I’ll never forget the time a preacher came up to me and said, “Brother Jesse, come here. I need to talk to you.” I was thinking, Oh no, he wants to counsel with me. I very seldom counsel with people, because I’m not looking for counselors; I’m looking for comforters.
“Brother Jesse,” he said, “come talk to me. I need to talk to you.”
“About what?” I asked.
He took me by the arm and pulled me off to the side to some place private.
“Come here,” he said.
“What?”
“Come here,” he said.
“What, what?” I said.
“Come over here,” he said again.
“Look, bud, I’m over here as much as I can get over. What do you want, I say?”
“Just listen to me,” he said. “I’ve got to tell you something. I’ve got a problem. I’ve got a real problem!”
“Yeah, I can tell!” I said. “That’s what it looks like, man. What’s the problem?”
“I’ve got a problem,” he said, “With lust in my heart. Lust, lust, lust. You know what I’m saying? I’ve got a problem with women, you see. What should I do?” he asked.
“Tell your wife!” I told him. “She’ll stop it.”
When a man tells his wife that he’s got lust in his heart for other women, she’ll put a stop to that right away! No wife will let that go on.
“Just tell your wife,” I said. “Your wife is your best friend. All you’ve got to do is tell her, and she will say, ‘Come here. I’ll take care of that.'”
“Oh, I can’t do that,” he said.
“Okay,” I said, “I will. Hey-!”
“No, no, no, brother,” he said. “Wait, wait, wait!”
It was too late. That man’s wife had already heard me and had started to come over to where we were standing.
“Come here,” I said. “Come here. I want you to listen to this. Your husband is looking at other women. He’s got lust in his heart. What are you going to do about it?”
I just told her the way it was. I didn’t mince any words or anything. I was honest about it, plain honest.
She heard that and said, “No problem. I can take care of that.”
Now, why did I tell her that man’s secret? I was trying to save his family. I was saving his children, and I was saving his life. Lust will tear up a marriage, but God is bigger than lust.
You don’t have to have a problem with sin; sin should have a problem with you. The Bible says that the Greater One lives inside you (1 John 4:4). And if Jesus is on the inside of you, then He’s greater than your problems.
Not too much later I asked that man how he was doing.
“Fine,” he said.
No doubt his wife took care of that man’s lust problem.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”