hey guys Colin here and welcome back to
fight for truth the channel where we
bring you Christian commentary about the
things that matter in today's video
we're going to be talking about Joel
Osteen's sermon entitled quote it's
still going to happen this was preached
about a month ago and we've already made
one video analyzing a segment of this
sermon if you'd like to watch that video
we will link it in the description
specifically for today we'll be
considering and investigating some
claims that Joel makes about the will of
God and about prayer in the Christian
Life the main question we're asking is
this does Joel's teaching on these
topics best reflect the Bible's teaching
on these topics we're going to play the
clips for you today and offer you some
of our perspective but at the end of the
day you decide let us know what you
think in the comment section and without
any further Ado let's watch the first
clip watch this it's still going to
happen
you're saying God my hope is in you I
know you're the all-powerful creator of
the universe what you promise will come
to pass no person can stop him no
sickness no addiction no delay all the
forces of Darkness cannot stop what God
is purpose for your life
so Joel says that nothing can stop God's
will for your life and that is
undoubtedly true job 42 verse 2 says
quote I know that you can do all things
and that no purpose of yours can be
thwarted end quote so that is accurate
it's true however many evangelicals will
hear a general statement like this and
miss the obvious next question what
exactly is God's will for your life
specifically in other words what is God
promise to every Christian that they
should be expecting well in the next
clip Joel Osteen offers his answer to
that question let's rewind the tape just
a little bit and you'll see what I mean
watch this
I want to talk to you today about it's
still going to happen
we all have things that we're believing
for we prayed we've done our best but
the medical report hasn't improved we
didn't get the promotion we haven't met
the right person we wanted to go back to
school but nobody supported us tried to
start our business we had opposition
delays people did us wrong now we think
it wasn't meant to be but we may have
given up the good news is God hasn't
given up so now we have our answer Joel
says that quote we may have given up but
God hasn't given up and what exactly are
the things God has not and will not give
up on here are just a few examples from
Joel's own words promotion improved
medical reports going back to school
Etc so to put this all together Joel
Osteen is effectively promising the
entire congregation that if they want it
bad enough God has guaranteed them
promotions at their job medical healing
and the opportunity to pursue higher
education Joe Osteen is correct when he
says that nothing can stop God's will
for your life the problem lies in
exactly what Joel Osteen believes God's
will is but it doesn't stop there in the
next clip Joel does virtually the same
thing watch this believe that it's still
going to happen despite the Giants I'm
still going to go into my Promised Land
despite this medical report I'm still
going to get well despite the opposition
I'm still going to accomplish my dreams
let me declare it over you despite the
delays the setbacks how you were raised
you're still going to live a blessed
fulfilled Victorious Life
so now Joel says that all Christians are
promised a quote blessed fulfilled and
Victorious Life and generally speaking
this is again 100 correct from Galatians
5 we know that all Christians are
blessed tremendously with the fruit of
the spirit in Colossians 3 17 we see
that Christians are offered ultimate
fulfillment and purpose in life through
glorifying Christ in every word and deed
and in First Corinthians 15 57 we learn
that every believer is given ultimate
victory in Christ so are all Christians
then promised blessing Victory and
fulfillment of various kinds by faith in
Jesus absolutely but this is not what
Joel Osteen is referring to at least not
in the biblical way as we've already
demonstrated he's talking about material
and physical blessing fulfillment and
victory the kind of blessing and victory
that gives you unlimited promotions
schooling health wealth Etc but at this
point we reach a serious issue where
exactly does the Bible promise all of
these things to all Christians at all
times Well shockingly Joel Osteen
attempts to add biblical support in the
next clip watch this the hurts the
loneliness that's not how your story
ends that's one chapter but you have a
whole book you're still going to meet
someone great you're still going to
laugh again love again dream again God
says your latter days will be better
than your former dance so yes you're
going to get promotion healing and
material success in life because quote
God said your latter days would be
better than your former days in my
research I found at least two potential
passages he might be referring to let's
