Joel Osteen - the world's most loved and popular Christian preacher. I've always wondered about Joel. I've tried to sit through a few of his TV sermons, listening to his claims (he makes a lot of wonderful claims that tickle the ear), and every time I have done that, I've been impatient for him to quote a verse or two from Scripture to prove his claims. When he finally does, about two-thirds or more of his sermon will have been delivered. That means about three quarters of the hour will have elapsed.
Which always compels me to ask the question: is Joel Osteen a Christian?
And I've never always been sure. Sometimes I think he is. I mean, he says all the right things, seemingly. He uses all the right words. He talks about Jesus and God and love. He talks a lot about love. He does that as often as he smiles that dazzling smile of his. But I've always been dubious. Maybe it's that smile. No one can carry the burden of the lost on his shoulders and maintain a happy smile, can he?
Recently it has occurred to me that although Osteen talks a lot about love and God, I have never heard him preach the gospel. I have yet to hear him utter the words sin, hell and salvation in Jesus Christ alone. He talks a lot about believing in Jesus Christ, and how wonderful that is, of course, but never about belief in Christ Jesus for the redemption of man's sin. As far as I know, he's never preached Jesus Christ as the way back to our heavenly Father whom we have wronged with our sin.
But what do I often hear Joel Osteen speak of belief in Christ for? For a healthier life; for the prospering of our business; for a better relationship with our wife, or husband, or children. To be a better you. (In fact, is this not the title of one of his self-penned books - Become a Better You?)
And there we have it - Osteen is a prosperity preacher. There's no mistaking it. Of the worst ilk, Osteen is a preacher of the Law of Attraction: if you think and believe it, it shall come to pass.
It doesn't work that way, folks! The only person getting wealthier or becoming a better him is Osteen himself, and he's riding on your coattails. Only Osteen and his colleagues of the prosperity heresy are amassing a healthier bank balance at the expense of their congregations; and these are the false preachers and false prophets of a harlot 'Christianity', who successfully fleece the vulnerable of their meagre wherewithal because the latter foolishly fail to realize that only an infinitestimal percentage of them, if any, can ever attain the health, wealth and prosperity they are promised by the silly act of wishing them into reality.
Recently I have also come to realize that Osteen is of the ranks of the new Emergent and Ecumenical movements, who has openly endorsed interfaith endeavours. In the official site of The Osmond Family (America's foremost Mormon family), Osteen endorses the movie, 'The Story of Jesus', produced by CTVC in collaboration with Olive Branch Creative LLC. CTVC has produced such interfaith programmes as Shariah TV and Islam for America. Endorsing the movie, 'The Story of Jesus', Osteen is quoted as saying, "We are literally seeing people from all different faiths come together and celebrate the life of Christ."
This is as ecumenical a statement as they come.
Took me a while to see the light, that Joel Osteen does not know Jesus as he claims to, but I finally did.
On another subject ...
I've always known that if you want to be successful, you have to know the right people. In the industrialized free world, you have to know the people in the Illuminati or the Freemasons. Almost all the very successful celebrities are members of the Illuminati, and this is no conspiracy theory. Some have come out to admit as much. If you're initiated to the Illuminati or Masonic symbols, you would see these celebrities often gesturing their satanic symbols with their hands or face, in their body English or in their choice of accessories.
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For instance, take this blatant flaunting of Illuminati symbolisms by Kanye West, and take note of the Baphomet symbol, the masonic pillars and the necklace with the god Horus symbol, with which he surrounds himself.
So it seems that if you want to be successful as a writer, singer or movie star, join the Illuminati-Masonic satanic cult. Many already have conscripted themselves: it is believed that companies/establishments such as American Idol, the CIA, Random House and Zondervan, et al., and A-list celebrities in the arts and films such as Dan Brown, Rhianna, Beyonce and the late Aliyah, are just some of many luminaries that have been seduced, bought and used by the satanic cult. In exchange, these celebrities are reaping unimaginable riches; untold millions adore them and treat them as gods; and they have the world under their feet.
However, before rushing headon to jump on the wealth wagon and join these occultic sects, heed this warning from Scripture:
"And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?" ~ Matthew 16:26.
According to Scripture, hell awaits such as these. Yet, if they repent and turn to Jesus Christ, they will be saved. It's not too late.
We all want to be successful. Some translate success as fame, others fortune. Still others a great job and family. Many young people want both fame and fortune - and the status of godhood - without putting in the hard yards. It's small wonder, then, that many self-professing Christians, usually the youth in church, are drawn to Joel Osteen and his promise of a better life if they buy and read his books (thereby making him insanely wealthy). And many more willingly cast aside their Christian upbringing (Kanye West was supposed to have been raised a Christian) and give up their souls to join the twin sects of the Illuminati-Freemasonry for a free pass to wealth and power.
However, consider us the blessed ones if our prayer for wealth and power is met by a "No". So what if our book has sold only ten copies? So what if we don't live in a Frank Lloyd Wright-style manor in Yosemite? And so what if we are toting in our arms a Marc Jacobs clone?
I don't know about you but as I see world events converging in fulfilment of the prophetic return of the Lord Jesus Christ, I feel immensely blessed that there's nothing on earth - a big mansion, a bank vault of jewellery and treasury bonds, a closet full of designer outfits - that ties me to this life. The things of this life are not eternal. They will not last. In fact, Scripture promises that, aside from the Word of God and people, everything else in life will be burned up.
And, so, I believe that it's a blessing when God says no whenever I ask for fame and fortune, the things that would tie me to this world, so that I forget to focus on the things of eternity. The Lord advises us to "store up treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy" (Matthew 6:20), and this is a much better focus to have. For His rewards are everlasting. And I'm ready to leave this life when the Lord commands the archangel to issue that trumpet call to His bride.
No, I'm not as insanely wealthy as West and I've not sold an insanely large number of books as Osteen, but I haven't made my gains by lying and cheating either. I haven't 'sold my soul' to the devil. Indeed, my soul belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.
