Thoughts.com

ABOVE: Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church , Houston , Texas

ABOVE: Osteen's Mega-Church , which boasts over 40,000 suckers (err , I mean , visitors ) , each WEEK!

ABOVE: Osteen's $10.5 MILLION dollar mansion in the affluent River Oaks section of Houston

ABOVE: Osteen at a book signing , in which he reportedly gets a $6-MILLION dollar advance. Behind him , to his left , stands one of his personal body guards.

My friends , he's young , good looking , charismatic , a great salesman , and author , as well as a great speaker. Oh yeah , one more thing...he's also a MULTI MILLIONAIRE!

Meet Joel Osteen...

Of course , he's only one of literally thousands of "prosperity , health and wealth" preachers in the world today. He's the self-proclaimed "Senior Pastor" of Lakewood Church in Houston , Texas , which brings in over 40,000 people a WEEK! His ministry reaches over seven million broadcast media viewers weekly in over 100 nations around the world. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Osteen ).

And what about his mega-church? Well , on July 16, 2005, Lakewood Church relocated from its old building in northeast Houston into its new home, a 16,800 seat facility southwest of downtown Houston along U.S. Highway 59, which had twice the capacity of its former sanctuary. The arena was home to the Houston Rockets when they won two league titles in the 1990s and the Houston Comets of the WNBA when they won four.

What is mind-boggling is that  not only was the church required to pay $11.8 million in rent in advance for the first 30 years of the lease, but renovated the new campus at an estimated cost of $95 million. As said in a 2005 article in USA Today ( emphasis mine ):

"The facility, which took 15 months and about $75 million to complete, features two waterfalls, three gargantuan television screens and a lighting system that rivals those found at rock concerts. Two choir lofts with 12 rows of rich purple pews sit between the waterfalls, accented by live foliage."

Also:

"A few years later, in March 31, 2010, the Houston City Council, faced with $100 million shortfall in it’s budget, voted 13-2 to sell the former arena for the Houston Rockets to Lakewood church for $7.5 million."

BUT...there's just one thing missing from the inside ( or outside ) of his "church." A CROSS! Instead , he has a huge globe on the stage where he speaks ( see pic below ). Can you say "New World Order"?

Now , what about Osteen's credentials as a "Pastor"? Well , he has NEVER studied Scripture - either formally or otherwise. He has NEVER attended any seminary , bible college , and / or had any theological education.  However , in all fairness to him , he does say that he "received training under my father before he died." You see , Osteen's dad , who ran the scam ( err...I mean church ) , before Joel did , was the pastor ( talk about the blind leading the blind , huh? ).

What about Osteen's personal wealth? Well , according to Timothy Houston , a photographer and writer , Osteen and his spoiled little wifey live in a $10.5 MILLION DOLLAR mansion in the River Oaks section of Houston. Mr. Houston writes: ( emphasis mine )

"River Oaks is home to some of the world’s wealthiest people. It’s the kind of community that most people don’t understand, and many aren’t even highly aware it exists. A person needs an eight figure bank account to even qualify as a new blood."

"Joel and his wife Victoria’s 17,000-square-foot mansion is walled off completely, and the place swarms with security. In 2010, property taxes for this River Oaks home were over $267,000. Some people may feel a stark contrast between comfort and extravagance when they learn of the three in-house elevators, 6 bathrooms, and five wood-burning fireplaces. Some just won’t be able to overcome that more than $10 million price tag, especially knowing this isn’t the family’s only property. Still, others will say “Hell no, enough is NEVER enough!”. Self-justification just seems to be par for the course when aspiring to ride on the prosperity gospel’s gravy train."

Mr. Houston continues:

"His last direct church salary was reported to be $200,000-a-year. To put that into perspective, the average house income for Houston in 2009 was approximately $42,945. From his church salary alone, he was making nearly 5 times that average household figure per year."

