DISTRUSTING MIRACULOUS CLAIMS

 

 

I believe in miracles. I have experienced many, but can we allow ourselves to be influenced by the miraculous claims of the Word of Faith (WoF) and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movements, and should we allow their claims to influence our beliefs? Certainly not! There are demonic miracles and the power of suggestion. Also, an unbiblical understanding of the Scriptures encourages false reports about miracles. The WoF ministers believe that their words have the power to bring about miracles. Therefore, they might falsely claim that they have already been healed, convinced that their false claims will bring about a miracle. Consequently, Joel Osteen had taught:

 

·       It's not enough to just think it, something happens when we speak. You have to prophesy your future. You can personalize yours. But let me give you some generic things that should be on your decree. I am strong. I am healthy. I am in shape. I weigh what I'm supposed to weigh. I am full of energy. I am passionate. I am talented. I am secure. I am valuable. I am confident. I have a good personality. People like me. I am fun to be around. I am happy. I enjoy my life. I am a person of excellence. I am full of integrity. I am successful. I am prosperous. My future is bright. My children are mighty in the land. My legacy will live on to inspire future generations. I run with purpose in every step. I am blessed. I am victorious. https://sermons.love/joel-osteen/81-joel-osteen-your-words-become-your-reality.html

 

According to WoF Minister Osteen, it doesn’t matter if these affirmations are true. Instead, such affirmations will make these claims true:

 

·       “Our words are vital in bringing our dreams to pass. It’s not enough to simply see it by faith or in your imagination. You have to begin speaking words of faith over your life. Your words have enormous creative power. The moment you speak something out, you give birth to it.”  “Just look in the mirror and say ‘I am strong, I am healthy. I’m rising to new levels, I’m excited about my future.’ When you say that, it may not be true. You may not be very healthy today, or maybe you don’t have a lot of things to look forward to, but Scripture tells us in Romans we have to call the things that are not as if they already were.” (Christian Research Journal (CRJ), Hunter)

 

Scripture never gives us the license to play fast-and-loose with the truth. All truth is God’s truth. It belongs to Him, and we are not at liberty to tamper with it. He tells us that He requires truth in the depths of our being:

 

·       Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. (Psalm 51:6)

 

We must speak and think accurately about ourselves:

 

·       For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment... (Romans 12:3)

 

Our Lord wants us to reside in the light. Using our tongues to distort the truth is simply not part of His program. Telling others that we don’t have cancer, when we do, is a refusal to walk in His light. It will also bring disrepute upon the church! Even pious lying will destroy friendship and fellowship if we cannot trust what our brother is telling us! Besides, it coerces everyone to wear this mask of piety.

 

Instead, our tongues must be servants of the light – the truth of God. Therefore, they must always speak the truth, as James had instructed:

 

·       Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)

 

When we use our tongues in a presumptuous manner by claiming that we will get rich through trading or that we will obtain a certain blessing that is not Scripturally guaranteed, we speak evil and “boast in arrogance.” What we say must always conform to the truth. According to James, we are a mere “vapor.” Therefore, we are in no position to make arrogant claims about the future, as one NAR minister had declared: “No one will leave this crusade unchanged!”

 

Osteen and other Word of Faith (WoF) preachers claim that Romans 4:17 gives us the authority to speak things into existence as God had done:

 

·       God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.

 

Indeed, God has the power to speak things into existence. However, there is nothing in this verse to suggest that we are endowed with such power. Instead, James claims that we are as insubstantial as mist. Prosperity preachers also resort to Proverbs 18:21 to prove that we have been given this power:

 

·       The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

 

However, this verse falls far short of affirming that our tongues have the supernatural power to call things into existence. Yes, the tongue does have “the power of life and death,” but this is a psychological, interpersonal power. Our words can build people up or tear them down. We should instruct others in the way of truth not the way of deceit.