..." or so says Rick Warren. However, Rick is notorious for just making things up... pulling scripture out of context in an instant.... so that it works in his favor. He uses it to manipulate people.... one minute they are hearing the word of God... then....
There is an old adage,
a quote of Abraham Lincoln, actually, that says, "you can't fool all the people, all the time." It's true, but apparently you can fool some. Slight of hand is what magicians practice, but " change agents" use slight of tongue. Rick Warren, a self proclaimed change agent has the techniques down quite well. Watch and listen as he changes Christianity... right before your ears
"... because in the Bible, anytime God wanted to use somebody, he had them get ready first....he had them prepare first."
-Rick Warren, preaching a sermon at Saddleback Church, Getting Ready To be Used By God with Rick Warren, You-Tube, June 10th, 2015
It sounds reasonable to think that one must make preparations.
In fact there are likely some good examples in the bible, but is it true that
God always does this? Rick indicates that God does
this "anytime" he wants to use somebody?
Rick suggests that God never deviates from this methodology. Rick has God figured out... completrly. He knows exscly how god does it all.... never mind that his introducing the concept like this is really so that he can then give us the five-step, no fail, preparation technique of God, which will now not only be introduced, but implemented by, yours truly.. Pastor Rick.
Rick's use of such a superlative as "anytime" is suspicious.
That is because, God, (being a living, personable, omniscient and
omnipotent God, doesn't need to conform to the use of some "formula"
in order to work in the lives of mankind.
Being God... he can use anything and anyone, even a donkey.
More importantly, God is known for being the one to do the preparations...
It's his plan...not our own. Even our good works are prepared for us by God.
And when it comes to his own people, the church,
(presumably this is who, Rick is addressing, )
God doesn't simply "use" people. Rather he makes them his own family. They become his permanent possession. not just something he "uses."
God makes resides in and works in and through those who belong to him.
In talking this way about being "used" by God, Rick sure is being tricky!
Those who have the desire to be "used" will stand out from those who don't, and visa versa. (And keep in mind... not participating in Rick's program is like saying you don't love God.. after all you are not even willing to be "used" by him. Only a special few will love God enough to let him "use" them. (.. and therefore listen to Rick. )
Rick continues:
"This theme of being prepared so God can use you, so God can bless you, is all through the Bible. Jesus tells a number of stories about it. One of them is in Luke Chapter 12, where he talks about the importance of being "ready" for when he comes back."
-Rick Warren, preaching a sermon at Saddleback Church, Getting Ready To be Used By God with Rick Warren, You-Tube, June 10th, 2015
Then after reading Jesus' very words from this gospel of Luke, in the Bible, Rick asks the audience...
"How do I do that? How do I get ready for the blessing of God in my life? "
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
This theme suddenly changed from being "used" by
God into me getting something from God....
which is now called getting a blessing.
"How do I be all that I was meant to be? "
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
This theme of getting a blessing suddenly changes from getting a blessing..
to me, being the greatest me I can be,
Who doesn't like the promise of a fulfilled potential?
"Greatness" is just waiting for me!
(But wait... there's more.Rick says:
"How do I get ready to experience the power of God and be used by God in ways I have never imagined before?"
Then, mysteriously, while one tries to remember that
this is all supposed to be about Jesus coming back... and what
he said as recorded in Luke Chapter 12...
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
This theme too suddenly changes... It has become a promise that I will experience the power of God.... in ways I never imagined!!
Wow. Rick's question to his hearers after reading the passage in Luke's gospel about the return of Jesus is not "How do I get ready for the return of Jesus Christ.?" No, under Rick's leadership it
becomes something quite different... more focused on me, the hearer, than on Jesus' return. After reading this passage, and getting a couple of PRESTO CHANGE-O!s, I get to prepare for a blessed life and reaching my full potential but of course it comes with a catch. It only comes if.....
... if I do everything Rick Warren outlines for me to do.
What happened to the gospel?
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
Slick Rick does a slick and tricky switcher-roo. Some notice this,
others don't.... because, as Abe once said,You cannot fool l
all of the people all of the time. Apparently, if you are consistent... and if you are good at telling people what they want to hear... some become putty in your hands.
So... How does one "get ready to experience the power of God and be used by God"in ways they have never imagined before? It's simple....
Rick's answer: "You do five things."
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
Gone is a simple message of faith in the one God sent into the world to save humanity from sin and death. Gone is the concept of not being saved by works, but by the work done on the cross at Calvary. Rick is here to give you a list of things you MUST do... if you want to fullfill your purpose and experience the POWER of God.
Without warning, gifts and blessing from God must be earned.
You must... you must..... you must....
you must.... you must.... do these five things...
(especially number five...see number five)..
or you will fail. Not only that... the gospel that you thought was
right before your very eyes...
completely disappeared!
Rick begins listing the five things....
"1. I must purify my heart."
Perhaps based on some scriptures you had been taught, you were thinking that your meager mustard seed of faith and contrite repentance was somehow important to God and you even believed for a moment that you were his workmanship... that somehow, because of Jesus' promises God was at work in you. Well.... hold that thought. Don't let it disappear.
