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Guest (Male): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

Jack Graham: We recognize that apart from God, there is no sin we would not commit. We become the target of the enemy, especially if we are vulnerable, especially if we are not aware and prepared for spiritual battle.

Guest (Male): On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how lust destroys, but love satisfies. Now here's Dr. Graham with his message: Love Over Lust.

Jack Graham: Take your Bibles and turn to the fifth chapter of the Book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 5. You have to realize concerning your choices that you are just one careless, carnal choice away from really wrecking your life. And that's what we are about to see on the negative side, but also on the positive side to see the difference between love and lust. And as we choose love, genuine love, God's love, that God satisfies us with a life of pleasure and joy and hope and faith.

What we have here in the fifth chapter of Proverbs is a father-son talk. I do want to say if there are parents here with children under 13, this would be a good time if you would like to exit the building because this is going to be an upfront, straight-up message regarding what the Bible says. So if you're uncomfortable with that with your smaller children, or you don't want to answer some questions this afternoon, you may want to take an opportunity to go somewhere else right now.

But I hope you'll stay to hear this father-son talk. And in one sense as a pastor, I am the spiritual father of this congregation, and it gives me the opportunity to have the talk with you. The Bible says a lot about sex actually, and clearly the Bible tells us that God is not against sex. In fact, He made it. In the beginning, He created them male and female.

Verse 1 of chapter 5 says, "My son, be attentive to my wisdom." Proverbs is all about the wisdom of God living wisely and successfully, skillfully, making life work as God intended. "Incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion." Now that's an important word in Proverbs, it's an important word in life: discretion. And in this sex-crazed, sex-saturated society, we see less and less discretion when it comes to these subjects, these very personal and intimate subjects.

I hear a lot of crude talk, crude language in the media, in casual conversation. What used to be locker room talk is now casual conversation between guys and gals and all in between, the office talk. There is a genuine lack of discretion regarding this subject, and that's why I'm going to be as discreet as I can in talking with you about it.

But at the same time, I want to give you the clear word of God because God has some strict standards, some high standards, holy standards regarding our morality and our purity. The Seventh Commandment, that's one of the Big Ten, says you shall not commit immorality, you shall not commit adultery. And adultery would include, in taking all the Scriptures together, not only premarital sex but extramarital sex, sex outside of the sacredness, the sanctity, the security of marriage.

Preserve discretion. He's about to describe a woman, a flirtatious, alluring, powerful woman who would seek to seduce his son. Now in effect, this woman here is a picture of the alluring power of sin and temptation. And yet she is identified as a woman. Now in our culture, let's just say it: women are more aggressive than ever regarding sexuality, sensuality, and to put it bluntly, skin. And more available therefore, the seductiveness, and just the whole atmosphere of the culture makes it far easier for all of us, for any of us, to fall into failure morally.

That's why the Bible talks clearly about the way we think, the way we act, and yes, even the way we dress. For example, you're in Proverbs chapter 5. Look in 1 Timothy chapter 2. And girls and moms, I especially want you to pay attention to this. Verses 9 and 10 say, "Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control." And why should we do that? Not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire or bling (my translation), but with what is proper for women who profess godliness with good works.

All of us, both men and women, but specifically women are addressed here to dress properly and in a way that honors your God. Not dressing to knock some guy's eyes out but dressing to please God, to honor Him in your testimony for Christ. The fact is we know that immodest dress is a fast track to immoral behavior. There's no question about that.

And so discretion is described here. And then the woman appears, the seduction appears. Verse 3 in chapter 5 of Proverbs: "For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey (yeah, oh honey-lips) and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps follow the path of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life, her ways wander and she does not know it. And now, oh sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless. Don't throw your life away," he's saying. "Lest strangers take the fill of your strength and your labors go into the house of the foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan when your flesh and your body are consumed and you say, 'How I hated discipline and my heart despised reproof.

