See also:

MEGACHURCH PASTORS JOEL OSTEEN AND T.D. JAKES UNITE AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

“WE CAN WORK IT OUT:” IS JAMES MACDONALD QUALIFIED TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION?

“WE CAN WORK IT OUT:” IS STEVEN FURTICK QUALIFIED TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION?

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Unfortunately, as apostasy spreads like an Oklahoma wild fire, with timid leaders scared of their own spiritual shadows, we now find ourselves in a nauseating New Downgrade No-Controversy.

This you can see for yourself e.g. in Word Faith Heretic Cindy Trimm Receives Award From Billy Graham Evangelistic Association or Oneness Pentecostal T.D. Jakes Goes Mainstream Evangelical or Steven Furtick Bringin’ On Word Faith And The Pastrixes.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave you know that Gospel Coalition Council member James MacDonald has invited notorious blab it, grab it Word Faith modalist T.D. Jakes into his Elephant Room 2. ER’s goal is to form a new unified tribe as I recently showed you in Dung Droppings From The Elephant Room: Greg Laurie.

It’s important for you to understand that the first ER served to create a strong bond with Seeker Driven, i.e. man-centered, Prophet-Führer Steven Furtick and that would help launch this false teacher further into the mainstream of the church visible. So we have solid reason to believe the same will happen with T.D. Jakes.

Apparently, Word Faith heretic Joel Osteen will be the next prosperity preacher ushered into the mainstream of spiritually spineless evanjellyfish. Consider that Furtick has already proclaimed Joel Osteen Is A Great Man Of God and Megachurch Pastors Joel Osteen And T.D. Jakes Unite And Why You Should Care.

With this in mind I point you to Joel Osteen: Mitt Romney Is a ‘Believer in Christ Like Me’ by Christian Post Reporter Ravelle Mohammed who tells us:

Joel Osteen, pastor of America’s fastest growing megachurch, has reiterated his opinion that GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is a “believer in Christ like me” and that the former Massachusetts governor’s confession of Jesus as the Son of God is “enough” for him.
(Online source)

We originally looked at this in Joel Osteen: Mitt Romney And Mormons Are Christians the first time Romney ran for president. December 23rd 2007 Osteen appeared on FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace where Wallace asked the prosperity preacher, who’s apparently living large in a 10.5 million dollar mansion[1], about Romney’s Mormonism:

WALLACE: And what about Mitt Romney? And I’ve got to ask you the question, because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a Mormon a true Christian?

OSTEEN: Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that’s what I believe, so, you know, I’m not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are.

And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don’t think he would — anything would stop me from voting for him if that’s what I felt like.

WALLACE: So, for instance, when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, and the golden tablets in upstate New York, and God assumes the shape of a man, do you not get hung up in those theological issues?

OSTEEN: I probably don’t get hung up in them because I haven’t really studied them or thought about them. And you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don’t know.
I certainly can’t say that I agree with everything that I’ve heard about it, but from what I’ve heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me that’s a common bond. (Online source, emphasis mine)

So we’re not surprised that Joel Osteen hold this view; after-all, James Robison Says Jesus Is In The Heart Of Mormon Glenn Beck. This is what happens when we appeal to our fickle feelings and do theology by liver shiver. What’s surprising is new evangelical darling Prophet-Führer Steven Furtick is seemingly so dense spiritually he thinks Joel Osteen’s a solid Christian.

With his wife as pastrix and his Robert Schuelleresque pamblum, he certainly is not. Be sure we’re not caught chasing down rabbit trails. The issue is not whether Mitt Romney is a moral man; the issue is that he like Glenn Beck are faithful slaves to the non-Christian cult of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). Osteen has “a common bond” with them?

