Reflections from the Joel Osteen outreach

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (New King James Version)

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables



This is a truth that we have a hard time with. I admit that on some level I do. We think "oh, if they only really knew what he was teaching," or we say "they are just decieved and don't know any better." Now, both of these statements are true, but, this portion of scripture states that those who heap up false teachers, WANT TO LISTEN TO THEM. It's kind of like the fact that men are spiritually dead, but God holds those dead men responsible for their sin. On some level, it doesn't make sense humanly speaking, but the real question is what does Gods Word say and there we find the perfect answer and understanding.

I was very excited to be joined by a family in our church. They brought all their kids and they had a great time. We handed out all our material within 25 minutes. I had 200 kirk cameron cd's, another friend had 200 paul washer cd's. I had 250 tracts for the occasion and they all were given away. It is so easy to hand out things at a "Christian" event.

In reflecting on this passage as I was there, it made me look diffrently at people. A local word of faith minister attended and I got to preach to him. As I saw him I thought, based on the scripture, He wants to be hear hearing a gushy gospel. He doesn't want to be at a place right now that is properly expositing the scripture, he wants to be here. That really changes your perspective.

One man was trying to defend Joel osteen and we told him about the larry king live interview where joel answers every single question with "I don't know." The man was actually startled and asked where to get it. We told him to go on youtube and seee for himself. I handed a CD to a lady carrying a MacArthur study bible and I thought lady you couldn't have 2 teachers so far from one another. I wonder if she read the notes when joel mentioned verses.

The best part of the night for me was the open air preaching. I had the stool and we were right in front of the line and they could clearly hear us. I preached on suffering. The word of faith movement widely believes that the atonement paid for physical suffering and that it is not normal for a christian to suffer. I preached passages from peter and mentioned Job alot. As I reflected on the open air later, here are a few thoughts, and i understand that those reading this may not agree with open air. Picture this, I am on a box, in front of a crowd and Im being clearly heard. I am raising my voice so they can hear, not yelling, and not yelling "your going to hell, sinner" in an unreasonable way. What im preaching are the scriptures and the proper interpretation of scripture. When they hear me and snark, they are not snarking at me, they are mocking God.

Now you may not agree with open air, but if you were in line at an event downtown and a man got on a box and preached the gospel in a fair and balanced way, you would at the least say "I don't like the method, but he is preaching truth." You wouldn't snark and make fun. You wouldn't curse at the guy, you wouldn't find a way to mock him. Thats what they did to me. I saw it on their faces and heard it in their snickers, But as I said, I read and preached the scriptures. Gods word is what says we will suffer. You can disagree with me all day long, but when a man reads the word of god and you disagree, your a hating God.

My motive for the preaching was so that Gods word would be heard, in hope that they would think about it and look it up. You can go hear a man talk about health, wealth and abundance all day long, but when you come back to reality, when you come back to the real world where jobs are being lost, where cancer and disease are ravaging human life, where wicked men do business for dishonest gains, where suffering is real then the only thing that stands true is the Word of God. My desire it to lift him up, not me. To preach a Gospel centered around Jesus Christ, and to do nothing but magnify him and make him known.

Pray for those who are decieved by men like this, and do something about it. That coworker reading those bad "christian" books, talk to that coworker. That family member trusting in religion, share the Good news with them. Those strangers in your community running as fast as they can toward false teachers, do something. In reference to evangelism Charles spurgeon said "Do something, Do something, Do something."