There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. - Proverbs 14: 12 (ESV)
He is America's darling when it comes to smiles and false religion. Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church comes out every week and tries his best to encourage you. He tries his best to make you feel better about your life and your future. He motivates you like no one we have seen since the heyday of Tony Robbins. He masterfully works on your self-image, your self-talk, and everything in general about you. He is good at what he does. There are many people who will attest to that. Many people who have drastically improved their life and self image. Many people who are far more motivated today for having spent time listening to Joel and Victoria Osteen. People often ask why I write as much as I do about Joel and to be honest it has little to do with what I just said. The problem is that he carries a Bible and calls himself a preacher of the Gospel. He is not. He is a wolf of the highest order. He is exactly what we were warned about throughout the New Testament.
But gosh, people like him don't they? Even well versed Christians will rush to defend him. I do not get it because there are hundreds of thousands of sheep that follow him who are never introduced to Jesus. These people may feel better about themselves until the day of judgment and they figure out what line they are standing in. When they figure out that they have been deceived this whole time into thinking Christianity is about them. It is not beloved. It is about Jesus. We must resist the desire to make an idol of ourselves. We must resist the urge to follow "Christian" leaders who preach and pray as if the Gospel is about you. For every second we think about ourselves is a moment lost to consider God. If you think this is just too harsh towards Lakewood I present to you the recent words of Victoria Osteen as she was about to lead the church in prayer with her husband standing right next to her nodding in agreement:
"I just want to encourage us to realize when we obey God, we are not doing it for God. I mean that is one way to look at it. We are doing it for ourselves. Because God takes pleasure when we are happy. That's the thing that gives Him the greatest joy this morning. So I want you to know this morning - just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy. When you come to church. When you worship. You're not doing that for God really. You're doing it for yourself. Because that's what makes God happy. Amen?"
I want us to take a good long look at this quote, used as an entree into prayer. This is not a mistake. This is what you are taught at Lakewood Church because it is what they believe. This is what you are taught within the word-faith and prosperity false gospels. This is how people are led astray and may believe they are saved when the God they have actually bowed down to is merely their own reflection. There are so many problems here but let us start with this notion that God takes pleasure when we are happy:
No, the Lord's delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. - Psalm 147: 11 (NLT)
Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. - 2Thessalonians 1: 11-12 (NKJV)
This is at the heart of so much bad theology these days. That God is just this great big blessing machine in the sky and if we would just throw a couple of coins in the windows of heaven will be opened over us and everything will be nice and comfortable. Beloved that is not the Gospel. God did not save us from this world so that we could find happiness in it. We are supposed to find happiness, or more to the point joy, in Him. He wants Jesus Christ to be glorified in our lives and dare I say it - fear Him. Not the fear that He is going to hurl a lightning bolt down upon us at any given moment but rather the fear of forgetting that He can! It amazes me how easily we fall for this carnal way of thinking. That God would send His only Son to die in our place. That He would lead a sinless life yet be arrested and tried. That He would be lied about and whipped. That He would be flogged and have His beard ripped out. That He would have nails driven into His hands and feet and a spear thrust into His side. That He would be mocked, ridiculed and spat on. That His own blood would run into His eyes as they drove a crown of thorns into His head. That God would do all of this so we could be happy? Is that the purpose of Calvary? Dear Lord forgive us.
The real reason why God does not necessarily take pleasure when we are happy is that we all have different definitions of what makes us happy! Most of those definitions do not involve God and instead embrace sin. Some are happiest when they are drunk. Some are happiest when they cheat on their wives. I have heard self professing Christians claim their adultery was OK because God doesn't want them to be unhappy! He takes pleasure when Jesus is glorified in our lives through our obedience. Not our carnality. Secondly, if you worship God for yourself then you are not worshiping God at all! By definition then you are worshiping yourself! I assure you that self-idolization does not make God happy. We must resist the "friend of God" theology and false worship music that brings God down to our level. We need to get back to reverent awe. Think about this scene from heaven described by the Apostle John:
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." - Revelation 4: 8-11 (ESV)
It is blasphemous to understand that the 24 elders fall down before Him yet we think that we "worship Him for ourselves." It is only by the will of God that we were ever created. It is only by His will that we exist at all. Why do we worship God? Because He is God! Why do we worship God? Because that is why He created us!
Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." - Isaiah 43: 7 (NKJV)
We are created for His glory! The problem with this heartfelt plea from Lakewood church is it is all about me. We obey for ourselves? God wants us to be happy? The greatest joy God can have is our happiness? We worship for ourselves? She even thinks that we can do good in our own flesh but tells us the motivation for doing that good should again be our own personal happiness? Beloved this is the Gospel of Me. It is not biblical and has little to do with God other than to insult Him. Listen, I understand why so many people like the Osteens. They are likable people. They smile a lot and are real positive. They provide very helpful tips for improving how we feel in this mortal life. They have their way and they are not shy about sharing it and getting you to embrace it. Their way glorifies the self and the things of this world. Their way is all about deciding our own personal happiness. Their way takes the Gospel of Jesus Christ and writes you into the lead role. Before the apologists start getting upset I am not questioning their motives or their intent. I can live with believing that they believe their way is best. I can live with them believing that their way seems right. But as our key verse teaches us there is a way that seems right to man but in the end it is the way to death. Believe that; whether it makes you happy or not.
Rev. Anthony.
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