Christians or anyone that believes in God.....Do you agree with this pastor?

Question

There was a pastor that came to our church and he told us to beware of any Pastor that only preached about wealth, prosperity, and "good times" from God. I was just wondering if he is in the right? What is so bad about speaking on good times from God?

Answer 1

I would agree with the pastor's sentiments.

The Joel Osteen's of the world and their “Word of Faith” prosperity gospel is moving people away from the biblical messages in favor of "feel-good, junk-food" doctrine. The whole “Word of Faith”, a.k.a.“Health and Wealth”, movement is classified as a cult by those who have studied the doctrines.

From a Jamie Gangel MSNBC interview with Osteen:

"A college dropout who has never been to seminary school, there is no fire and brimstone in his church. If the message sounds simple and upbeat, that's just the way he wants it.

The Christian-based, non-denominational congregation draws a remarkable mix of races, and his televised self-help sermons are number one in Nielsen ratings and broadcast all over the world. And if that's not enough, his book, "Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential," has topped the New York Times best-seller list, selling 1.5 million copies.

[Osteen has] developed his own style - sermons are strictly optimistic and address practical, everyday issues, like time management. His critics say it is all too simplistic, that Joel is part of a new trend called prosperity gospel. "
See: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6894347/

From Osteen's own mouth:

"You've got to speak it out. Your words have creative power. One of the primary ways we release our faith is through our words. There is a divine connection between you declaring God's favor and seeing God's favor manifested in your life. And some of you are doing your best to please the Lord. You are living a holy consecrated life, but you're not really experiencing God's supernatural favor. And it's simply because you're not declaring it. You've got to give life to your faith by speaking it out."
(Audio clip from Bible Answer-Man Broadcast, April 26, 2004, ).

"Early in our marriage, Victoria and I were out walking through our neighborhood one day when we came upon a beautiful new home in the final stages of construction… Victoria was excited. She turned around, looked back at the home, and said, 'Joel, one day we're going to live in a beautiful home just like that!…' Over the next several months, she kept speaking words of faith and victory, and she finally talked me into it. She convinced me that we could live in an elegant home like the one we saw. I got rid of my limited thinking and I started agreeing with her. I started believing that somehow, some way, God could bring it to pass. We kept on believing it, seeing it, and speaking it."
(Osteen, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential, Chapter One, )."

Just telling your flock something to make them feel good and ignoring the rest of God's revelations turns God into a puppet and the bible a collection of fortune-cookie messages. Joel is perpetuating the same cult gospel his father, John Osteen, began.

For example, see:
http://www.apprising.org/archives/2005/08/apprising_joel_1.html

Answer 2

The key word in your question is "only". You should beware of a pastor that only preaches on wealth, prosperity and good times. If your pastor does not preach "Jesus Christ crucified and risen again, and that the only way to be a complete person is to be saved by the shedding of the Blood of Christ, then I would join another church. The scriptures say that God wants us to prosper and enjoy life, but this is not the most important part of a Christians life.

Answer 3

Yes, I do. God never promises us health and prosperity. He promises to bless us, but trials are blessings from God, just as wealth and prosperity are... The way many pastors speak on health and prosperity, they make their listeners think they are somehow entitled to it. When some don't recieve the blessings they are somehow due, they leave the church disillusioned, not knowing what it really takes to be a Christian.

EDIT: There is nothing wrong with preaching about the favor God lovingly lavishes upon us on this earth, but it needs to be done in truth, not to make money, improve attendance, or even to bring people to Christ.

Answer 4

The key word, I believe, is Only....You have to preach salvation, Jesus and not what you get (monetarily)being a Christian but in the gift of Mercy and Grace, a preacher has to preach to our souls not our pocket book. A good Pastor concentrates on Jesus and touches on matters that are before the congregation, like finances, health and witnessing. Some subjects could be preached on other times besides Sunday mornings when the lost are coming in to hear the Shepard. Not sure what "good times" means but all times in the Lord should be "good". Sometimes our pastor brings in a preacher who is anointed in certain subjects and that is OK but a church that is focused on money is not too cool.

