've ever met.

Let's carry a light spirit.

Judah Smith megachurch pastor.

Church home where celebrity Justin Bieber.

Attends.

It's about knowing that you are an infinite value on this earth, and you are so important

in your life is.

Significant.

Joseph Prince megachurch pastor New Creation Church.

The Lord told me that he wants me to preach on this and he says that I want my people to be established to know That I love

them and I want them to prosper.

And I want them to be protected during this time and I want them to be in health.

It's no secret that Joel Osteen is one of the most successful pastors in the world today.

With Lakewood Church attracting thousands every week and hundreds of thousands online.

It's only natural then that whatever has worked so well for Osteen will be copied by others to

attain similar numbers and success as Osteen.

And.

Indeed we see this clearly in the Christian world today.

There's Stephen Furtick who explicitly says that he sought after the kind of numbers and success that Osteen

had.

I did want to take a moment and just honor pastor Joel and Victoria again to say thank you for letting me stand here and

Preach.

Yeah, I didn't tell you this.

But I I actually came out here like one year into our church.

Maybe a year and a half into our church.

And I guess it was like roundtable thing that they had set up for pastors.

I got to sneak up here and make a little video for our church.

And it's just getting started and made a video of this place and talked to our church and said if God can do it there.

What could he do in our city?

And I wanted to just report to you and I remember our church cheering for that.

But it was kind of hard to imagine and since that time we've seen like over 20 ,000 people come to Christ in the

church.

But I wanted to thank you for inspiring that vision for us.

There's Carl Lentz who says that Osteen paved the way for pastors like him.

Well, first of all, I love Joel and I'm thankful for men like him who have paved the way for Younger guys like me to have an

opportunity to do what we do.

Joel is a pioneer and his message of hope is similar to ours.

There's Chad Veach who writes books that are not only extremely similar to Joel Osteen's positive

messages that gloss over the seriousness of sin.

But are also endorsed by Joel Osteen himself.

There's Judah Smith who wants to know how Osteen can be so smiley and positive all the time.

Why and how are you so happy and filled with joy?

I know everyone calls you the smiling preacher, but you are not the smiling peach preacher.

You're the smiling person.

You're always happy full of joy.

What's the key?

What's the secret?

There's Joseph Prince who says that he and Osteen have the same message now if Joel and I were the in the Old Testament.

We would definitely be heretics for sure because we are preaching.

We are both preaching hope and grace when there's no foundation for it.

And of course Osteen has very other close friends who teach almost the same message such as TD Jake's.

I got more blessings than you got days.

I got more healing than you got disease.

I got more life than you got time.

I got more prosperity than you got strength to receive.

And Joyce Meyer.

And you do what he wants you to do and you know what when you start living like that God's blessings are gonna chase you down and overtake

you now.

Why would anyone have a problem with these Christian teachers.

Their messages are extremely positive and filled with hope and encouragement?

Well, the problem is that that's all their messages are.

They very rarely if ever talk about the seriousness of sin God's wrath against him

or the hell that awaits sinners who do not repent now.

Let me talk for a moment about something that will be quite offensive to you.

I want to talk a moment about the hatred of God.

May I ask you a question.

How many of you just raise your hand have ever heard a sermon on the hatred of God.

One.

Two.

Well, this is better than normal.

The hatred of God.

Brother Paul.

As one lady said God doesn't hate.

God is love therefore.

He cannot hate.

No God is love.

Therefore he must hate if you scroll through the videos on their YouTube channels.

It's pretty much impossible to find them teaching about what sinners are really saved from.

They are perfectly happy to teach about God's love God's blessing God saving people from a sad life

and how to live a happy Life, but they never warn people about their actual greatest need

which is to be rescued from God's righteous wrath.

Against their sin.

This is not about material wealth.

This is about rescue and redemption.

This is about God in his providence.

Orchestrating all of history in order to bring about that which we need more than anything

else and that is to be.

Rescued from God and all of these pastors have also followed in Osteen's footsteps and choosing to

never talk about controversial subjects like homosexuality or abortion.

Of course Osteen admits.

He only ever talks about homosexuality when he's confronted with the issue during interviews.

And so I mean our message if I mean, you know, if you listen to my message.

They're about lifting people up.

And so it's not.

I mean, I really talk about the homosexuality when we get on the interviews.

But one I don't necessarily focus on that.

Only talk about that on the interview.

TD Jake's likewise works hard to soften his position when asked about homosexuality.

Trust me.

I've talked to enough LGBT.

They are not all the same.

Oh for sure.

But how do we first of all as you're thinking involved on this evolved and evolving.

Carl Lentz flatly refuses to call homosexuality or abortion sin.

But but do you feel like you know there you have a moral imperative to speak publicly about some of

these more controversial issues.

No, because we try to be like Jesus very rarely.

Did Jesus ever talk about morality or social issues?

He was about the deeper things of the heart makes.