see if these passages lend any
credibility to his argument the first
potential text is job 8 7. in this verse
a man named bildad is speaking to job
and he says this quote and though your
beginning was small your latter days
will be very great end quote even more
curious than this is the fact that
bildad's statement seems to mirror in
some sense what happened to job later in
the book Job 42 verse 12 says this quote
and the Lord blessed the latter days of
job more than his beginning end quote so
was job given latter days more
materially prosperous than his former
days yes that is undeniable but keep in
mind this does not come close to proving
what Joel implied here because now we're
stuck with a new question where exactly
is the evidence that job's material
success is promised to all Christians in
the same way to the best of my knowledge
the grand majority of the Disciples of
Christ for example could not be
considered rich or successful definitely
not to the extent that job was Paul was
certainly not rich and he wrote more
books in the New Testament than anyone
else so if we take this as a normative
example for the Christian Life that your
Latter day should be much more
materially successful than your former
days why did this not happen into Paul
and again what is the actual biblical
justification for applying God's
blessing to job to all Christians well
to answer that Joel offers absolutely no
compelling evidence for this not a
single scrap and as a result we probably
shouldn't find his statement convincing
now there's also another passage I found
that he could be referring to here haggy
I-29 says quote the latter Glory of this
house shall be greater than the former
says the Lord of hosts end quote this
passage in context is talking about the
future glory of the temple that is the
house being referred to but once again
this can hardly be taken as good solid
proof for all Christians being rich and
successful there's nothing in the
immediate context of this passage that
would indicate This Promise applying to
Christians in the way that Joel Osteen
implies so upon closer examination none
of the biblical support or so-called
support offered by Joel Osteen here is
conclusive in fact it's not even and
compelling he does not meet his burden
of proof or even give a small sliver of
it again his arguments are simply not
convincing if this is what they boil
down to this is a classic Prosperity
teacher strategy you need to be made
aware of this they simply take small
statements out of usually the Old
Testament and then apply them across the
board to Christians in a materialistic
and individual way without any good
evidence or necessary qualifications at
best this is merely accidental at worst
they are intentionally ripping
scriptures out of context to pad their
pockets with more money either way this
simply doesn't pass the biblical smell
test but moving right along Joel
attempts to offer more evidence for his
position watch this he's saying it's
still going to happen it's not too late
the Giants aren't too big the opposition
is not too strong he's in control you
wouldn't be hearing this if there wasn't
something amazing about to happen
new doors are about to open the right
people are about to show up your health
is going to suddenly turn around a shift
in your finances your career where
you're suddenly catapulted where you
never dreamed so Joel says quote you
wouldn't be hearing this if something
amazing wasn't about to happen in your
life this too does not come close to
meeting the burden of proof required to
defend Joel's Grand theological claims
and this is also a classic Prosperity
teacher strategy they effectively say
that you hearing their message is proof
that something great is about to happen
for you but this seems to indicate a
very concerning and dangerous Trend in
their teaching in fact it almost appears
as though they're claiming to be divine
to a certain extent effectively they're
implying that their words are
self-attestingly true look at the logic
here something big is about to happen
for you that's what I'm saying and how
do you know it's true well you know it's
true because because I'm saying it and
again the circle goes round and round
and round but as human beings our words
do not have self-attesting truth that
title only belongs to one being God our
words are true only to the extent that
they affirm God's truth Psalm 119 verse
60 says quote the entirety of your word
is truth and every one of your righteous
judgments endures forever end quote also
Hebrews 6 13 says quote for when God
made a promise to Abraham since he had
no one Greater by whom to swear he swore
by himself you see God doesn't have to
give you an argument in favor of these
things there is no higher argument no
higher authority of Truth or reality
than God himself he couldn't possibly
appeal to anything greater he is the
greatest he is the highest Authority
there is by definition therefore when
God speaks his word is self-attesting
how do we know it's true well because