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
Instead of asking God to purify your heart...Rick tells his audience that they MUST
purify their hearts themselves.
Rick lists quite a few things that will enable a person to purify their own heart. He even reads from the Bible to prove his point. Apparently, we should heed the wisdom of Job's friend in Chapter 11,
Zophar the Namathite. Zophar's take on the situation was that Job's problems had come to him because of his own unrighteousness. He believed that an impure heart was to blame for his trials,
preventing the blessing of God. Zophar, was completely wrong.
Rick also says we purify our hearts by confession. He talks about the importance of confessing our sins... the importance of agreeing with God that something "I" have done is wrong. IT's good Christian lingo but note... there is no Jesus involved. There is also no hope for me in my pursuit of salvation.. in my pursuit of all things God unless I heed Rick's advice on such matter, because I believe him that I need a purified heart... but I am doomed to be useless without t his purification because....
"until you get a purified heart, God cannot use you."
People are being told, that God is only using people who's hearts are purified. This message comes with s list of things that a person MUST DO... or they are doomed to being useless to God. There's no hope... until you learn things from Rick. He is, after all, the one with the list that is supposed to help you and make that all essential connection with God easier.
In teaching you how to purify your heart... meticulously doing so in this sermon... never does Rick mention how it is that the word of God cleanses or how God gives us His righteousness and purifies our sinful heart, as we confess our sin. (As it teaches us in the scriptures. ) Nope. However, Rick does have these five steps... but five steps is really not enough because....
PRESTO CHANGE-O! you also need a key....
Rick teaches that the "key" to being used by God is "not to be perfect..." but to keep "short accounts" with God.
So... one needs a purified heart... but the one with a purified heart must not be perfect? This is confusing.
Rick continues:
"If you are serious about God's blessing on your life, you need to get off by yourself for an hour or so, and be quiet and alone with God, and you sit down and you say, "Okay God, what's between me and you? And whatever he brings to mind, you write it down, you confess it, you tear up the paper, you burn it...if you want to. I have done that sometimes.. throw it in the trash, whatever.... put it through your shredder..... but the thing is, you get it off your chest. You admit it, you get forgiven and you get cleansed. NOTHING is going to happen in your life, until you do that.... purify your heart. "~ Rick Warren
Man it sounds good. There's Christian words in there too...."God".."sin".."forgiveness." Apparently, being forgiven by God for your sin is really easy... you just write it down, burn it up... and "whalla."
you are forgiven.. but only until you "sin" again.... (It's a short-accounts kinda thing...) Apparently God is keeping tabs on you... short ones only please.
The Bible however teaches about how Jesus made atonement for us. He shed his blood as the Lamb of God... ask any Christian, they will tell you. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.... and Jesus did just that. He died in our place so that we could have the free gift of God... but Rick doesn't make any mention of this. Using this method of pen and paper, one could easily forget all about the whole atonement thing. It's so easy that a person could probably be completely forgiven of all sin in an atheist psychologist's office. You don't need Jesus or his sacrifice, once and for all, all you need is pencil, paper and a desire to get something "sinful" (or emotionally taxing) off your chest.
Jesus Christ, the One true Lamb of God, is completely missing from Rick's seemingly wise methodology of getting your sins forgiven. This "Christian" pastor doesn't even once mention how it is that Jesus died for your sin or that he offers forgives for you sin... in His Name, all you must do is turn to him in faith. Confession of sin, is not trivial... but neither is Jesus' taking of our place so that we though him can live. To omit the Jesus factor is essentially the equivalent of leaving people lost in their trespasses and sins. He who has the Son, has life... and he who does not have the Son of God, does not have life. But in Ricks list, sins are not the only issue... you must be physically fit as well.
"2. I must sanctify my body."
Rick tells us that "You can sanctify anything," as he teaches how to sanctify your body. He says you can sanctify your marriage, your job, your car, your house. He says that the way to do this sanctification is by "taking care of your body" which also equates to "taking care of your health."
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
Proof of sanctification is suddenly good physical well-being and health. One must not overlook the fact the Rick has a solution for that too, the Daniel Plan. The inference is that God cannot use you (or bless you) if you are fat, and of course that Rick is here to help. But Rick might as well just throw Romans 14:17 out the window here because he's basically teaching that the kingdom of God is all about what you eat and drink... and how much you exercise too.
But weight.. there's more!
"3. I must simplify my schedule."
First, Rick has everyone write down, "I have just enough time to do God's will." Little do they realize it's become a test, to see if people will do what Rick tells them to do. He says, "Write this down, " and they do. How easy will it now be to get them to be involved in every other thing he suggests.... classes, seminars, mission trips.... small groups... and anything else he can think of. Before long, people will only associate with other people involved in "doing the will of God." (Also known as, "being involved in Saddleback church projects.")
In order to simplify your schedule and focus on the things of God, Rick then teaches that the word "No" is a "positive term." That's right... you thought no was negative, but then...
