John MacArthur Calls out Joel Osteen amid Pandemic
Preaching from Ephesians 1:11-14, John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, took a minute to call out Joel Osteen and his rotten book Your Best Life Now taking it to task for the false promise that it presents. MacArthur notes that for For unbelievers, this is their best life. For Christian, this is not our best life, but rather our worse life, because our best life will be in heaven.
Tim Hurd, who does excellent analysis every week and where we pulled the video from, also explains that this is the first time in a long time that the camera person is showing the crowds and congregants, now that California is allowing churches to gather. For many months they had abanded their traditional practice of showing the audience and chose to focus the whole time on MacArthur, so as not to give authorities an idea of who was in their congregation, lest they be subject to fines and punishment.
I was asked this morning if this was my last sermon ever, because it was titled the final blessing. (Laughter) Now I know for some of you that would be the final blessing (Laughter)
It was about a dozen years ago that a popular book came out written by Joel Osteen, the title of the book was your best life now. And it sold about 8 million copies. at the time it’s been 12 years since then and 12 rather dramatic years particularly, the more recent ones.
Such a jarring disturbing shift has taken place in the social order that we have in our country and around the world that I think few people are convinced that this is their best life right now. That would be a hard sell, probably good that the book came out before the current stress began, or it might not have been very popular. In fact there may be a number of those 8 million who would like to get their money back since this didn’t turn out to be what they had hopedWe are now living under dominant deception, dominant lies, hatred, crime anger, selfishness, immorality. A pandemic wickedness that most of all hates the truth and will assault the truth every possible way it can. And that means that the church of Jesus Christ is going to experience things that we haven’t experienced in this country or even in the West ever perhaps. the noble experiment of America have a just and civil society based on biblical morality and firm legal control by government exercising the threat and the reality of punishment to those who violate the law, is essentially over.
Nobody really seems to care to hide any wickedness anymore. Hearts are unmasked while faces are masked. This cannot be our best life! And it’s not going to get better. Evil men grow worse and worse. This is a free fall, not temporary. We’re going down and we’re going down under the sheer force of unbelief and sin unprotected and unrestrained by the judgment of God.
This is not our best life, not by any means to all who are in Christ, our best life is yet to come our best life is the glory of heaven.
About Author
Poor guy MacArthur, down to his last 15 million USD net worth, $500,000 annual salary from his Grace to You media ministry, pastor’s salary in excess of how will he survive?
“According to the report published by independent journalist Julie Roys, financial statements and tax forms showed that his family run a religious media and educational empire with more than $130 million in assets generates more than $70 million a year in tax-free revenue. It was also reported that MacArthur, his family, and related companies have been paid more than $12.8 million from ministry and donor funds. Additionally, he also owns three luxury homes worth millions.”
AMEN rev enue!, john macarthur is in no position to be calling anybody out with his rampant idolatry and love of money. HOW can he condemn rich prosperity gospel preachers when he is LIVING the prosperity Gospel and its john macarthur who has his ” best life now”. the idea that this super rich multi millionaire preacher is being ” persecuted for the gospel” is utterly laughable. john macarthur will go straight to hell UNLESS he repents of his love of money and idolatry. I pray he WILL repent and end the stumbling block to the gospel he has created by his idolatry. can you imagine the wittness for christ if John macarthur confessed his sin and sold 2 of his 3 houses and agreed to ONE salary of say $60,000 a year and gave $13 million of his $14 million to the poor along with his sale of 2 houses?? such actions would bring glory and honor to the church and the reformed movement. no one is asking macarthur to take a vow of poverty, just to repent of his love of money idolatry.
Wow! All you mention are the deceptive lies about the money he makes & houses etc. That must be your god. So deceived & blinded. I would be very afraid going after a man of God who proclaims the gospel. Dr. John MacArthur is a man who preaches the Word of God faithfully. It is amazing to me to see the lies, bitterness & attacks he faces for bringing God’s truth to people. I guess I should not be surprised as Satan & his demons attack those who preach the gospel boldly so that souls will be saved from hell. In the end, all will be revealed who are the sheep & who are the goats. Which one are you?
The old touch not god’s anointed trick.
preaching the gospel and being sound doctrinally is NOT the sign of a true man of God IF they are continueing in sin while they do it, Jesus said “MANY” would call him LORD LORD and will be told ” depart from me you who WORK INIQUITY….they did lots of wonderful Godly thing but at the same time continued in sin. idolatry and loving money is just as much a sin as is homosexuality and abortion. a CULT is where a preacher is above critisism or calling out of thier sin.
Rev Enue. What a name. Attacks John MacArthur, but not Joel Osteen.
Markus,
You are absolutely correct lolz. Nowhere in the article stated John preaches prosperity, in fact; no one can find a single sermon of John preaching prosperity i.e telling folks if you sow a seed of $1,000 dollars then you will reap a harvest greater than. The two fellows are barking up the wrong tree. Preachers are suppose to get paid while preaching sound biblical doctrine. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, states “in the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” Paul choice not to use that right as the next verse in 1 Corinthians 9 states. The keyword is “proclaim the gospel” which we agree John does. The smiling preacher of prosperity does not. He like others misuse Roman 4:17 and claim words can alter reality, but anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that is a false teaching. And proves Joel as well as other students are false prophets/ teachers. Soli Deo Gloria!
I should have a copyright on the name, been using it for 20 years, thanks.
Should have copyrighted the name, been using it for 20 years, thanks.
If only the Bible promised Heaven. It does not. It says the Kingdom will be coming to the Earth.
It is amazing how the focus of wealth is used to determine the faithfulness of John Mac Arthur. Abraham in his day was very wealth, do you question whether his wealth turned him into an idolater or was he hypocritical in his teaching ? King David had wealth, his son King Solomon was the wealthiest and God used all of them mightily. What John Mac Arthur has done, and is doing is bringing clear understanding to the word of God and as a result, some are convicted by the word and find themselves in a posture that fit the truth of his teaching. Owning things does not make you a hypercritic; manipulating the gospel to obtain these material things do.
If you listen to his message you will find that John Mac Arthur has not ask you to give to a special cause or charity or sow a seed into his ministry today for a harvest tomorrow. He is trying to get you to become a disciple by studying and understanding the word as it is written.
And he makes available to you powerful tools to study. NOTHING in his sermons suggest that you should give to him. But what he is giving is “Grace to You” through God’s word.
Anyone can become a Christian by confessing the Lord Jesus and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. But how many really want to be a disciple; devote their lives to the study of God’s word and become a doer of the word? When a person like that emerges in a world that hated Jesus, they (the world) will hate him or her too.
Osteen is focused on you, Mac Arthur is focused on GOD!