All right. All right. Well, amen. So Friday is going to be the ladies' Bible study. So that'll be at, I guess, 7 o'clock on Friday. So don't forget about that, ladies. Please, please put that on your calendar. Put that on your phone. You know, be on the beep and do all that kind of flash and all that kind of stuff. And so you can beat that. So that's going to be a fun time. The next week is our Bible study for our church. And we're looking forward to that. And just another month of serving God. Amen. And it's exciting. And so I'm excited about the things of God. I'm excited about our salvation. I'm excited about as our world is in turmoil, as our lands are shaken, as our people are wavering. It seems like our money, our economy is not so hot. Our politics are ridiculous. But what we do have as a Christian is that we have salvation. And that salvation is not shaken. It's not wavering. It's as strong as it always has been and will be. So just know, church, even though the world may be cracking up and the world may be slowly dying, but you can know this, that what God has done in you will live for eternity. Let's stand to our feet, begin reading there in 2 Peter 1. And let's begin reading verse 4. I know some of y'all are thinking, thank God we got past verse three. Took us about three weeks to do that. But anyway, so we'll start in verse four. We'll start at the divine nature and move down as we are looking at the scripture here this evening. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, Besides this, having all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance, and to temperance, patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from all his old sins. Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Jesus Christ. Boy, I tell you, that last verse, that we might be abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is pretty sweet. Amen? I like that part. Father, I come to you in Jesus' name. I ask Him for help today, God, as we might be able to preach. Anoint us with the Holy Ghost of God. Guard our lips and our mind. Father, help us not to delay in any way. Father, that we may move, dear God, as the Scripture moves and as the Spirit of God moves here today. With no hurry, but yet at the same time, God, we want to Complete what you want us to complete. Have your way in our hearts and lives this day. May Jesus be glorified. Thank you for the eternal salvation you give to us because of the grace that we see in divine faith and divine power and divine nature, Lord. That's your grace. And we love you for it. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. You might be seated. So, Brother Keith said about going back a little bit, so I'm going to do that for him here this evening. And so we're going to go just back a little bit in verse 3 about divine nature. And I'm just going to run through it because you already heard it. But here in the divine nature, there are some promises that we need to notice. About the promises, the Bible says that they are exceedingly. That means they're strong. Bible says that these great promises are great, that means they're big. And they said they're precious, that means the sum of them is without cost. It's priceless, you could say it that way. And so the promises that we're speaking of is the promises out of Romans chapter 1, verses 1 through 4. And so let's look at that here quickly this evening. I know we didn't do that this morning, but that was this morning. And we're now in the evening. Romans chapter 1, verse 1, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of God, which he had promised before by the prophets in the Holy Scriptures. So we find that this promise of the gospel of God, the gospel of Christ, is this promise he's speaking of in verse 3. Verse 4, he says that these great and exceeding precious promises, the promise of the gospel of God. Thank God. for His promise, amen? Thank God that He had promised before the world began, before the world was created, that He would promise us the gospel of God. You know why? Because without the gospel of Christ, without the gospel of God, none of us would be saved. None of us could have faith. None of us could get to the divine faith that's required in order to believe in the Lord Jesus because of the gospel. Thank God way before the world was created, way before man was even on earth, way before anything and everything was even done and created, God said that I'm going to promise the gospel of God, the gospel of Christ Jesus, amen? The death, burial, and resurrection. Thank you for the promises. Aren't they exceeding? Aren't they great? And aren't they precious? The second one was Titus chapter 1 verse 1. If you turn there with me here this evening as well. Titus chapter 1 verse 1. And we see again of another promise. The Bible says Paul is servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ. It says, According to the faith of God's elect, the acknowledging of the truth, which is after godliness, and hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began. So here we go. Another promise before the world began was eternal life. that God would give unto us eternal life that was a promise. Boy, that's exceedingly, don't you think? That's great, and don't you imagine? I mean, that's precious to know that we can go to heaven, amen, and that we can have eternal life. Thank God for His promises, amen? And it's going to lead us right unto the divine nature. We know it's the partakers. The word partakers here is a word called possess. Amen? We're going to possess the divine nature, but it doesn't mean you become God, and it doesn't mean that you become divine. It doesn't mean that, but it does mean that you share in His righteousness, you'll share in His love, you'll share in His holiness, and that's who He is, and that's what you'll share in. Amen? So partaker is a sharer, it's also a possession. And so we find you possess the divine nature. How did that happen? Well, we found out that you are created in Christ Jesus. You