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
Rick says that's not how it is. You have to cut things out, cut people off and have a plan to put God.. (aka Saddleback) first. He suggests you make a plan, and then be "ruthless" with distractions. But really? Is "ruthlessness" a fruit of the spirit?
But it gets worse.
According to Rick, in the Psalms, where it says "Teach us to number our days" God is telling us that we must budget our time and keeping a rigid schedule in our life so that we can be focused only on those things that matter "most."
Additionally, this whole "simplify my schedule" thing turns out to be another shameless self-promoting commercial for his upcoming "workshop" and "retreat" which he has planned... on the same topic. The example of someone who knows all about time management is, of course, Rick!
In true, cult-leader form he encourages members of his group to voluntarily remove themselves from all outside influences and be devoted to following.. not Jesus, not reading the bible or being in a Bible study.... but in being committed to Saddleback Church, his workshops and campaigns and being in a small group... and of course, working on being driven by purpose.... furthering Rick's agenda.
It's nothing short of weird... and wrong.
To prove this point he talks here about God giving you an opportunity for the best adventure of your life... but you being too busy (or unwilling to be used) to respond. Rick mentions nothing of God giving you eternal life through Jesus Christ.... or of you, as a Christian, possibly being called like Stephen or the other Apostles, to die for faith in Jesus. There';s not talk of the right standing with God that comes via the righteousness of Christ imparted to the believe via faith in Jesus... no talk of Jesus even dying that your sins might be forgiven... though your purifying your own heart and being fully immersed in the Purpose Driven paradigm of church life, going through doing all the programs and materials conjured up by Rick (and friends) will you get healthy and save the world.
"4. I must fortify my faith."
Here he lists all the various programs he offers... things you can use in your life to "fortify" your faith. IT comes with the ultimatum that you MUST " Get a partner. If you try to do these four things on your own you will fail."
Again the listener is doomed to failure unless they do what Rick says, and he's always adding more.
"You need God a group and a guide...."
As what used to be "church" is being transformed into community.
Father God, His Son with whom we have fellowship,
and the Holy Ghost... who leads us into all truth...is replaced.
"You need, God, a group, and a guide."
He's right. You are more likely to stay attached to the programs if you have friends in the programs. He know too that a little peer pressure to conform to a group goes a long way... so of course he will tell you... that if you do not have a partner, it's hopeless. You won't ever be prepared and if you are not prepared, by doing these FIVE THINGS (without failure) God will never deem you as usable for anything. Rick said so, and he's the expert on all of these things you know.
Well, it's contrary to Rick's teaching, but the bible teaches that God often uses us... even in our wekness. He uses us despite our weakness too. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 1 we read, \,
"It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
Christ Jesus is the one we lean on and who helps us in all our difficulties. He is dependable and victorious too. Even when something looks like failure to the world at large, the Christian can trust God will have the victory. This is something Job exampled for us. God keeps his word... and his promises are sure.
And finally... there's number 5....(on Rick's list)
(Everything hinges on this one!)
"5. I must intensify my passion for God."
Sounds great.... except we love God because he first love us... 1 John 4:19. Love for God is a response... not something you can muster up within yourself, as Rick suggests. He suggests you cry out to God.... but not for knowing God or knowing Jesus Christ, His son.
PRESTO CHANGE-O!
This concept of "passion for god" gets changed... into passion for purpose, as he suggests you cry,
"God, I have got to know your purpose."
After all, if you are purpose driven, you don;t need to know God,
or Jesus Christ... just "purpose"...and mainly your own.
Rick also gives his audience what he calls, "the greatest definition of success. " Noting, as most pastor do, God's picture of "success" often looks different than "the worlds" picture, he quotes Jesus.... (in John 17:4) saying "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." then,suddenly this verse is no longer about Jesus and what he did. It is not Jesus talking about himself at all. With a waggle of the tongue...
PRESTO CHANGE-O!....
This verse is now being spoken as if by you...
and PRESTO CHANGE-O!... No longer is the issue "God's Purpose, but your own!
The very verse becomes words spoken by you to God and it's about you, not Jesus, fulfilling your purpose..."for the glory of God." Jesus mysteriously disappears and everyone is given a commitment card to commit to Rick.
No joke.
He asks people to make a commitment.... to him personally... to purify their hearts by taking thedse steps he has just shared and he asks them for their email addresses....so that he can be in touch with them.
It sounds quite personable... doesn't it?
There's a song, isn' there...
"What a friend we have in .... PRESTO CHANGE-O!.... " Rick!"
Ecclesiastes 4... 9-12 is quoted, and put up on the big screen for all to see as people fill out their cards for Rick, but
PRESTO CHANGE-O!.... I have searched and cannot find what paraphrase or translation he used in his presentation of it on the screen and unlike other instances where he has shown the acronym for the paraphrase or translation where the verse is quoted from, in this instance, this is not the case.
Maybe...
PRESTO CHANGE-O!...
he changed it like everything else ... to fit his personal agenda.
Watch Rick give this sermon
Here.
