You see in 2014 someone robbed the weekend tithes and offerings from Lakewood. They got away with $600,000. That is for one weekend beloved. The Osteen machine has only grown since then so we can assume they make even more today. Even using the 2014 numbers however, what happens if the shelter is needed for a month? That is 2.5 million dollars Lakewood stands to lose. That is just a month. Do you realize how hard it is to logistically move thousands of people? I remember in Shreveport one of the problems they had is for every one that managed to leave they were replaced by two newly displaced people. How powerful would it be though to allow thousands of people into your church and then hold a service for them the following Sunday? Preach about the God who supplies all of our needs. Preach the eternal life. Preach the Gospel at the lowest point people might ever be at in their lives when they are a completely captive audience. Maybe dip into your personal wealth of untold millions to have a reverse collection. Give money out to people who are going to need it instead of "soliciting donations."
That would not work however at Lakewood because the Gospel is not preached at Lakewood. Instead it is a slop of self-help and motivation that does not do someone in the middle of this kind of suffering a bit of good. Do you think the displaced thousands need to hear that they are the head and not the tail? A lender and not a borrower? That they can speak riches and material wealth into existence? That they need to stop speaking so negatively into their lives? No beloved. Do you want to see how truly disconnected Joel Osteen is and how hollow his false gospel rings in the ears of the needy? Here are two Osteen tweets from Sunday, as Lakewood stood closed as the rain continued to fall:
"God is still on the throne. He brought you through in the past; He'll bring you through again."
"There's a simple phrase you have to get down in your spirit, "God's got this."
This is as the hurricane was still wreaking havoc upon Houston. This was as more people were losing their homes and were being rescued by boats, helicopters, and the grace, kindness and mercy of their neighbors that continues to elude Joel Osteen. Author Matt Novak summed up these tweets quite well:
"The hurricane and the people suffering in Houston almost seem to be afterthoughts in Joel Osteen's constant stream of banal platitudes." -- Matt Novak
Banal platitudes. That about sums it up beloved. Please realize that the problem is not that God is somehow not on the throne. He most certainly is. It is the problem of banality. It is the problem of being platitudinal. Banal means obvious and worn out. Platitudes are unoriginal, trite remarks that everyone can see coming a mile away. The problem is that the two tweets are what you hear every single week at Lakewood. Problem with your marriage? God is on the throne! He will see you through! Kids are acting out? Hey God saw you through in the past! Lost your job, they repossessed your car; you think you want to die? God's got this! That is what makes the comments banal platitudes. God is most certainly on the throne but when you over use that concept to sell temporal nonsense it is of little meaning or power when it is really needed. You know, after a hurricane has destroyed your entire life.
But that is the only snake oil Osteen has to sell. I try and teach that if your gospel does not work beyond our shores then it is false by definition. You cannot preach a Joel Osteen message in the underground church in China or the impoverished villages in South America. Their problem is not negative self-talk or understanding the authority they can walk in. The same concept now applies within these shores. If your gospel cannot be preached to those in pain following a natural disaster than it is false by definition. Our key verses teach us what is religion as God intended it and how man corrupts it. One of the chic teachings in the NAR and other heretical sects is to condemn all religion in favor of some mystical relationship theology. That is not the answer beloved. God has ordained religion, as the key verses teach us. The idea is to stick to what is religion as He intended and call out what is not.