God said it it must be true but this
does not in France frankly should not
apply to Joel Osteen he does not have
the Divine Right to say my words are
true something great is going to happen
for you and the proof for that lies in
the very fact that I am speaking no
instead the proof should lie in the fact
that God's word confirms his statement
if indeed it does in other words Joel
should be appealing to the highest
Authority God instead he seems to be
appealing to the ultimate authority of
himself and it is very dangerous that
Joel and many other teachers would make
such grandiose statements with no real
Biblical support and with that let's
move along and see the next clip watch
this
now you may be in a silent season as
well you don't see anything improving no
good breaks no open doors your health
family finances just the same you're
about to see a shift God is doing a new
thing the silence was all a part of his
plan the delays closed doors people that
walked away were necessary it was
setting you up for this moment the delay
doesn't mean that God said no it just
wasn't the right time he's saying you're
still going to accomplish that dream now
just for the record as far as I can tell
this view has been popularized recently
by Mike Todd of Transformation Church
whose teaching is very similar to Joel
Osteen here basically the argument goes
something like this you are quote
believing God for something and praying
diligently to receive it but he has not
given it to you the reason then that he
has not given it to you is because if he
gave it to you now at this point in time
you wouldn't be able to handle it for
one reason or another as Joel said in
the clip quote it just wasn't the right
time and here's the response I would
offer as is the case with all false
teaching there is a seed of Truth in
this God May withhold things because it
is not the right time that's biblical
for example in Matthew 16 20 Jesus quote
strictly charged the disciples to tell
no one that he was the Christ end quote
and that's curious why would Jesus want
them to not tell people he was the
Savior isn't that the reason he came to
Earth in the first place but then later
even more curiously the disciples would
be charged in the Great Commission
detailed in Matthew 28 to go tell all
the nations all the peoples about Jesus
being the Christ so we can safely say
then that it was simply not time for
this to happen in Matthew 16. that is
the seed of Truth in this teaching from
Joel Osteen and Mike Todd God does in
fact have his own timing and we should
honor that the problem with their
teaching though lies in this simple fact
Joel acknowledges that God may be
waiting to answer your prayer with a yes
but he does not acknowledge the fact
that God may never give you a yes in
other words in Joel's view when you ask
for something from God God can only
respond with either yes or yes but later
he can never really just say no
permanently to whatever you're asking
for but this view of prayer does not lie
lineup with several passages of
scripture for example David a man after
God's Own Heart pleaded for the life of
his infant son in second Samuel 12 16
and yet by Verse 18 the child died
nonetheless God wasn't waiting for the
right time to say yes to David his
answer was simply no likewise in second
Corinthians chapter 12 Paul pleads with
God to take away his Thorn In the Flesh
yet God would not take it away and to
the best of our knowledge God never took
it away telling Paul his power was made
perfect in his weakness in other words
God's answer can be yes it can be yes
but later and it can also simply be no
the point is that we should be
acknowledging who is actually in charge
who gets to give the answer by the
standard of Joel Osteen and Mike Todd
and other teachers like them it seems to
sound like we are in charge as human
beings God is simply a Yes Man a butler
who has to give us what we want and our
only task is to Faithfully give him our
grocery list of blessings and God will
be sure to bring them back for us now or
later but the idea that he would simply
refuse to get one of the items on our
list well that doesn't occur to teachers
like them and this is a very dangerous
theology to have it's incredibly
man-centered in any case I hope this
video has shown you why I personally
don't think Joel's teaching or
Exposition is very convincing more often
than not he's simply offering platitudes
and colloquial statements based in Old
Testament scriptures that he rips out of
context at the very least he did not
convincingly prove his point using the
Bible as his standard which is the
requirement and that alone should be
enough for us to call this into question
I pray that this has been a blessing to
you and please know that this video
isn't meant as a sinful attack but
rather as a Biblical critique and let's
pray for Joel that he would stop his
false teaching by God's grace and turn
to the truth of God's word thank you so
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