Romney’s “confession of Jesus as the Son of God” is “enough” for Osteen? As a practicing Mormon, here’s the nonexistent “Jesus” in whom Romney believes:

I am the Jesus Christ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). My original Church went through a total apostasy and I took the Priesthood from the earth. In 1820 by one account—as there are nine different accounts—I appeared, with Heavenly Father, to Joseph Smith who would be the prophet to restore my Church. I told him that everything the historic Christian Church had taught was an abomination in my sight and that all who believe in those doctrines are corrupt. I am the spirit child who was born first to Heavenly Father, whose name is Elohim, and who has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.

Elohim was once a man who lived on the planet Kolob. He died and was resurrected by his father—after earning his way to godhood—as did his father before him, and so on back. Heavenly Father pro-created all of us through sexual relations with one of his celestial wives, and we are all his spirit children. I was born first; next was Lucifer, and then on down the line comes you. When the head of the gods—of which there are countless numbers—called a council of the gods I came up with a better plan of salvation than my brother Lucifer did. So I became the Savior for Heavenly Father’s children on earth. I was conceived for my earthly mission when Heavenly Father came down and had sexual relations with his daughter the Virgin Mary.

I sweat great drops of blood for your sins in the Garden of Gethsemane. Then on the cross I finished my work; and because of that atonement, all persons on this earth are going to be resurrected. And so now you have a chance to earn your way to becoming a god, just like me, by working the Gospel Principles taught by the Mormon Church. But be careful because my blood was not sufficient to cover some of your sins as my prophet Brigham Young once taught for me. He said, “There’s not a man or woman who violates the covenant made with their God that will not be required to pay that debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out. [And y]our own blood must atone for it.”

From the official website of the Mormon Church you’ll see they actually teach that Satan is quite literally the younger brother of Jesus:

Jess L. Christensen, Institute of Religion director at Utah State University, Logan, Utah. On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising to some—especially to those unacquainted with latter-day revelations. But both the scriptures and the prophets affirm that Jesus Christ and Lucifer are indeed offspring of our Heavenly Father and, therefore, spirit brothers.
(Online source, italics and underlining mine)

No, a great man of God will hate that doctrine from the pit of hell and preach the Gospel to Mitt Romney.

___________________________________________________________________________
End notes:

[1] http://bit.ly/vL6yY5, accessed 1/19/12.

See also:

STEVEN FURTICK, JAMES MACDONALD, AND JOEL OSTEEN

MEGACHURCH PASTORS JOEL OSTEEN AND T.D. JAKES UNITE AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

AS SHE VISITS HIS CHURCH JOEL OSTEEN CELEBRATES WHAT GOD IS DOING WITH OPRAH WINFREY

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See also:

MEGACHURCH PASTORS JOEL OSTEEN AND T.D. JAKES UNITE AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

STEVEN FURTICK, JAMES MACDONALD, AND JOEL OSTEEN

JAMES ROBISON AND RICK WARREN WORKING TO REVERSE THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

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Unfortunately, as apostasy spreads like an Oklahoma wild fire, with timid leaders scared of their own spiritual shadows, we now find ourselves in a nauseating New Downgrade No-Controversy.

This you can see for yourself e.g. in Word Faith Heretic Cindy Trimm Receives Award From Billy Graham Evangelistic Association or Oneness Pentecostal T.D. Jakes Goes Mainstream Evangelical or Steven Furtick Bringin’ On Word Faith And The Pastrixes.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave you know that Gospel Coalition Council member James MacDonald has invited notorious blab it, grab it Word Faith modalist T.D. Jakes into his Elephant Room 2. ER’s goal is to form a new unified tribe as I just showed you in Dung Droppings From The Elephant Room: Greg Laurie.

It’s important for you to understand that the first ER served to create a strong bond with Seeker Driven, i.e. man-centered, Prophet-Pastor Steven Furtick and that helped to launch this false teacher further into the mainstream of the church visible. So we have solid reason to believe the same will happen with T.D. Jakes.