I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or my pastor or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin to the assembled congregation.'" There is shame and dishonor in all of this simply because a man, a young man, does not pay attention to the clear commands of Scripture regarding our purity.

So the question is of course then: how? How on earth? I mean most of you hearing me right now, you get it that the Bible teaches abstinence within marriage for sex only. Abstinence outside of marriage and marriage is the grounds, God's grounds, for the fulfillment and the satisfaction and the blessing of life through the act of marriage.

Now therefore, how do we keep ourselves pure? Both in marriage, out of marriage, before marriage, and during marriage. I have several words. They all begin with the letter A as I'm going to give you some counsel and advice as to how to do this. Number one: Accept your potential for moral failure. The Proverbs says can a man take fire to his bosom, to his chest, and not be burned? The Bible says, "Let him who stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). Accept the fact that no matter our age or stage in life, we are all vulnerable to sexual sin and temptation.

We recognize that apart from God, there is no sin we would not commit. We become the target of the enemy, especially if we are vulnerable, especially if we are not aware and prepared for spiritual battle. Now wouldn't you say that King David was a great man? Raised up as the King of Israel, so great that the Bible says he was a man after God's own heart. That was God's description of this great man David.

And yet because of his own vulnerability, maybe the stage of his life, we're not sure, he looked, he lusted, he took Bathsheba, a woman that was not his wife, conceived a child, set up the murder of her husband. It was a sordid scene in the life of David that is repeated again and again and again. He found forgiveness, he received grace, but his life was never quite the same.

I am no greater than David and neither are you. We are all subject to the onslaught of the enemy in this area. Accept your potential for moral failure. Secondly, Affirm that you don't have to give in to temptation. Too many are believing the lie that this is just natural, that this just happens, that we are at the victimization of our own world, of our own society. Our friends are not abstinent, our friends are not pure. We're living in an entire world, I mean from media to music to whatever, and that's been true to some degree in every generation, but it's really in your face right now, isn't it? Everywhere you turn.

But you must not give up. Affirm the fact that you can resist any temptation in your life, regardless of your desires, regardless of the appeals of Satan. Don't say, "Well, if my wife were meeting my needs then I wouldn't have to look elsewhere." That's a victim mentality, it's bogus. The spirit of God lives within us. You say, "Well, my wife doesn't look the same today as when we married." Have you looked in the mirror yourself, sir? And men, love your wife all the days of your life by the power and the strength. Sometimes men say, I'm talking about Christian men now, I've had guys say to me, "Well Jack, I just don't love her anymore." There's no real compassion when I hear that coming from men. I typically say, well learn to love her. Re-learn to love her because you can and God will enable you with genuine love.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: Love Over Lust. July 4th, 2026 will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text CRY to 59789. Again, text CRY to 59789.

Remember that your support of PowerPoint ministries helps bring the truth of Jesus Christ to people around the world. Every day we hear from listeners who are searching for answers, longing for peace, and discovering hope through God's word, often for the very first time. Your generosity keeps that message going out. And as our thanks for your gift today, we'd love to send you Dr. Jack Graham's book, The Jesus Book, a powerful guide to help you grow deeper in your relationship with Christ. Text MAY to 59789 to give your gift and request your copy. Again, text MAY to 59789. Thank you for helping proclaim the hope of Jesus. Now let's get back to today's message: Love Over Lust.

Jack Graham: Thirdly, Aim to be morally pure. There's one of my favorite verses as a teenager that I memorized in Daniel chapter 1 and verse 8. I often give it to young men and women who are making life choices and decisions, but it's good for all of us. Daniel was taken into Babylon and everything in the culture there mediated against his lifestyle, his faith. He was away from many of his friends, his family. He was under severe temptation to compromise.

And so in Daniel 1 and verse 8, the Scripture says, "And Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king's delicacies." He had a purpose that was firm and true, a resolution, but more than one of these resolutions that is broken but a resolution forged by the steel of God's word, by the strength of God's spirit. And the more we purpose in our hearts and fulfill that purpose, the stronger and stronger we get.

