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Soxfan -> RE: Joel Osteen? (5/5/2005 12:37:37 PM)
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Osteen is a word faith teacher and word faith is not Christian teaching but a distortion of Scripture
“Many of you today know this, you believe it down here in your heart. But the reason that your not experiencing as much as you should is because your not declaring it. You've got to give life to your faith by speaking it out. Your words have creative power. When you go around saying, 'I have favor, people want to be good to me and supernatural doors are opening.' When you make those declarations of faith, you are charging the atmosphere. And your own words can help to bring it to pass. That is why we should get into the habit of every day consistently speaking God's favor over our lives” (Joel Osteen, “Experiencing More Of God's Favor,” Tape # 212, Daystar, July 10, 2004)
Here’s how he explains it “You can cancel out God's plan by speaking negative words. God works by laws” (Joel Osteen, “Speaking Faith Filled Words,” Tape # 223. Daystar Television, May 2, 2004)
This is what Kenneth Copeland and the word faith movement is about and it is wrong
“Your circumstances will line up with your words.” “Words are like seeds, they have creative power.” “The more you talk about it the more you call it in.” “Your words will give life to what you are saying.” “You can change your world by simply changing your words.” “You can use your words to bless your life or curse your life”(Joel Osteen, “Speaking Faith Filled Words,” Tape # 223. Daystar Television, May 2, 2004)
This is no different than the new age movements teachings on decreeing.
“Start calling in victory. Start calling in divine health. Start calling in abundance. You can prophesize your future.” “If you wanna know where you'll be five years from now listen to what you are saying.” “Our words will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” “With our words we can predict our future. We can prophesize our future”(Joel Osteen, “Speaking Faith Filled Words,” Tape # 223. Daystar Television, May 2, 2004)
Again a new age teaching that we can change reality by our words of affirmations and decreeing.
“You may have sickness in your body, you need to call in health. You may be in debt, you need to boldly say that you are the head and not the tail.”(Joel Osteen, “Speaking Faith Filled Words,” Tape # 223. Daystar Television, May 2, 2004)
This again is word faith theology that what you speak you can have. Nowhere in the New Testament is the church taught this. The teaching that we are the “head and not the tail” is also misapplied by word faith teachers who do not keep the context of when it was said and to whom. Instead, they rush through the Bible and pick out what they can positively confess.
Faith and fear as a force comes right out of the word faith camp of people like Kenneth Copeland and his disciple Creflo Dollar; Osteen says, “Fear is a force just like faith is a force. If you give into fear and start to dwell on that junk and start to act on it, that fear can actually bring things to pass just like faith can bring things to pass. Job said, 'the thing I greatly feared came upon me.' Fear is a force just like faith is a force. If you give into fear and start to dwell on that junk and start to act on it, that fear can actually bring things to pass just like faith can bring things to pass. Job said, 'the thing I greatly feared came upon me.” (Joel Osteen, Sermon, VL-007, April 30, 2000, Sermon on Website, May 2004)
To misuse Job of whom God said was a righteous man, a man whom God challenged Satan (Job.1: 8) through shows immaturity in understanding Scripture. Job is expressing something he had in his heart, that he would die in such agony “Who long for death, but it does not come” (Job 3:21). Not that he confessed this and it came to pass. We should stay far away from people that cannot understand the mechanics of standing up for God and doing what is right and the spiritual warfare the ensues from it. (Job.1:1, 8-10 2:4-7).
Osteen knows what he is saying and where it originates from “And sometimes in the faith movement or in the Full Gospel movement, we hit a sticking point. We get God’s promises in our heart. We pray God’s word. We believe God’s word and then we sit back and we cross our arms and fold our legs.” (Joel Osteen, Sermon, “Do all you can to Make your Dreams Come True,” May 2, 1999).
What Jesus is being Preached?
All these teachings add up to a non biblical framework he is speaking from. But the most horrendous and most dangerous is the teaching of Jesus being taken captive in Hell by Satan. Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyers and many other popular TV ministers all hold to this heresy. And so does Joel Osteen...
He accepts the word faith heresy “The Bible indicates that for three days, Jesus went into the very depths of hell. Right into the enemy's own territory. And He did battle with Satan face to face. Can you imagine what a show down that was?” (Joel Osteen, Sermon, CS-002 - April 23, 2000)
Lets look at a good portion of the sermon, so that we know this quote was not taken out of context.
