.
John 3:10-25 (NIV)
10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things?
11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man.[a] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[b]
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[c] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.[d]
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."[e]
1) Recognizing - Recognize that God Loves you so much that He gave His Son To die on the cross for you. "For God so Loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
"I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
Realize that we have all fallen out of relationship with him because of sin. This isn't because God wanted it to be so; God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but to save it. Our falling out with God was because man had chosen to make it so. Our sin has separated us from God.
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. John 3:17-19
2) Confessing & Repenting - "All have sinned and fall Short of the Glory of God." Romans 3:23, and "the Wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 6:23
Our sins have separated us from God. "Unless you repent, you too will all perish" Luke 13:3
The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the Good News! Mark 1:15
"Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God and I NEED YOU. I am a sinner and am so sorry for all that I have done. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me and give me the gift of eternal life. Please come in to my life and heart and be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always. Please help me to be in loving, obedient relationship with you. Thank you."
3) Receiving - Receive Jesus Christ in to your heart; ie Believe in Him as your Savior. This means that you accept God's offer of Love, Mercy, and Forgivness, and that you trust Jesus Christ as your only hope and Savior. Not government, not money, not power. Not 'good works,' church rituals, or social status. Not even your family, You rely totally on Jesus as your only hope for salvation.
"For by Grace you have been saved through faith - and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12
4) Restoration - Walking with Him. Confess Jesus Christ. Don't be ashamed to let others know you are a Christian and have a relationship with God. "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10:32 and "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."Romans 10:9
And Walk With Him. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." John 15:4 Trust and Obey.
Pray: Talk to God Daily - or even hourly or minute to minute. Read: Take the Bible and use it as often as you can. Study. Fellowship: We need each other. Find a church. Worship: "Sing Praises to Him, all you peoples." Romans 15:11 (Christian Radio, too) Minister: Ministry & Missions are the heart beat of Jesus. "Go out into all the World and preach the Good News." Mark 16:15.
.
Showing posts with label health and wealth gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health and wealth gospel. Show all posts
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Joel Osteen - a Charlatan?
.
"All people can reach their God given potential of health, wealth and happiness," Joel Osteen preaches. He tells women to tell themselves;"Ten years from now I will be married." and "He's going to be rich and good looking!"
OMGosh. Is this guy a salesman? It is true that God blesses. He has blessed me and my family on many occassions. But God's blessings for our family have always been directly connected to the furtherance of HIS plan and ministry, not mine.
For example, did He provide our family with an RV? Yes. But it was after prayer along this line: "Lord, we'd really like to minister at Juventud con Vision in Juarez, Mexico. But as you know, Roland has cancer throughout his bones. If it is your will that we minister in Juarez, please provide comfortable travel for Roland. If it isn't your will, please give us the grace to accept that and show us where and how you want us to minister. Thank you, Jesus."
Had we prayed for Roland's healing? Yes, many times and many ways. Now, we were patient to go ahead with living while waiting God's answer on that. Our prayer wasn't for our own self-indulgence. Our prayer was for God to provide one of the tools we needed in order to fulfill what it was that He wanted us to do.
Remember, God's purpose for us is clearly stated in Genesis 12:1-3 and restated throughout the entire Bible. God's children have a Great Commission - to be a light to the rest of the world, and preach the Word with the courage he provides through the Holy Spirit. And the Word, the Good News, The Gospel is this: that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to die for us in order to save us, despite the fact that we are all sinners and don't deserve his gift of salvation. We have been given the gift of salvation, and all we need to do is realize our sinfulness, humble ourselves, repent, ask for forgiveness, and accept His gift.
Osteen chooses to focus on gifts from God rather than sin. He rarely uses Scripture and instead, thinks he is a "life coach." A purported "Christian" life coach, yet doesn't use Scripture as a text.
At times, he has seemed to deny that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
Sociologist Shayne Lee and historian Phillip Sinitiere state in their book, Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace, that "Osteen's widespread popularity comes from contextualizing Christianity to meet the existential needs and cultural tastes of contemporary Americans."
That's right. I see Osteen as a saleman and "Christian" events are his marketplace. Note the amount of money spent at his events, and remember that neither Jesus nor any of his true disciples required funds from their listeners. In fact, Jesus fed the lot of them - for free - simply because they needed to be fed.
No wonder Osteen doesn't understand the deity and purpose of Jesus Christ, nor the purpose of Scripture, nor the purpose of Christians. Osteen has never studied theology or even religion at a college of seminary. He attended Oral Roberts University for a short time, but apparently didn't take the theology courses while there.
People, pay close attention to God's warnings in Matt 7:15, Acts 20:29, Romans 16:18, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, and 2 Peter 2-3.
.
"All people can reach their God given potential of health, wealth and happiness," Joel Osteen preaches. He tells women to tell themselves;"Ten years from now I will be married." and "He's going to be rich and good looking!"
OMGosh. Is this guy a salesman? It is true that God blesses. He has blessed me and my family on many occassions. But God's blessings for our family have always been directly connected to the furtherance of HIS plan and ministry, not mine.
For example, did He provide our family with an RV? Yes. But it was after prayer along this line: "Lord, we'd really like to minister at Juventud con Vision in Juarez, Mexico. But as you know, Roland has cancer throughout his bones. If it is your will that we minister in Juarez, please provide comfortable travel for Roland. If it isn't your will, please give us the grace to accept that and show us where and how you want us to minister. Thank you, Jesus."
Had we prayed for Roland's healing? Yes, many times and many ways. Now, we were patient to go ahead with living while waiting God's answer on that. Our prayer wasn't for our own self-indulgence. Our prayer was for God to provide one of the tools we needed in order to fulfill what it was that He wanted us to do.
Remember, God's purpose for us is clearly stated in Genesis 12:1-3 and restated throughout the entire Bible. God's children have a Great Commission - to be a light to the rest of the world, and preach the Word with the courage he provides through the Holy Spirit. And the Word, the Good News, The Gospel is this: that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to die for us in order to save us, despite the fact that we are all sinners and don't deserve his gift of salvation. We have been given the gift of salvation, and all we need to do is realize our sinfulness, humble ourselves, repent, ask for forgiveness, and accept His gift.
Osteen chooses to focus on gifts from God rather than sin. He rarely uses Scripture and instead, thinks he is a "life coach." A purported "Christian" life coach, yet doesn't use Scripture as a text.
At times, he has seemed to deny that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
Sociologist Shayne Lee and historian Phillip Sinitiere state in their book, Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace, that "Osteen's widespread popularity comes from contextualizing Christianity to meet the existential needs and cultural tastes of contemporary Americans."
That's right. I see Osteen as a saleman and "Christian" events are his marketplace. Note the amount of money spent at his events, and remember that neither Jesus nor any of his true disciples required funds from their listeners. In fact, Jesus fed the lot of them - for free - simply because they needed to be fed.
No wonder Osteen doesn't understand the deity and purpose of Jesus Christ, nor the purpose of Scripture, nor the purpose of Christians. Osteen has never studied theology or even religion at a college of seminary. He attended Oral Roberts University for a short time, but apparently didn't take the theology courses while there.
People, pay close attention to God's warnings in Matt 7:15, Acts 20:29, Romans 16:18, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, and 2 Peter 2-3.
.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)