Kanye West Tells Televangelist Joel Osteen About God, The Devil And His Turn To Religion In His Work

Bruce Haring
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UPDATE: Kanye West told televangelist Joel Osteen today that “I know God’s been calling me for a long time and the devil has been distracting me for a long time.”

West was speaking during a live interview with Osteen today at the pastor’s 17,000-seat Lakewood Church in Houston. The two have been friends for some time and talked about West’s journey to faith, reflected in his new album, Jesus Is King, and his traveling Sunday Service, a quasi-religious music show

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The 42-year-old West talked about his “journey to his faith for 20 minutes, and plans to return for an evening Sunday Service. 45,000 free tickets have been made available for the events. The concert/Sunday Service will be held in a spillover area of Lakewood Church that can accommodate larger crowds.

“I know God’s been calling me for a long time and the devil has been distracting me for a long time,” West said. He was wearing a black suit for the interview.

West said God gave him visions that led to his new album and the creation of Sunday Service.

“When I was in my lowest points, God was there with me and sending me visions and inspiring me. I remember sitting in the hospital at UCLA after having a breakdown and there’s documentations of me drawing a church and writing about starting a church in the middle of Calabasas,” he said. “Even after that I made the Life of Pablo album and said this is a gospel album. I didn’t know how to totally make a gospel album and the Christians that were around were too beaten into submission by society to not speak up and profess the gospel to me because I was a superstar. But the only superstar is Jesus,” he said.

“All of that arrogance, and confidence and cockiness that y’all seen me use before God is now using for Him,” West said, getting applause from the crowd. “Because every time I stand up, I feel that I’m standing up and drawing a line in the sand and saying I’m here in service to God and no weapons armed against me shall prosper.”

Osteen asked about worshiping fame and money, an ironic question, given the pastor’s focus on prosperity.

“It’s like the devil stole all the good producers, all the good musicians, all the good artists, all the good designers, all the good business people and said, “you gotta come over and work for me,” said West. “And now the trend, the shift, is going to change. Jesus has won the victory. Now the greatest artist God ever created is now working for him,” he added, dotting the comment with a smile.

West told Osteen his father took him to church three times a week, and his mother took him on Sundays.

“As I now have a family, I’m 42 years old and married for five years, there’s a blatant responsibility for me to become more like my mother, who has gone to heaven and more like my father, who is working in building a water purification center in the Dominican Republic.”

West also talked about his new album.

“Closed on Sunday (a track on the album) is the hardest record ever made because it’s talking about protecting your kids from the indoctrination of the media,’ West said.

Osteen asked what advice he’d impart to his younger self.

“You know, it’s nothing I can say to the younger Kanye through words. I could speak to the younger Kanye through music….We on they neck. This music coming every month. God is strengthening our hands. We have writers, producers, we’re taking all the most fire producers and bringing them back to God,” West said.

The interview closed with a prayer. He and wife Kim Kardashian, who sat in the front row with the couple’s daughter, North, were applauded at the end of the interview.

EARLIER: Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church preaches prosperity, and one of the most prosperous musicians on the planet will help it deliver that message this Sunday.

Kayne West will bring his Sunday Service to Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church. The 17,000-seat megachurch will see Osteen interview West about his evangelistic turn, according to a church representative. The interview will air live on Sirius XM at 11 AM ET and West will return to the church for a 7 PM performance with his gospel choir. There is no word on whether the interview or performance will make it onto the televangelist’s broadcast.

West has been out promoting his Jesus Is King album, which had an accompanying 30-minute short film.

Osteen will reportedly ask West about his “journey to his faith” in what’s expected to be a 15-20 minute interview, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Lakewood representative Donald Iloff told the Chronicle that “Kanye and Joel are friends. He’s been wanting to come out for some time and it just worked out for this weekend.”

Osteen is based in Houston and his televised sermons are seen by over 7 million viewers weekly and over 20 million monthly in over 100 countries. He is the author of ten books which have been ranked number one on The New York Times Best-Seller list.

The first 45,000 people will get free tickets. Although the church’s seating capacity is less than that, West will perform in an overflow area that accommodate more people.

The demand for tickets overwhelmed Ticketmaster in the area on Friday. Some of the tickets obtained were put back for re-sale at hundreds of dollars, according to a report.

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