“And the third thing, because of all of what Jesus accomplished in the Resurrection; you and I have power and authority over the devil and demon forces. I can imagine when Jesus bowed His head and died on that cross, that Satan and all those demons they gathered in Hell for a great victory celebration. I can imagine it looked something like the victory party in the locker room after the Super Bowl. You can see them giving high five's and jumping around. Shouting with great excitement, We did it! We did it! I told you we could defeat Him! Now we're in control. Now we can do whatever we want. And can't you hear Satan laugh sarcastically and say to his demons, Aren't you glad you followed me now? Aren't you glad you revolted out of the heavens? I told you it'd be worth it.
“Can't you see Jesus looking right into Satan's eyes and saying, “Satan, I hate to spoil your victory party, but I think you're celebrating a little bit too soon”? You may have knocked me down, but you sure didn't knock me out. And it's not over until I say it's over. Satan says, Listen, Jesus, you're on my turf now. You don't have a chance down here. You're surrounded by my demons. We're going to tear you apart. And Jesus just smiles and says, “Go ahead, Satan, make my day!” (Congregation applauds) Jesus says, “Look, Satan, I'm down here to take care of business. I'm ready to do battle. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be because it stinks down here.”
“The Bible indicates that for three days, Jesus went into the very depths of hell. Right into the enemy's own territory. And He did battle with Satan face to face. Can you imagine what a show down that was? It was good vs. evil. Right vs. wrong. Holiness vs. filth. Here are the two most powerful forces in the universe have come together to do battle for the first time in history. But thank God. The Bible says, “Satan was no match for our Champion”. This was no contest. (Congregation applauds).
“Jesus crushed Satan's head with His foot. He bruised his head. And He once and for all, forever defeated and dethroned and demoralized our enemy. One translation says, “He paralyzed him and rendered him powerless”. But thank God. He didn't even stop there. He went over and ripped the keys of death and hell out of Satan's hands. And He grabbed Satan by the nap of his neck and He began to slowly drag him down through the corridors of Hell. All beat up and bruised because He wanted to make sure that every single demon saw very clearly that Jesus was indeed the undisputed Champion of all time! Amen?”(Joel Osteen, Sermon, CS-002 - April 23, 2000, Sermon Is Posted At His Website, May 2004)
Imagine is right, because this is not what happened. How can we know? The Bible tells us so. For this heresy we need to take the time to explain the biblical position so no one is left thinking that what Osteen has done does not affect the gospel, this same gospel that Satan hates and wants to corrupt. Osteen does not come out and say what others do- that Jesus became sin on the cross but the implication is evident by his going to hell under Satan’s jurisdiction. Hebrews 9:14 tells us that he offered himself “without blemish to God” Paul wrote of Christ’s “offering and sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:2). Sin is not a beautiful aroma to God.
Jesus went into Hades, where the faithful were, not hell, where the wicked are punished. The word of faith teacher’s do not believe in his victory the on the cross but that it was not completed on the cross but in a battle in hell with the devil. This imaginative battle actually brings destruction to the gospel where Jesus REALLY conquered Satan crushed Satan's head on the cross not in hell. Colossians 2:15: “Having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it.” This victory happened on the cross (v.14), so what is Christ doing suffering in Hell by these same principalities and powers, as claimed. This doctrine is dangerous and affects many others. If Jesus went to hell, then Jesus did not speak the truth buy saying IT IS FINISHED. The death of Christ on the cross is then insufficient, not having the power by itself to save anyone and Paul could not have said what he said about it that he preached Christ crucified for salvation..
Neither does Scripture say “Jesus took the keys of hell and death from Satan.” This again is a false word faith teaching. Neither did Satan steal the keys from Adam as the word faith teachers espouse, because Adam did not have them.
Here’s what the Scripture says: Rev. 1:18: “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Where does it say he took them? He possessed them. Again they go beyond what is written with their imagination and make this up. This is a great Bible myth. In Rev. 1:18 The word is Hades, not hell; the key is the emblem of power and authority. Christ can both save and destroy, can kill and make alive. Just as Jesus said that no man takes his life from him, he lays it down himself. Death is still under his dominion, and he can recall the dead whenever he pleases. He is the resurrection and the life.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4: is that “Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again.” There is no details like these men have added with their fertile imaginations. It may make for good story telling but to cheer at this shows complete Biblical ignorance. Jesus said on the cross before He expired, “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit” (Matthew 27:50; John 19:30). If he landed in Hell under Satan, than who is his Father in whom he committed his Spirit to? this is not a good picture, it mocks the most sacred time of Jesus' ministry, the very purpose Jesus the Son of God came to earth for.
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