Posted on 08/29/2014 8:59:12 PM PDT by JohnKinAK
A recently recorded video is circulating online of Victoria Osteen, wife of megachurch speaker and author Joel Osteen, calling on congregants at Lakewood Church to ‘do good for your own self’ because obedience, the church and worship are not for God as much as for self-happiness.
“I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God—I mean, that’s one way to look at it—we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy,” she declares in the undated 36-second clip with her husband standing by her side and nodding. “That’s the thing that gives Him the greatest joy…”
“So, I want you to know this morning: Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy,” Osteen continues. “When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy. Amen?”
SNIP
Steve Camp, pastor of The Cross Church in Palm City, Florida and former singer/songwriter, told Christian News Network that he viewed the video on Wednesday, and while saddened, he was not surprised at her remarks. He stated that Osteen’s statements were humanistic in nature and antithetical to Scripture.
“It’s the age old sin of idolatry—that it’s not about God, it’s about us,” he explained. “True worship for the humanist is about how we feel at the end of the day and what gives us meaning, as opposed to what gives God glory.”
“When we come to see men happy rather than God glorified, it’s not worship, it’s idolatry,” Camp stated, reading from Psalm 115:1,
(Excerpt) Read more at christiannews.net ...
There are a few verses.....
Psalms 37:4
Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart
.......
I don’t think Christ inferred we had to be miserable existence either....my issue is Osteen fixation on material happiness rather than spiritual
Maybe those Lears made them happy..lol
Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the first and great commandment. A second is like unto it: Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law, and the prophets.
Revelation 3:14-22
Enough crap from these people. God wants us to be good. He says what is good. Do not be deceived.
Horse c—’. Love God with your whole heart and do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
But the vast majority of people do put themselves first. And yet you see what a mess the world is in. The problem is actually the opposite: most of us by nature take care of ourselves first. Putting others first is rare--so rare that when we meet someone who does this, we consider him a saint, or the next thing to it.
I’m not at all a fan of the Olsteens. But I guess I have trouble finding too much fault in this quote. After all, Jesus said:
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” -Mark 2:27
By one interpretation, what she is saying here is that by going to church and worshiping, you are not just obeying arbitrary rules, you are doing what you are made for - that is what will ultimately give you joy and fulfillment in this life and the life to come.
Perhaps that is an overly generous interpretation. One can get into a lot of trouble when one confuses the temporary state of ‘happy’ with the more permanent state of ‘joy’, which is the natural condition of Christians.
While God does seek our welfare, we are not to do good for that reason, which is self worship, but to honor the author of good, God. God is not seeking worship because His ego needs it, as atheist charge, for He needs nothing (Acts 17:25) and is constantly, giving, even to giving that which could not be replaced, sparing not His own Son.. (Rm. 8:32) who gave Himself for me. (Gal. 2:200
Instead, God commands worship, esp. from His covenanted people as it is right and necessary to worship and live for what is alone perfect, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Whatever that is, is our god, at least at that moment, and what we worship orders our life's actions.
And it is what is best for man to worship and thus live for God, for setting your ultimate affection and allegiance upon, or finding your ultimate security in anything created will fail you.
It is not possible for me to disagree more strongly with you on this.
Considering our own needs above those of others is precisely what has gotten the World into the mess it's in today, and it started with Adam & Eve.
Take it as fact, fairy tale or a metaphor, their selfish desire to 'be like God' was the beginning of sin.
> “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”
If I’m not mistaken those are Aleister Crowley’s words from The Satanic Bible which he wrote (probably while high on heroin) aren’t they?
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
2 Timothy 3
While Christian obedience brings happiness of soul, if done in order to be blessed then it i will work against obedience, and will not bring true lasting joy.
Once one's own happiness becomes the motive, and not to please the One who gives us life, breath and all things, sacrificially "spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all," (Romans 8:32) then we will be selective in obedience, and will become more easily tempted to indulge in sins which offer us happiness, since that is out motive.
Instead, while in condescension to man God does appeal to self interest in order to motivate him to salvation and growth, this is not conformity to Christ and His joy, but true obedience is that which is driven by desire to make the One who is perfect happy, and at its highest form is not even motivated by the danger of negative consequences of disobedience.
Motive in obedience is to start and end with God, and like the the flocks of Jacob which conceived after the rods they looked at, so we will be conformed to Christ if He is our supreme object of affect and allegiance, and our desire is to please Him to His glory.
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (John 4:34)
And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. (John 8:29)
We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1)
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2 Timothy 2:4)
Now to do it better and more!
Thelema (/θəˈliːmə/) is a religion based on a philosophical law of the same name, which has been adopted as a central tenet by some religious organizations. The law of Thelema is "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will." The law of Thelema was developed in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley, an English writer and ceremonial magician
"The Thelemic pantheon includes a number of deities, primarily a trinity adapted from ancient Egyptian religion...The philosophy also emphasizes the ritual practice of Magick." "Thelemic magick is a system of physical, mental, and spiritual exercises which practitioners believe are of benefit.[58] Crowley defined magick as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will".. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelema
In any case, even the Christian version, "Love God and do what you will," as well as the Golden Rule, presupposes a foundational moral code which teaches what God wills, and what one should want or not want done unto them. Which for an atheist does not exist in any transcendent supreme form.
And Christianity it's not.
Don't waste your time.
What this article reports is pretty much what you get out of them.
He was a guest speaker at my daughter's church one time.
She said he was all over the place when he *preached*; couldn't hold together a thought for more than a few sentences.
She had no use for it or him.
Mega church pastor ping.
I would say it’s on the verge of going mega but not quite there. Add another 1000 worshippers and the line might be crossed.
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