So it's not a sin in your church to have an abortion.

That's kind of conversation.

We would have.

Finding out your story where you're from.

Yeah, I mean God's the judge.

People have to live to their own conviction.

Chad Veatch just wants to be a hip and happy -go -lucky preacher who declines to publicly discuss

politics.

Veatch says that Instagram built his church, which means that everything he teaches needs to be Instagram

friendly.

Judah Smith deleted this part of a sermon because people started asking him questions.

He didn't want to answer Jesus.

Systematically opposes all forms of exclusion.

He opposes He is against it any form any system any policy or any program

that excludes?

Anyone.

Jesus diabolically and very Obviously opposes it.

So when it comes to our own country and when it comes to exclusions of all kinds and any policies or

systems Or worldviews or perspectives that you and I might have and maybe has never been challenged or questioned

Jesus if you follow him long enough He will take you to Matthew's house and all of us together

as followers of Jesus will have to deal with any Exclusions we have

allowed in our mentality our perspective or in our heart.

Stephen Furtick deleted the one sermon where he wants addressed the issue of homosexuality one titled

cow tipping.

Osteen his imitators and his friends have a very specific proven strategy for building

megachurches that attract thousands.

And that even the non -christian world largely accepts.

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Downplay the seriousness of sin.

God's wrath and hell.

Sin has consequences.

It has personal consequences.

It has physical consequences.

It has relational consequences.

It has national consequences.

It has global consequences.

And most significantly it has personal consequences and ultimately Eternal consequences.

Every sin ever committed by every person will be judged.

Avoid controversial topics like the plague.

This is why pastors stand up today and when they preach on a topic that's controversial their message usually dies the

death of a thousand.

Qualifications.

I think about it.

You will not hear guys stand up for the most part and preach on the issue of homosexuality without 15 minutes of

Justification.

Now, I love homosexuals.

I have friends who are homosexuals.

I am NOT here to say that you know.

Just say what the book says.

Focus everything on positivity.

Encouragement and living a happy life.

So you have to kick your will into gear.

I will be happy.

Joy is a point of view joy is a way of looking at things.

When you are flowing at the Lord the Lord wants you to be happy when you have repetitive feelings.

Those feelings are not just feelings.

That is who you really are.

But of course the messages that Osteen and his imitators teach is not the true full message of

the Bible.

They deliver messages that make people feel good about themselves that make people feel they are in a good

place with God.

Knowing that God loves you perfectly and unconditionally that he will never stop loving you.

It can remove the fear from your life.

However without a true understanding of sin There is no true repentance which Jesus

commanded.

In fact Joel Osteen and Joseph Prince's view of repentance is simply turning negative thoughts into

positive thoughts.

Joel.

Me preaching the word without using the word repentance sometimes.

But people's minds are being changed all the time from thinking this way.

Negatively to thinking positively from depression to having a positive expectation of good, you know.

Repentance is going on all the time in Joel's church in my church and hopefully in your church as well.

And you don't have to have this breast -beating shout.

Oh, Jesus.

Jesus.

If this is what Osteen and his followers think this is all repentance consists of Then it is

likely they haven't repented at all since repentance consists of both Recognizing the utter

seriousness of sin and feeling deep sorrow and hatred toward that sin.

But if you came here this morning with all the wrong reasons and you sat here wondering when this was gonna be over but part.

Way through this sermon.

You knew that someone was dealing with your heart and you began to see the holiness of God like never before.

You begin to see your sin as never before and your attitude towards that sin about which you once

boasted It has totally changed and you hate it and you're ashamed sir.

That is repentance.

You can be saved.

You lack one other thing believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Osteen and the pastors who are achieving so much success through imitating Osteen are Robbing people of the

true gospel of sin and salvation.

They desperately need to hear Christians instead of delivering motivational feel -good messages

that make the world happy.

We need to proclaim the true gospel of Jesus Christ, which is deeply offensive to the world.

All we like sheep had gone astray each of us had turned to his own way.

God laid upon him the iniquity of us all and Christ died for sin once for all

the just for the unjust.

And God imputes our sinfulness to him and he nails our sinfulness to the tree and

Christ dies and Raises again on the third day for our justification.

And there's another imputation the righteousness of Christ is actually imputed to us so that

God can be both just and the Justifier of the one who places faith in Jesus

Christ.

So that all those who come to Christ may enter in so that all those who place faith in Christ might be

saved.

But not only saved but sanctified because he's the firstborn of many brethren.

We're justified and we're adopted into the family of God and was sanctified and as his children We began

to bear the family resemblance and we're further Sanctified throughout this life by the very same

gospel that saves us until one day when it's all said and done.

We're not just saved from the penalty of sin.

We're not just saved from the power of sin.

But one day we're glorified and saved from the very presence of sin.

That's the gospel that we preach.

That's the gospel that we need and that's the gospel.

That's more than enough.