As a young man, I resolved to be morally pure. I promised God that I would wait till marriage. And even though I grew up in the '60s, the so-called sexual revolution, by God's grace and the help of wonderful friends and the prayers of family, I was able to give myself to my wife unreservedly because of a resolve that God had put in my heart that I refused to give up on. And I promise you students, if you will wait, it is worth the wait. Men, purpose in your heart to be faithful to your wife. Ladies, purpose in your heart to be faithful to your husband. Don't rely on some fantasy that doesn't even exist. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Aim to be morally pure. Make it your highest purpose, your holy ambition.

Fourthly, Abandon all bitterness in your life. What connection does bitterness have with morality? Hebrews 12:15 speaks of this root of bitterness that goes down deep in our lives, festers, and we have to go down and dig it up and cut it out at the root, and that this particular kind of bitterness leads to defilement. Verse 16 says, "Lest there be any fornicator among you." The word there is *porneia*. Same word we use to get pornography or it refers to all kinds of sexual immorality, all kinds of sexual misbehavior: *porneia*.

And while it's true that we're just all one bad decision away from wrecking our lives, it's also true you're just one stupid foolish click away from plunging yourself into the fires of hell. And that's internet pornography, which is a major problem with young men and older men alike. We deal with it on if not a weekly basis, but a daily basis.

And so what does bitterness have to do with this kind of thing? If I allow hurt, whether it is perceived or not to fester in my life, to turn into bitterness, I start thinking with a victim's mentality. Well I'm hurt and I deserve this. My heart is broken and therefore I'm going to do this. I had a pastor tell me one time after falling into immorality, said, "Well I was working so hard, the church wasn't appreciating it, I was in trouble with my church and I thought I deserved just a little bit of pleasure." That's how bitterness can be an open door to immorality. So that's why we say abandon all bitterness in your life. Find the forgiveness of God's grace.

Next, Avoid the flesh in all areas of your life. Romans 13 verse 14, "Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust." In other words, starve your flesh and feed your soul because if you feed your lust you will starve your soul and maybe even lose your soul. So feed your soul, your spirit, your life with the word of God and this will enable you to get out of harm's way.

I don't know how many people have told me, "I never intended for it to turn out this way. I never intended this little flirtation, this little fun thing, this little game we were playing at the office to turn into the destruction of my life and my family. Never intended for it to happen." And yet it does happen again and again because too many guys give the devil a stick to hit them with. If you know you are vulnerable in a certain area, why would you put yourself in harm's way? Be careful out there.

Next, Abstain from every form of evil. That's why the Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:22, "Flee also youthful lusts." Run from it. Did you know the Bible never tells us to stay around and fight the flesh, but to run from the temptations of the flesh? Always. Like Joseph when he was being seduced by Potiphar's wife, he didn't stay around and say, "Oh let's pray." He put on his PF Flyers and ran out of that room as fast as he could.

You know I run just a little bit scared because I know if I'm not diligent in this matter and devoted and purposed in this matter then I could fail, I could fall. Stay away from it, abstain. The Bible says that we are to turn or abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). I used to think that meant that if anything looks like evil, we shouldn't do it. And that's certainly a good principle to live by, but that's not what the verse is saying.

Abstain from every appearance of evil means when evil shows up, you leave. Saturate that place with your absence. Don't put yourself in the position where you can fail or fall in terms of your actions, your activities. Stay away from things that seduce your soul. Abstain from every form of evil.

And then abide in the spirit of God. You say, "I can't do this on my own." No you can't. But Christ lives in you as a believer. You can live in the power and the strength of the Holy spirit when you arm yourself with the word of God. "How shall a young man cleanse his way?" How are you going to do this guys? "By taking heed according to your word" (Psalm 119 verse 9). Saturate your soul with the word of God, fill up with the strength that God gives you. Ask the spirit of God to renew your mind. Some of you are living with past failures, past mistakes, past sinful activities that you need to ask God to cleanse out of your mind. And He will if you will replace it with the word of God.