Mr. Houston then writes about his visit to Osteen's church:

"I made a trip to the famed Lakewood Church to discover first-hand just what the big “to do” was all about. Notably, I didn't notice any crosses. However, there was a very large globe decorative piece. For dozens of minutes, Joel Osteen said everything anyone would want to hear! He told everyone in attendance how we are all blessed, have potential, and how success is just waiting for one thing… us. According to his speech, all I have to do is kinda help things along, and just be ready in general. At the end of this pep rally (sermon), we were handed some rather deep collection plates to deposit our monies into. On my way out of this church, it was hard to miss a huge glaring gift shop full of merchandise. Lakewood Church makes more than $75 million in revenue each year. Osteen sells DVDs, books, and christian wares. His list of books is growing, and so is his platform for selling them. As I stared into this Lakewood Church gift store, which was inundated with Osteen’s merchandise, I thought to myself 'This guy is really good'." ( source: CLICK HERE - my emphasis )

Now , don't get me wrong my friends , every ministry needs financial support to survive. But I often wonder why it is that people who KNOW that these multi-MILLION dollar crooks are living in the lap of luxury simply can't find it in their nature to donate as much as $5 to a struggling ministry such as the one I have. Though , I could conjecture many reasons. You see,  Osteen and his ilk are very careful not to "offend" anyone in any way. By his own admission ( as I'll show here later in this post ) , he avoids and refuses to talk or preach about controversial subjects. He also , by his own admission , does not preach about sin , Hell , the unsaved , etc..But , as I've also said many times in the past , if we try to please EVERYONE , by not offending ANYONE , then we are not being effective as Christians!

If Satan's "disciples" like Joel Osteen and his ilk ever did read the Bible , especially the NT , they would see that Jesus preached and talked more about HELL AND DAMNATION than any other topic! Why? Was Jesus deliberately trying to "offend" people? Of course not! He was warning them of the consequences they would endure for all eternity if they remained in their sins.

Jesus Himself said to the scribes and Pharisees , who were also enemies to the Gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men ; "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" ( Matt. 23:33 ). The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornaments of a grave, or dressing up a dead body, only for show. That's why in Matthew 23:14 Jesus told them , "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation."

Now , let's look at some of "Pastor" Osteen's twisted theology which has been described as "cotton candy" theology – tastes good – but no substance.  A while back he was interviewed on Larry King Live. Let's look at a few of his answers to Larry's questions. I'll be showing some of the more important Q&A's from that interview that any first year bible student would know - and unlike Osteen - be BIBLICALLY CORRECT!

KING: What if you're Jewish or Muslim, you don't accept Christ at all?

OSTEEN: You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know ...

WHAAATTT!! He doesn't KNOW?!  Why didn't he tell Larry that salvation is only through the redemptive blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! Nothing is more important. Nothing is more evident in the Scriptures. Jesus Christ is the ONE and ONLY way of salvation, without any room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding. The Bible makes this crystal-clear!

Has Osteen EVER read the words of Jesus HIMSELF? Where Jesus said , "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" ( John 14:6 ). What about "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" ( Acts 4:12 )?

Now , the next answer to Larry's question almost knocked me out of my chair! I know 10 year-old Sunday school kids who would have answered Larry correctly!

KING: If you believe you have to believe in Christ? They're wrong, aren't they?

OSTEEN: Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe. But I just think that only God will judge a person's heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don't know. I've seen their sincerity. So I don't know. I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus.

Now , here again , Osteen denies the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, he praises the pagan, false-religion of India as "I know they love God." Unbelievable!

YO , OSTEEN! Read Acts 16:31 ( "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.." ) , as well as Romans 10:9 ( "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" ). See what I meant about Osteen not wanting to "offend" anyone?

Now , how about a God-defying atheist? Larry comes right out and asks him about atheists , and again, Osteen will NOT confess that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way of salvation.

KING: What about atheists?

OSTEEN: You know what, I'm going to let someone -- I'm going to let God be the judge of who goes to heaven and hell. I just -- again, I present the truth, and I say it every week. You know, I believe it's a relationship with Jesus. But you know what? I'm not going to go around telling everybody else if they don't want to believe that that's going to be their choice. God's got to look at your own heart. God's got to look at your heart, and only God knows that.

Notice Osteen says , "I just -- again, I present the truth." Well , why the heck didn't he come right out and tell Larry the TRUTH? That GOD - not himself , says unbelievers will end up in HELL!!

"But the fearful, and unbelieving...shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" ( Rev. 21:8 ).