We already see it beginning as we consider the following endorsement of the heretical Jakes from James MacDonald below:

(Online source)

You may know that Jakes is also scheduled to preach for MacDonald’s fellow ER tribe member Steven Furtick at a conference where even MacDonald himself is set to speak at as well:

(Online source)

Now it’s no secret that Prophet-Pastor Furtick is also a fan of Word Faith properity preacher Joel Osteen. So this sheds much light upon When Rivalry Looks Ridiculous, a recent post where Furtick muses:

(Online source)

O that sounds so pious; I can almost hear the applause. But what P-P Furtick neglects to point out is that God has told us why unbelievers, as we also once were, don’t care about what it is Christians are speaking of: S-I-N. And further:

as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one”…

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 
(Romans 3:10-12; 1 Corinthians 2:14)

When’s the last time you heard any of these people-pleasers I’m discussing here preach that? Answer: Never. You want to know why; I’ll tell you. It’s because they’re afraid to; instead of trusting God to empower their preaching, they’re relying upon their own cleverness. And so they resort to the use of man’s wisdom.

To quote some pop philosophers from Canada, It’s All Been Done; as the Lord has revealed to us:

 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:18-21)

Since this isn’t the subject of this piece, it’s suffice to say the Bible still says — For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20). In closing this, for now, note again something Steven Furtick said above and then I’ll show how close to the mainstream Word Faith heretics have become.

Furtick plays the typical SD, now called “attractional,” theme song disparaging doctrine:

We’re busy drawing battle lines within our bubble:
“Are you Calvinist or Arminian?”
“Are you missional or attractional?”
“Are you a Cessationist or a Continuationist?”
“Are you seeker sensitive or (insert opposite of seeker sensitive)”
“Are you blah blah blah or yada yada yada?” (Online source)

Is Steven Furtick really so ignorant of church history that he doesn’t know people within their Protestant “bubble” paid with their very lives so he could have in his hands a Bible from which to twist his quasi-Word Faith mythology? Does he seriously think that is merely blah, blah, blah, or yada, yada, yada?

How about Word Faith heretics like Joel Osteen who (at best) bless, and (at worst) also believe, the warped works of Kenneth Copeland who teaches that faith is a literal substance that creates through our spoken words and that whenever we see Jesus say, “I AM,” we should as well because He was the first born again man.

Should we just ignore that blasphemy because Copeland has a big following? How about T.D. Jakes, who in addition to denying the very nature of the God he professes to serve, is also firmly in the same Word Faith camp as Osteen? Witness the further bonding of this new tribe now in Pastors of Texas Mega-churches unite.

It contains this report below from KTRK-TV ABC 13 in Houston, TX. On his November 28th F4F program The Osteen / T.D. Jakes Wolf Pack Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough said, “It sounds like they’re talking about two Heads of State.” As you watch it, I think you’ll agree:

Just a couple of quick notes. Here we see:

Jakes called Osteen, hoping to get Lakewood to host a men’s conference.  A quick tour turned into an all-day session… Their new bond led Osteen to invite Jakes to preach. (Online source)

The Lord asks us the key rhetorical question — “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” (Amos 3:3) The answer is: No, they do not. Like heretic attracts like heresies. What’s a sad indictment upon the evangelical community is they don’t see it, but the secular media does:

they have a lot in common.  Both pastor mega churches, and preach to millions more on TV.  And both have made millions outside of the pulpit from best-selling books and even movies. (Online source)

Indeed; and as you’ll hear master snake oil salesman T.D. Jakes himself say below, “Jesus is the product.”

See also:

T.D. JAKES AND SUPPORT FOR APPRISING MINISTRIES

STEVEN FURTICK, JAMES MACDONALD, AND JOEL OSTEEN

THE ELEPHANT ROOM, T.D. JAKES & CINDY TRIMM

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Through the promotion of people like Seeker Driven Prophet-Führer Steven Furtick, who calls Osteen a great man of God, the “blab it and grab it” prosperity preacher continues to gain ground even in the mainstream of the church visible.

However, as I pointed out in The Joel Osteen Church Network, if Joel Osteen is a great man of God, then Mormon founder Joseph Smith was actually a Christian prophet. And after-all, Osteen’s already said Mitt Romney And Mormons Are Christians.

