PowerPoint

Announcer (Female): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

Jack Graham: I would define success as knowing and doing and loving and obeying the will of God for our lives. To love God, to honor God, to please God is what life is about.

Announcer (Female): On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can apply God's wisdom to the choices you face. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, His Way Over My Way.

Jack Graham: Take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 3. Life is a series of choices, decisions that ultimately determine our destiny. And certainly, the word of God speaks to all issues of life, every issue of life. And uh Eugene Peterson, who has given us The Message paraphrase of the Bible, it's a wonderful devotional tool, has written an introduction to the book of Proverbs that I think is appropriate. And it explains somewhat how relevant, how real the Bible is when it comes not only to heavenly wisdom, but heavenly wisdom that applies to our temporal lives.

God not only saves us and prepares us to go to Heaven, but along the way, He gives us wisdom to teach us His ways and His will as long as we live. So wisdom in Proverbs is one of the wisdom books of the Bible. It's all about God's wisdom. According to Peterson means that wisdom has to do with becoming skillful in honoring our parents and raising our children, handling our money and conducting our sexual lives, going to work and exercising leadership, using words well and treating friends kindly, eating and drinking healthily, cultivating emotions within ourselves, and attitudes towards others that make for peace.

Threaded through all of these items is the insistence that the way we think of and respond to God is the most practical thing we do. In matters of everyday practicality, nothing, absolutely nothing takes precedence over God. To love God, to honor God, to please God is what life is about. And that we would make a series of choices that bring skill to living and success to life.

How would you define success? I would define success as knowing and doing and loving and obeying the will of God for our lives. Success, skillful living, is the progressive realization of God's purpose and God's plan for each one of us. And the choices that we make form us into fulfilling God's plan, God's purpose in life. Now, there are many choices and life's choices can become very complicated. And that's why we need God's word, the distilled truth of God's word.

And when you read Proverbs, this is, in effect, the distilled truth of God, so that we can make those godly choices. Now, how are we going to learn to make these wise choices? Do we learn wisdom from our parents? Perhaps. If you have godly, Bible believing parents, you can learn a great deal of wisdom and parents have the responsibility of teaching their children. Listen to Deuteronomy 4:9. "Only take care and keep your soul diligently lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life, make them known to your children and to your children's children." We have the distinct privilege of passing the faith along and the truth of God's word along to our children.

So parents can do that. So often, we learn what we learn from our peers. That can be a good thing, that can be a bad thing. Teenagers, you may have discovered, your teenagers are listening to their friends right now more than they're listening to you, mom and dad, most likely. Uh so many learn their uh wisdom from the culture and from the ideas and the opinions of this world. The Bible calls that the wisdom of this world. There is a wisdom that comes from above, and there is a wisdom that comes from below. The wisdom that is below is the wisdom of this world. The wisdom on a horizontal plane. It never looks up. It only looks this way and that way from right to left.

And the wisdom of this world without God is foolishness, according to the Bible. So in Proverbs, we have a wise father, Solomon, who is passing truth along to his son, even as David, the great king of Israel, passed truth along to young Solomon. But there was something else that gave Solomon his wisdom. In a dream, Solomon, aged 20, taking over the reigns of leadership of Israel to guide and to govern the great nation. He feels totally incomplete and inadequate at that time. But God speaks to him in a dream and he makes the most amazing offer. God says, "Ask me anything. Whatever you want, it's yours."

What if God asked you that question, or gave you that offer? What do you want? Ask me anything. And young Solomon said, "I'm not prepared for the task that is ahead of me, and I have this huge responsibility. Therefore, oh God, just as you gave wisdom to my father David, give wisdom to me. Give me understanding and discernment that I can do what you want me to do in leading your nation." And God was pleased with what he heard from Solomon. He said, "Because you did not ask for wealth or because you did not ask for a long life, or because you did not ask for pleasure, I will give you all of these things, but most of all, I will give you My wisdom."

And as a result, no one will arise like you after you. And it was true. God by divine revelation gave this man so much revelation that the world, the known world came. He was the most interesting man on Earth. The wisest man on Earth, and they came from everywhere to ask him the questions of discernment and understanding, the difference between right and wrong and good and evil, what was wise and what was unwise. And he gave them wisdom, which you could define as uncommon sense, sanctified sense. Others have described wisdom as the practical use and application of knowledge or the skillful use of knowledge.

I like to define wisdom as the ability to see things from God's perspective, God's point of view. The wisdom is choosing God's way over my own way, and applying His truth and principles to life. To learn these life enhancing skills that build my character and forge my future. Ask God to put wisdom in your heart and teach this to your children. The purpose of every parent who knows the Lord Jesus Christ is to make disciples of his own, her own children. And we do this by teaching them God's truth and the principles for living skillfully and successfully according to God's way and God's will.

So in Proverbs chapter 3, we discover how to do this at the outset. One by remembering, never forgetting God's wisdom. That's what the first four verses tell us. Look at them. My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments for length of days and years and life and peace they will add to you. You see, it's not only years to your life but life to your years. That God will develop the depth of our lives, as well as the length of our lives, which is all in His hands. And let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart, so you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

Remember, never forget God's wisdom. This is echoed in the New Testament and throughout scripture, but the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." He goes on to say, the will of the Lord is that you be filled with the Holy Spirit. So first and foremost, choose to pursue God's wisdom in your life.

