Oprah Winfrey speaks at 9 AM today in Dallas as part of T. D. Jakes’ “Megafest.” Joel and Victoria Osteen, pastors of Lakewood Church in Houston, will speak tomorrow afternoon. More than 100,000 people will attend the three-day conference, which is expected to bring in $41 million to the city. Bishop Jakes launched MegaFest in Atlanta 11 years ago; it drew 560,000 people and made an economic impact of $125 million. The event was held in Atlanta in 2005 and 2006, and in South Africa in 2008.
Bishop Jakes, Pastor Osteen, and Oprah Winfrey have all been linked to the “prosperity gospel.” New York Times columnist Ross Douthat includes the “God-within” theology of Winfrey and what he calls the “pray and grow rich” theology of Osteen in hisBad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. He accuses Osteen of “the refashioning of Christianity to suit an age of abundance . . . in a marriage of God and mammon.”
Is his charge fair? Are Jakes, Osteen and Winfrey “prosperity preachers”?
In a 2005 letter to his congregation, Osteen wrote: “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us.” His statement has been quoted widely: “If Jesus were here today, he wouldn’t be riding around on a donkey. He’d be taking a plane.” Winfrey’s commencement address at Stanford included the line, “Trust your heart and success will come to you.” One of T. D. Jakes’ bestselling books grew out of a famous sermon he preached called “Positioning Yourself For Prosperity.”
At the same time, each has nuanced his or her position in interviews. Osteen told a reporter, “I have taught many times about trials, suffering, being your best when your prayers aren’t being answered.” Winfrey told the Stanford graduates, “having a lot of money does not automatically make you a successful person. What you want is money and meaning. You want your work to be meaningful.” And Jakes says that “prosperity” for him involves spiritual wealth and having a good family life, not just money.
My question today isn’t so much about the theological beliefs of Jakes, Osteen and Winfrey. Rather, it’s about the prosperity gospel they are often accused of advancing. Why do you think this “gospel” is so popular today? Why do 61 percent of Americans believe that God wants people to be prosperous? Jesus was clear: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). How can we help our materialistic culture accept his invitation?
Related:
Remember: Joel Osteen Attacks the Apostles
Credit to You tube
Categories: Christian misconceptions, false prophet
John MacArthur Has Died – But His Deeply Troubled Past Still Follows Him 
Thought for Today 05/20/2021: Meet the God of Second Chances 
False Prophets, False Doctrine & Guarding Your Heart Wisely 
Demons and Unclean Spirits Know the Truth More so Than People do 
I Am Not Ashamed Of The Gospel Of Christ! 
Reblogged this on Newjerusalemcoming.
LikeLike
Jesus will answer Oprah, Tolley, and others:
John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 21:6
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 11:25
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[a] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Mattgew 16:13-20Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Matthew 28:20
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
“Case Closed”
Note: If any theologian, celebrity,false prophet, teacher, preacher, unbeliever, those who claim to Christian but bare no fruit; have a problem with the very words of Jesus(The Son of God) and lead of the Holy Spirit: I ask you, have you ever thought, “What if I am wrong in my line of thinking in regards to salvation?” What do you think will happen to you when Judgement Day comes and you stand before the ONLY True God, “YHWH”?
Answer:
1 John 2:22
Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.
Also: http://www.openbible.info/topics/the_judgement_day
The wisdom, knowledge and understanding ALL belong to God and rightfully so! Amen.
LikeLike
You have spoken the absolute truth through the scripture! Universalism is leading the sheep right off the cliff. Thanks sister.
LikeLike
It sad this is occurring.
LikeLike