Now , Osteen may say ". . . I don't have it in my heart to condemn people." Okay , I agree that we mortal humans MUST NOT "condemn" others to hell. BUT...we MUST certainly rebuke them and show them the errors of their ways. To preach the Gospel BOLDLY , as we OUGHT TO! ( cf. Eph. 6:20 ). Again , why didn't Osteen simply quote JESUS in John 3:18 when He said , "...but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."?

Now , Larry asks : "You believe in the Bible literally?"  OSTEEN: I do, I do.

Well , how can Mr. Osteen, or anyone, claim to believe the Bible and deliberately refuse to warn people about hell? Is anyone that mean or hateful or so depraved that they willingly refuse to warn others?

Larry continues the interview by asking:

KING: How about issues that the church has feelings about? Abortion? Same-sex marriages?

OSTEEN: Yeah. You know what, Larry? I don't go there. I just ...

Of course , he doesn't want to "go there," God forbid he should tell them they're on a ONE-WAY road to HELL!!

KING: You have thoughts, though.

OSTEEN: I have thoughts. I just, you know, I don't think that a same-sex marriage is the way God intended it to be. I don't think abortion is the best. I think there are other, you know, a better way to live your life. But I'm not going to condemn those people. I tell them all the time our church is open for everybody.

Well , I agree with Osteen when he says "I don't think," "I don't think." As for his church being "open for everybody," again , I agree , a church should be open to all - especially the UNSAVED! So , why doesn't Osteen remind his flock of the words of Jesus in Mark 2:17 ; "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance"? I'll tell you why...because he's a coward and a false prophet! He keeps saying that he is not going to "condemn" people - but no one is asking him to. But , if he were a TRUE Christian , he would sure as heck WARN THEM of the ETERNAL DAMNATION  that awaits them if they don't repent and get truly saved! But then , he's afraid they'd be "offended" and walk out the church doors - along with their checkbooks.

Larry continues:

KING: You don't call them sinners?

OSTEEN: I don't.

KING: Is that a word you don't use?

OSTEEN: I don't use it. I never thought about it. But I probably don't. But most people already know what they're doing wrong. When I get them to church I want to tell them that you can change. There can be a difference in your life. So I don't go down the road of condemning.

My friends , I ask you. How many of you have ever heard of a true preacher that refuses to use the word "sin" or "sinners"? Osteen was a "first" for me , I have to admit. Also , what Osteen fails to realize is that calling someone a "sinner" is NOT "condemning" them! Jeez , I , myself am a SINNER! Did I just "condemn" myself? NO!!

He then says , "But most people already know what they're doing wrong." Sure they do , you idiot! So , it's YOUR duty as a pastor to TELL THEM that they , like all of us - are SINNERS!! As well as telling them of the consequences of SIN!!

Again , Osteen blatantly contradicts the words of Jesus Christ! The greedy heathen is concerned more about his bank account than he is about preaching the Gospel as he OUGHT TO!

My friends , Joel Osteen really needs to get it right or he is liable to lead thousands if not millions into a false security thinking they are going to heaven just because they are happy and know that God and Jesus exist, or that they can just lead a "GOOD" life.  That is not enough.  Let's pray that Joel opens his mind and heart to the truth of God's Word and changes before it is too late.

Joel Osteen had better realize that those who preach the Gospel falsely and lead the unsuspecting "sheep" to slaughter , will be judged more harshly than the flock. We are told this in James 3:1 ; "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation."

It should also be noted that Osteen's ministry is on the 2011 Donor Alert of Ministry Watch ( http://www.ministrywatch.com/pdf/donoralert2011.pdf ) . It writes: ( my emphasis )

"Neither ministry posts their audited financial statements on a website and based on
MinistryWatch.com’s request for basic information, nor would they give any to
MinistryWatch.com. Without information donors cannot make optimal decisions.
Understand what it is you are going to support. Ministries that are not open in
providing basic information are obstructing prudent donors in understanding. In
addition, Ministries are seen by many as teachers and ones with authority. What are
these ministries teaching by their example? Are others to follow their example?
What would the nonprofit sector look like if they all followed the example of a closed
shop? Are not Christians to be light in a world of darkness? Should not Christians
set the standard by their conduct?"

So , donors of Joel Osteen Ministries...BEWARE!

Until next time , may God bless and keep you all -

In His service ; Pastor Mike

The Living Water Church