Next we’ll probably hear Osteen pronounce Oprah Winfrey, a known proponent and practitioner of the New Spirituality aka New Age, a Christian as well. This brings me to Joel Osteen Welcomes Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry to Lakewood Church where Christian Post contributor Allison Summers tells us:

Television mogul Oprah Winfrey and stage and movie producer Tyler Perry created a stir with a surprise appearance at Pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, Sunday for an 11 a.m. service.

“Awesome to have you!” said Osteen, announcing their presence and welcoming the celebrities to the church. “We’re so honored to have you both here, and we just celebrate and pray for you guys with what God is doing in your lives.” (Online source)

Though Winfrey professes to be a Christian, as I showed you in Oprah Winfrey Speaking As A Christian, her testimony and teaching simply doesn’t bear that out. We need to be praying for her salvation because she has no relationship with God; she is currently an outspoken enemy of the Cross of Christ (cf. Philippians 3:18).

Summers then informs us that:

Winfrey was in the area to interview Osteen as part of her new series “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” which is set to premiere in January on her channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network.

She reportedly joined Osteen and his wife, Victoria Osteen, for lunch at their home and discussed topics with them such as power, marriage and faith, according to The Houston Chronicle. (Online source)

In such a setting Osteen usually manages to open his mouth to exchange feet. Summers says he:

has been known to spark controversy in the Christian community on his views about certain fundamental beliefs of the church, such as homosexuality. (Online source)

Controversy is rather an over-statement; apostatizing evanjellyfish is pretty much anything goes. From monitoring Internet intel along its younger sectors, the deviant pro-homosexual lobby’s got them about to cave on homosexuality; the same as it once did the dead mainline denominations now being ripped apart by it.

You need to understand that Joel Osteen’s wishy-washy non-views are actually becoming an evangelical norm.

See also:

JOEL OSTEEN: SMILE WHEN YOU LIE

STEVEN FURTICK, JAMES MACDONALD, AND JOEL OSTEEN

T.D. JAKES: JESUS IS THE PRODUCT

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Christian Post reminds us today that Word Faith “blab it and grab it” prosperity heretic Joel Osteen continues to gain ground in the mainstream of the church visible.

We’ve already seen evangelical darling, and returning Elephant Room vet, Prophet Pastor Steven Furtick demonstrate just how far off his discernment is in Steven Furtick, James MacDonald, And Joel Osteen.

Right; if Joel Osteen is a great man of God, then Mormon founder Joseph Smith was actually a Christian prophet. Well after-all, Osteen’s already said Mitt Romney And Mormons Are Christians.

CP contributor Mark Hensch tells us:

Joel Osteen, the pastor of Houston’s Lakewood Church, hopes his fame will put a face on the nation’s Christian community. The New York Times bestselling author is leading Lakewood’s Champions Network, a national network that helps Christians find churches in their area.

“I feel like God said ‘Joel, go connect with other pastors and get people into good, Bible-based churches,’” he said Monday at a Champions Network meeting in Washington, D.C. “I’m trying to throw a wide net of hope and catch people flipping through the channels unaware of Christ.” (Online source)

No, God didn’t tell this to Joel Osteen. Before Osteen could get people “into good, Bible-based churches” he’d have to first know what one is. We certainly don’t see it with his Lakewood Church.

As a matter of fact, today special AM correspondent Erin Benziger gives us more reason to reject Joel Osteen as a false teacher in her post  “I believe that [Mormons] are Christians,” Mr. Osteen said…

These words you’re see and hear below are not those of a genuine Christian:

“I believe that [Mormons] are Christians,” Mr. Osteen said. “I don’t know if it’s the purest form of Christianity, like I grew up with. But you know what, I know Mormons. I hear Mitt Romney — and I’ve never met him — but I hear him say, ‘I believe Jesus is the son of God,’ ‘I believe he’s my savior,’ and that’s one of the core issues.