And the one final thing that I want to mention is remember that you must give an account to God. Remember the consequences of this kind of sin. Verse 17 says in chapter 5, "Let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth. A lovely deer, a graceful doe, let her breasts fill you at all times with delight, be intoxicated (meaning be led away) by the wife of your youth always in her love.

Why should you be intoxicated my son with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord and He ponders all his paths. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him (that's the bondage of this sin) and he shall be held fast in the cords of his sin.

He dies for lack of discipline and because of his great folly he is led astray." Remember you are accountable to God as a believer at the judgment seat of Christ. Don't allow your life to be blown away in the fires of judgment. Though saved, singed and burned by life experiences, your reward lost, your legacy given away. Don't allow it to happen.

So in conclusion, love or lust? What's your choice? James 1:15 says, "Then when lust has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death." 1 John 4:7 says, "Love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God for God is love." You can have a new love in Christ, but the way to have the love of Christ is to know life in Christ. You can be born again.

So I say to you some are already thinking, "Well man this blew right past me because I've already gone the wrong way. I've already done the wrong thing." To a woman taken in the very act of adultery, Jesus said, seeing her repentant and broken heart and spirit, "I forgive you. Go and sin no more." Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they will be as wool. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I'm warning you, I'm begging you, don't cross that line, but if you do, if you have, the grace of God, there is no sin that God cannot forgive.

Now to be honest with you, there are consequences. I mean I can cut off my hand and repent of it and be forgiven of abusing my body, but that won't bring my hand back. Young men and women, you only have one time to be the first time and the best time of your life. Don't let somebody take away from you what God has given you and that is a love for a lifetime in Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): We want to thank you for being a part of the mission of PowerPoint ministries. Every day through the support of friends like you, the message of Jesus Christ is reaching people across television, radio, and digital platforms around the world. So many people today are searching for answers, longing for peace, and looking for something they can truly hold on to. And your support helps point them in the one who offers all that and so much more: Jesus.

As our thanks for your gift this month, we'd love to send you Dr. Jack Graham's book, The Jesus Book, a powerful guide to help you move beyond simply knowing about Jesus to truly knowing Him through His word. Text MAY to 59789 to give your gift and get your copy. Again, text MAY to 59789. July 4th, 2026 will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country.

However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text CRY to 59789. Again, text CRY to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: The whole purpose of the message you've just heard is to challenge you to live God's way, which is to live in holiness and purity and commitment to Christ and to our families and to our friends. God is not against sex and in the context of a devoted marriage, God gives us this wonderful gift. But lust and love are not the same thing and we all pretty much know the difference, don't we? I want to challenge you to be pure in your thought life and pure in your daily life because this pleases God and it enables you to live life as God has planned it.

There's only one way to live and that is God's way. Commit to live in the purity of your faith every single day. I do want to mention that you can contact us at jackgraham.org. This is a way you can connect with the ministry and find resources, CDs, DVDs, messages that you can download.

You can also connect with us at Facebook and so many people are encouraged on a daily basis simply by getting involved with PowerPoint or getting involved in this ministry through Facebook. Also on Twitter, Twitter is an amazing way just in small bite-sized chunks to communicate great truth. So I'm on Twitter at @jackngraham and you can find me there or just go to jackgraham.org and we'll get you connected at all levels.

But here's the most important thing. If you need prayer, if you need Christ in your life, please connect with us right now and let us know how we can pray for you and help you follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's what this ministry is all about. I want to thank you for always being so faithful to give to support this ministry. This is a listener-supported ministry and we are confident that God will provide through His people who are blessed by this program each day. So please give as God enables you to give and be a part of this ministry together to get the Gospel to the world. Thank you. I look forward to joining you again on PowerPoint.

Guest (Male): And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, The Jesus Book. Just text MAY to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about what it means for you to live with real joy. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.