Answer 5

It's what people with their own agenda want to hear. It's not what I find in the Bible. You see, people have always wanted to hear what they wanted to hear. There are places in the Bible where the message isn't about how wonderful we can be, rather they can be about how wicked we are all are, yes, Christians themselves. Wealth, prosperity, and health are all a part of what the Greek and Hebrew words include in meaning specifically.

So those things are really there in their meanings. But that part of the meaning of the word 'salvation' is often taken in error. Some pastors preach that God wants us all to be rich. That may be true, but many of us will only see that when we get with God at the end.

Answer 6

Yes, I believe he was right in the first part about being on the lookout for false prophets who teach the "prosperity" message. Joel Osteen is a perfect example, all he has to offer is a "feel good" sermon, all the while living in shameless luxury, making millions everywhere he goes, so that he and his plastic Barbie looking wife can "have it all" and try to convince all the masses that they can too! Jesus had quite a different view of wealth and riches, and told his disciples to sell all of their earthly possessions and to come follow him, for that was where the real rewards were. As for good times, we should know that God wants us to enjoy our lives, and to set aside time for recreational activities, but there should be a balance, with a view to Gods wisdom regarding how some "good times" can be displeasing to God, and I'm sure you would know what some of these things might be. The Bible says that God is a "Happy God", so of course he wants us to also be happy.

Answer 7

The problem is, it easily turns Christianity into a belief in a magical genie that will give us all we want. Also, it focuses too much on earthly rewards in the form of money and things and less on the peace of God. There are greater things on earth than money and things and if we focus on prosperity gospel then there is going to be a major lack of those other areas that God offers such as peace, love, understanding how our relationships with others are truly the greatest blessing God can give. Money and goods are fleeting, but true relationships and true love are not so.

Answer 8

we need to realize that being a christian isn't all fun and games. just because you're a christian doesn't mean that there won't be hard times in your life and I think your pastor was trying to say that we need to be sure to beware of those people who say that god will make everything good for you and never addresses the fact that God wants whats best for us, and sometimes what's best is to not give us everything we want but send us some trying times as well.

Answer 9

I think he was referring to "prosperity preaching". Materialism is really taking a toll on everything these days, including religion. There are some who seek in the Church just another way to get more money, more things. Personally I think Spirituality and Materialism are on the one hand opposed, while on the other hand they are locked together. Certainly the Lord wants his children to have a good life. Just as certainly, there is more to a good life than just money. I would question the wisom and motives of ant preacher who based his ministry only on prosperity.

Answer 10

It is tricky to sort out the Truth.
There are alot of voices in Planet Earth today.
No, it is not wrong to speak about GOD prospering people.
That is what the Gospel is all about!
But there has to be Balance, Balance is one of the Keys to living a succesful Life in ALL Things, Physical and Spiritual.
If I went to that or any church building, over and over again, and all I heard was "GOD'll make you rich"--I would think two things, Either that Preacher ain't right (he,she is unbalanced in the Things of GOD), or They ain't RIGHT--they aren't Born-Again and OF GOD to begin with.
It is one of those "I would have to be there and discern" things.
Hope this helps.
Ditto.

Answer 11

Religion has gotten so screwed up these days. People are more confused about what to do and what not to do. Most people want to know the rules of Christianity so they know how to get into Heaven and not go to Hell. It isn't about rules. Look, you don't have to beware of anyone bringing the word. If you are there to learn about religion and how to be a good Christian, it doesn't matter where you get the message from. If you do something with good intentions, that is good and will lead you into Heaven. Of course you need to devote your life to such intentions. Learn to apply good intentions to every part of your life. When you are driving are you courteous? It's learning to apply good intentions to every part of your life.