“I’m sure there are other issues that we don’t agree on. But you know, I can say that the Baptists and the Methodists and the Catholics don’t all agree on everything. So that would be my take on it.” (Online Source)

See also:

ED YOUNG, JR PAYS HOMAGE TO JOEL OSTEEN

JOEL OSTEEN: SMILE WHEN YOU LIE

JOEL OSTEEN: APPRISING HIS WORD FAITH TEACHINGS

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See also:

JOEL OSTEEN: SMILE WHEN YOU LIE

ROB BELL DEFENDING LOVE WINS MYTHOLOGY

APPRISING MINISTRIES: ROB BELL RESOURCES

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HT: Email Brigade

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The PyroManiacs devote some space each weekend to highlights from The Spurgeon Archive. The following excerpt is from “Under Constraint,” a sermon preached Sunday morning 28 April 1878 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London:

I have not much patience with a certain class of Christians nowadays who will hear anybody preach so long as they can say, “He is very clever, a fine preacher, a man of genius, a born orator.” Is cleverness to make false doctrine palatable? Why, sirs, to me the ability of a man who preaches error is my sorrow rather than my admiration.

I cannot endure false doctrine, however neatly it may be put before me. Would you have me eat poisoned meat because the dish is of the choicest ware? It makes me indignant when I hear another gospel put before the people with enticing words, by men who would fain make merchandise of souls; and I marvel at those who have soft words for such deceivers.

“That is your bigotry,” says one. Call it so if you like, but it is the bigotry of the loving John who wrote—”If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

I would to God we had all more of such decision, for the lack of it is depriving our religious life of its backbone and substituting for honest manliness a mass of the tremulous jelly of mutual flattery.

He who does not hate the false does not love the true; and he to whom it is all the same whether it be God’s word or man’s, is himself unrenewed at heart. Oh, if some of you were like fathers you would not have tolerated in this age the wagon loads of trash under which the gospel has been of late buried by ministers of your own choosing. You would have hurled out of your pulpits the men who are enemies to the fundamental doctrines of your churches, and yet are crafty enough to become your pastors and undermine the faith of a fickle and superficial generation.

These men steal the pulpits of once orthodox churches, because otherwise they would have none at all. Their powerless theology cannot of itself arouse sufficient enthusiasm to enable them to build a mousetrap at the expense of their admirers, and therefore they profane the houses which your sires have built for the preaching of the gospel, and turn aside the organisations of once orthodox communities to help their infidelity: I call it by that name in plain English, for “modern thought” is not one whit better, and of the two evils I give infidelity the palm, for it is less deceptive.

I beg the Lord to give back to the churches such a love to his truth that they may discern the spirits, and cast out those which are not of God… (Online source)

Charles Spurgeon

You can read the rest of this sermon excerpt and join in the discussion right here.

See also:

DOUG PAGITT, JOHN PIPER, AND KARMA KICK-BACK

N.T. WRIGHT SPEAKING AT REDEEMER NYC OF TIM KELLER

JIM WALLIS AND SOJOURNERS WHINE ABOUT CIVILITY FOR THOSE HIJACKING CHRISTIANITY

JESUS, RECONSIDERED: BRIAN MCLAREN AND AL MOHLER ON NPR

BRIAN MCLAREN AND HIS NEW EMERGING PROGRESSIVE THEOLOGY

“CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE” BY RICHARD FOSTER AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THEOLOGICAL ERROR 

9 MARKS: INTERVARSITY PRESS SEEMS ADRIFT

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And in addition, Jakes will also be a featured speaker for Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Church at The Global Leadership Summit 2010 coming up this August 5-6.

 Below is an MSNBC expose concerning the companies ministries led by Word Faith millionaire moguls T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen. After-all, as Jakes himself says at the beginning of the piece: “I think that Jesus is the product.” 

See also:

KEEPING YOU APPRISED OF: T.D. JAKES ON THE TRINITY

T.D. JAKES AND ONENESS PENTECOSTALISM (AKA MODALISM)

ED YOUNG, JR PAYS HOMAGE TO JOEL OSTEEN

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