We don't get wisdom just by hoping so or wishing it to be so, but rather pursuing it, by keeping His commandments, obeying God, writing it on the tablets of our hearts. And this is why Bible study is so important, and marking your scriptures, and memorizing God's word, and putting it in your heart, because with the revelation of God comes the inspiration of God and the illumination of God's spirit and therefore the transformation of our lives. Choose to know and do God's will and to pursue His plan for your life. God promises us wisdom if we want to know wisdom.

As a matter of fact, he says, "If any of you lack wisdom, ask, ask." Book of James chapter 1. "Ask, and God will not reproach you. God will not accuse you for lifting your hand and saying, 'I don't understand,' but God will give you the wisdom that you need to make the right choice. And now is the time to do it because Paul said, it's these days are urgent and redeem the time, making the best use of your time because the days are evil." So we are to apply God's wisdom to these days and to these decisions that we make and to every area of our lives.

We seem to be so good at compartmentalizing life. And we have sections over here that we reserve for ourselves and other sections over here that we reserve for God. And I think some of us have the idea that to come to Christ and is simply just to, you know, maybe change our vocabulary a little bit on Friday night and change our activities on Sunday morning. But when Christ comes to live in us, when the Spirit of God comes to live in us, He wants to give us His wisdom that applies to every decision we make. Every compartment and department of our lives belongs to Him.

Nothing is to be off limits to our God. So every decision we make, every choice we make, every opinion, every idea, every opportunity, every relationship, every circumstance of our lives, we need the wisdom of God. We dare not make a decision without Him.

Announcer (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, His Way Over My Way. 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. Now, let's get back to today's message, His Way Over My Way.

Jack Graham: Proverbs 3:13 says, the result of wise decisions, the result of God's wisdom, seeing things from His perspective, His point of view, blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding. God's wisdom is available to all and He wants you to have it. You can choose to walk in His ways, to keep His commandments. The scripture says, "Above all, get wisdom." The same scripture, Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." You may be brilliant, you may be insightful, you may be educated, you may be talented, trained, but if you don't know God, if you do not live in the fear of the Lord, then the Bible says you are a fool.

You're living as a fool lives if you're living without God, without the fear of the Lord. There was a time to say a man was a God fearing man, a woman a God fearing woman, it was a compliment, but you rarely hear that today. And yet the Bible tells us that fear, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. I personally think that's a great part of what's wrong with our culture. There's no fear of God. The fear of God is to be awestruck in His presence, overwhelmed by His holiness. It is to reverence His very life. It is the fear of the Lord that causes us not to run from Him but to run to Him.

And there to find forgiveness and grace and power and mercy to live life as He intended it. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The difference between making good decisions, bad decisions, it's often the fear of the Lord, the beginning of wisdom. Making essential or non essential choices is based upon whether we live life by remembering God's wisdom or not. And that's what God has called every one of us to do in these days, to remember His wisdom. But not only that, to trust God's will.

Now, Proverbs 3:5 and 6, life verses to me, promises that we have talked about over the years here at Prestonwood. But so appropriate here to remind us in choosing God's way over our way that we must trust God and His purpose, His plan, His will for our lives. To know God is to fear God. To fear God is to love God. To love God is to trust God and to trust God is to obey God. That's living in His wisdom.

And if you trust someone because you love someone, you will do what they ask. Now, there's a lot of talk, of course, among Christians about the will of God, how to find the will of God and in the purest sense, I've discovered over the years in life experience that I don't so much find the will of God as the will of God finds me. If you walk wisely in the will of God, in His purposes, and obey God's commandments, step by step, God will open doors that no one can shut. He will say, "This is the way, walk within it." His word will teach you. His Spirit will breathe whisper in a still small voice, divine directions.

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God. But as we go, God will lead us. And here's the deal regarding God's will. Let me just simplify it. If you want to find God's will, do God's will. Do God's will right now. So often we think of the will of God as out there in the future somewhere, out there. But what I need to do, what you need to do is do the will of God right now, today. And if I do the will of God today, my today's will turn into tomorrows, and my tomorrows will turn into new days. And before you know it, you're walking wisely in the will of God. Dead center or should I say life centered in the will of God.

And you don't need to be afraid or skittish regarding God's will. God, as someone said, will choose for you what you would choose for yourself if you had sense enough to choose it. Romans 12:2 says, "The will of God is good and perfect and acceptable." Too many people have the idea that if I choose to do the will of God, he'll make me miserable for the rest of my life. He'll send me on the other side of the world and I'll be miserable. Not at all. God will bless you as you follow Him wherever you go. David Livingston, the great missionary, said, "I would rather be in the heart of Africa, in the will of God, than sitting on the throne of England out of the will of God."

