Joel Osteen Speaks of Faith, Purity to 18,000 Believers in N.Y.
NEW YORK -- 18,000 believers filled Madison Square Garden last night to hear messages of faith and purity from Joel Osteen, 42-year-old pastor of the largest church in America and author of bestseller, Your Best Life Now.
NEW YORK – Around 18,000 believers filled Madison Square Garden Thursday night to hear messages of faith and purity from pastor of the largest church in America and author of bestseller, Your Best Life Now.
"An Evening With Joel Osteen" saw Madison Square Garden filled to capacity as people praised and worshipped with body and spirit.
"God is bigger than anything you've faced," said Lakewood Church’s Joel Osteen. "You may be in some hard times. Don't magnify your problems, but magnify your God… Every day that we live defeated is a day wasted."
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The 42-year-old pastor has preached in 13 cities since February, including New York and will visit Detroit and Jacksonville, Fla., before the year's end. His Sunday service television broadcasts reach 200 million homes in America every Sunday and 150 countries. According to TIME magazine, he is the leading preacher of the gospel in this generation.
"Maybe you are just worried about something today. Something didn't go well today at work. The Bible says don't focus on your problems, don't stay worried, defeated. Turn it over to God. When you turn it over to the Lord, then God will fight your battles for you," Osteen exhorted.
The night began with praise led by Cindy Cruse Ratcliffe, Grammy-nominated Israel Houston, and an entire Lakewood team followed by an appearance by Osteen and wife, Victoria who spoke words of blessing.
"It's so exciting to be here. You guys seem so hungry for God," said Victoria, who shares her husband's ministry. "You'll go out of here with a fresh perspective."
Side-by-side, the two explained the power of faith and thinking positively.
"It takes a real woman, a real man of faith to praise God in hard circumstances," said Osteen.
The main message of the evening was on purity, which the Lakewood Church pastor spoke about for 20 minutes.
"God looks at the inside, not the outside," he said. "It's not enough to have clean hands; you've got to have a clean heart. Only you know if you're being pure. Don't be a pretender, a phony. Just remember that person is made in the image of God."
About would-be critics, Osteen submits his heart, and keeps a positive outlook.
"I've been doing this for seven years, but I'm open to change. If I'm missing it, I'm missing it," he said. "But when I search my heart, I feel like I'm doing the best that I can."
Both his brother, Paul, and his sister, Lisa, testify that the preacher is getting better at his craft since he first began in 1999 when his father died and the Lord impressed on his heart a need to step up to pastor the growing congregation.
“I think that Joel continues to get better and better and is maturing in his ability to think about more difficult, below-the-surface issues,” Osteen’s brother commented.
According to a video shown during the event, Joel Osteen Ministries is about giving people hope and tens of thousands are finding hope in Christ each year through the ministry.
