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If OPRAH Says It Then I Believe It!
February 21, 2007
What woman doesn’t love Oprah? She’s gained weight and lost it. She’s so articulate and has such an engaging smile. She’s a minority but made it big time. She’s so nice and for real on her nationally famous show. She tells women how to overcome problems caused by their husbands. She gives away huge prizes to everyone on her show regularly. And NOW, she is offering us “The Secret!”

Men, shepherds and flock, you need to be aware that the charismatic Oprah is helping New Age (old Devil—read about his original sin; read about the Tower of Babel) invade the lexicon of the church. Lexicon first; liturgy and beliefs next.

Before I explain how Oprah (surely in gross ignorance versus rebellion from a Christian upbringing!) is assisting Satan in the vehicle to usher in the anti-Christ—the creeping of the New Age into the evangelical church—let me say that any time someone announces that they have the “secret” to reaching God, we should all have alarms, warning bells, and alert whistles screaming in our heads! The way to God is NOT a secret and never has been. He has clearly outlined the path in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. For those who “have ears to hear.” In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” And again in I Timothy 2:5, the Bible says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Back to Oprah. She is merely the most visible mouthpiece of the new New Age. And you’ll never hear it called that on her show! New Agers are too slick now. And all the guest speakers on her show that talk about spirituality, and energy, and exploring our beliefs and being on a journey are all so good-looking, successful, articulate and just downright nice! Just like Oprah. And they sound so “Christian” too…just like Robert Schuller, and Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and Bruce Wilkinson.

But let’s interpret some of the words they use. The main word that New Agers love to say is “spiritual.” This word has crept into the church. I hear it sermons preached in my church and read it in books I can get from a Christian book store. For example, instead of describing someone as being genuinely Christian, we now use the phrase “genuinely spiritual.” Now the pastor doing the preaching at my church is referring to a Christian. But, do the baby Christians that listen to him AND to Oprah understand that there’s a difference? Even worse, does the sinner that walked into the church for the first time, and hears my pastor refer to Christians as “genuinely spiritual,” know that he is talking about something entirely different than when Oprah uses the exact same phrase (and she does regularly on her highly-watched show)??? I think not in either case.

That causes me to ask two questions: 1) where did this influence for word substitution come from if most senior leaders recognize that Oprah is not a Christian, and 2) why are we allowing this confusion to enter into the church when Jesus prophesied in Mark 13:22 that “false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.” The “elect” is us folks! New Agers love signs and wonders as we’ll see with one of their other favorite words: energy.

The concept of New Age “energy” is not new. Actually, the very old religion of Hinduism revolves around this very concept of a universal energy that we can all tap into. And the energy has a good and bad side. Now why does that sound familiar? Ah, Hinduism was brought up to date by the very recent and extremely popular movie series called “Star Wars.” See Luke Skywalker fighting off the tiny laser shooting robot ball without the aid of sight, by clearing his mind and locking into “the force.” And “the force” had a good side and a dark side but it was all one thing. And Christians flocked to all six movies just like the sinners did. I did myself. I hear Christians referring to church services as having or not having great energy. Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” has multiple references to “force” including indirect references in the very title itself—that the Christian life should be “driven.” And if we’re all driven to accomplish the same purpose, such as Rick Warren’s global P.E.A.C.E plan, shouldn’t we all finally be safe?

Another New Age term is “safe.” The New Age Messiah, who calls himself Maitreya, has a theme in his messages of making the world safe for all faiths. In language more closely tied to his sponsor (the father of lies), he reveals what this really means: that when he takes over the world with his twelve masters of wisdom (one of whom is named “Master Jesus” just like the title given to Jesus Christ in the latest paraphrase bible called “The Message”), they will make the world safe by ridding it of all exclusive religions. Exclusive religions contend that they are the only way to God. Shepherds take heed; this is a thinly veiled reference to Christianity. Sounds rather anti-Christ and one-world government-ish doesn’t it?

I could go on and on with other terms like being “pre-Christian” and “exploring” and “journey.” These terms all have direct ties to New Age propaganda. How have they made their way into the church? And why do we insist on using them when they’re only going to “grease the skids” for the anti-Christ? I contend that we need to quit reading anything and everything in a Christian book store without having the Bible open right next to those books. All that glitters is not gold. Today, all that is labeled Christian is not.

Dear shepherds, we need to awaken our flocks. We need to return to the old saying, “The Bible says it, I believe it and that settles it.” Our lack of discernment is so pervasive in the Assemblies of God it has invaded the churches of the headquarters city, the national A/G university and our theological seminary at the highest levels. We need to repent of our carnality and cavalier attitude towards God’s Holy Word. We need to repent of placing pastors of big churches on our mantle of idols. I also contend that it is a sin to spend more time reading leadership books—“Christian” or secular—than it is to read God’s Word. I say it is a sin to quote leadership authors from the pulpit more often than we quote Scripture. No, the sin is not failing to count quotes; rather, it is the idea that a preacher can better get his wisdom for leading his flock from sinful, mortal man than an eternal, righteous God.

For the Gospel’s Sake,

Brother Mike

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