And God will prepare. Now, it doesn't mean that there won't be pain in the providences of God and in the plan of God. While we delight to do His will, it's not always easy to do His will. Sometimes His will doesn't even make sense on the human level. It didn't make sense for Abraham, called of God to go out without a map and to a destination unknown by faith to believe God. That did not make sense, and yet God brought a nation from Abraham. It didn't make sense when God said to Moses, "Take the children of Israel across the Red Sea, water standing before them, Pharaoh behind them, mountains on either side." God said, "Go forward."

Moses wasn't standing around saying, "You know, if God would ever open that thing, we would go through." No, he stepped forward and by faith, even though it didn't make sense, and God part of the waters and they walked through on dry ground. It didn't make sense when God called a young shepherd boy David with a few stones to go out and fight the giant of Gath, Goliath. That made no sense, but a great victory was won. Why? Because God's ways are not our ways. His ways are higher than our ways. He does things that are beyond our comprehension or understanding, exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think.

It didn't make sense for Gideon to reduce his army of 30,000 down to 300 to go against the Midianites. But it was God's way, it was God's will, and when he obeyed God, God gave him a great victory. It didn't make sense when the angel of the Lord said to Mary, "You will bear the Messiah into the world, you will conceive by the Holy Spirit and bring the Savior into the world." That made no sense. But she said, "Be it unto me according to your will," and the world was changed. God's way.

It didn't make sense when Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and saw Peter and James and John and said, "Leave your nets. Come and follow Me and I'll make you fishers of men." Didn't make sense to leave their vocation, their nets, their livelihood, their families and just follow this stranger. And yet they were compelled by the call of God, and these men changed the world even though it didn't make sense. On and on we could go.

Sometimes life doesn't make sense and is painful, but providences of life lead us on by the hand of God. The wisdom of God described here in chapter 3, choosing God's way over my way, includes giving to God's work. Give to God's work. Look at verses 9 and 10. Stay tuned. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce, then your barters will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine. This is a very practical exhortation. Place God first in your life. This is the principle of first things first.

Honor the Lord with the first fruits of your produce, your labor. Hold your possessions loosely. Don't hold on to what you have. There's something within all of us that wants to hold on to what we have, but the way to be miserable is to be miserly, and the love of money. Not money itself, but the love of money will seduce you and steal your love of God. And if you want to break the chains and the bondage of finances on your life and of greed, the gods of greed. Learn to give and to honor God first.

The first choice of what you're to do with your money is to give it to God, the tithe. What is a tithe? A tenth? No, the first tenth. It's the principle that is woven throughout all of the scripture. Parents, are you teaching this truth to your children? By life, by example as well as action. Are you giving to God the first fruits of your labor? Now, you may have heard this so many times that you've already pushed the snooze button and said, "Wake me up when this is over." But please don't miss this.

I'm going to teach you this truth. Before we do anything else with our money, we are to give the first portion to Christ in His church. Malachi 3:10, "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open the windows of Heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." You either believe that or you don't believe that. That's either truth or it's error. You say, "Well, that's Old Testament." The New Testament is the same principle.

On the first day of the week, bring the first part of your offering to God and give it to the Lord. The storehouse, as far as I'm concerned, is the local church. The New Testament counterpart to the storehouse of the temple, New Testament church. You can debate me all you want on that. That's just my viewpoint. I believe in supporting the work and ministry, we support other ministries. Deb and I have been tithing all these years. And we support other ministries, but first our church with our tithes and our offerings above the tithe.

You say, "Well, I can't afford the tithe." No, if you're in trouble financially, you can't afford not to tithe. I guarantee you this, if you hold out on God and hold back on God in this, you will not receive the blessings that God desires to give. Tithing is an act of love and obedience and faith and worship. You say, "Well, I don't have much to tithe." What I've learned in life that if you will tithe and begin tithing when you don't have much, you will continue tithing when you have much. It's a life decision that you make. And God is looking for people who will worship Him and trust Him and put Him first in their lives. Do you believe God will do what He promised?

You've trusted Him with your immortal, eternal soul, will you trust Him with your temporal possessions? Trust in the Lord. Put God to the test. Be a faithful, wise giver. Seldom repress a generous impulse. God prompts you to give, even if it's a panhandler on the street, you give. Ask God to change your heart and to transform your life, to move you out of your comfort zone and to honor Him first of all with everything you are and everything you have.

Announcer (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, His Way Over My Way. 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 to still 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: Well, let's focus on that one word, obedience. When we trust in the Lord with all of our heart, as Proverbs chapter 3:5 says, and that means every area of our lives, all of our hearts, and we do not lean on our own understanding, our own way, our own wisdom. When we acknowledge Him, put Him first in everything, then He clears the way, He clears the path. The only way to live and to truly be successful is to follow the path that God has given us. Trusting in Him, believing and receiving all of His promises and living in the power of His Spirit.

That's what this message was about today, is finding true success. And when you follow Christ, you will discover a life that is full and complete and abundant. You know, I'm very happy about so many ways that we can connect in these days, not only on the radio message and the program, but now you can catch up with me on Facebook or Twitter. And we have a growing online community of faith and uh I share lots of things regarding just life and culture and sports, but mainly the word of God and what it means to follow Christ. So join me on Twitter or Facebook, and let's together grow in our faith in Christ.

Announcer (Female): 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 how God calls you to be a servant. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.