are created in holiness and in righteousness and in true holiness. You're created in the knowledge of God. So you've been a created being, amen? This new nature, this divine nature has been created. It's been created by God in Christ Jesus. So you just didn't kind of go, you didn't kind of go one day, boom, divine nature's here. No, you've been, you have a divine nature because of being created in Christ Jesus and God gave you that nature. Number two, we have been a new man, Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, that we put on a new man, that you are a new man, and so you become a new person. It reminds me of that song, I don't know if anybody ever recognized that song here this evening where it said, talks about something about daddy was never home and daddy was out and daddy was out, some doing this, doing that, and all of a sudden daddy started coming home and daddy started picking up and going to church and daddy started he doing different things and daddy one day that little kid asked daddy said daddy what will happen to you how come you're at home you know why are you going to church why are you doing these things he said because I'm a new man I've been changed by the glory of God amen and that's what that new nature is that new nature is a new man you're different You're changed. You're no longer the same. You can't be the same. You've got a new mind. You've got a new heart. You've got a new spirit. You've got a new way. You've got a new thinking. You've got new abilities. You've got new powers. You've got new capabilities. Friend, listen, you are different than you ever have been before. It's because of the new nature. The new nature is because you're the new man. Talking about nature, you have a human nature. We talked about this last time, but this human nature is natural production. All human nature follows it production. It's a force of nature. We heard that before. That's the force of nature. That's just what nature does. There's the laws of nature. And that means that the laws of nature will order and command the nature to do whatever the nature is. For example, gravity. Always gravity, the law of nature on gravity is always the same, right? It never changes. You can get lighter, the gravity's still there. It doesn't matter, the law of gravity never changes. The order of nature, and so there's an order of it. We talked about nature in animals. We talked about animals mate with the same animals. We don't see dogs mating with cats. We don't see cows mating with horses. You don't see any of that kind of stuff going on. Why? Did somebody teach that animal somehow, some way, went to mating school? And in mating school, somebody told us, listen, you horse, you're going to mate with a horse only, okay? Don't fool around with the cows. Okay, all right, I got you. Well, that didn't work. That was just nature. Nature's that's doing that in the same way with you and I this this evening that you and I that is nature Animals behave the same way if you got a dog if you got a no matter what kind of dog it is It can be a Chihuahua. It'd be a Great Dane. It can be a German Shepherd. They're all going to look the same They're all going to do the same. They're all going to be the same. They all bark. They all do this They all do that. I mean there is absolutely no difference in them. Amen and They're all the dogs. Dogs are dogs, no matter blue, red, green, orange, or what. It's a dog. We find that nature, animals remain the same shape. It ain't that years ago when God created, let's say, the horse, and then 6,000 years has passed now, and now the horse is different. No, the horse is still the same as it's always been. And we find that humans are the same. It doesn't matter if a human barks. That don't mean he's a dog, amen? And so we know that human nature doesn't work in that way. A man that identifies as a woman doesn't make him a woman, amen? He's still a man. I don't care if he puts on a dress. I don't care if he puts on makeup. I don't care if he puts on eyelashes. I don't care if he thinks he's a woman. He's not a woman. He won't ever be a woman. He'll never be a woman. When he dies, he's gonna die a man. That's just nature, amen? It's nature that a male would look at a female for marriage and for love and for compassion. It is unnatural for a male and a male to come together in the way of some kind of romantic relationship. It's unnatural for a woman to like a woman in that manner. It's always natural for man and woman, male and female, amen? That's just nature. We're talking about nature. Human always obeys its nature. Always. A dog will always do what a dog does because it obeys its nature. Whatever its nature leads it to do, he'll do it. We'll find that animals always obeys its nature. Gravity always obeys its nature. Nature is the rule of law. Nature will rule every single one of us. We have lived with human nature all of our lives, and human nature dictates how we do, what we do, when we do it, and why we do it. Nature. Nature. We find that to be true in every aspect, in every way. Now, when you get saved and born again, according to Scripture, you get divine faith. Then you have divine power, and then you get a divine nature. You still have your human nature, but you got divine nature. Now, turn your Bibles to Romans chapter 7, and I'm going to explain to what Paul is trying to say to us concerning these two natures. Romans chapter 7, and look there in verse 14. Romans chapter 7, verse 14. The human nature is always a sinful nature. A divine nature does not sin. A human nature can do nothing but sin. A human nature cannot be righteous, it cannot be perfect, it cannot be holy. The divine nature cannot be unrighteous, unholy, and imperfect. There are two opposite natures in you as a Christian. We find that Paul is given that thought. He says in verse 14, For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, so to understand. That's the human nature. For that should I do, I allow not. For what I would that I do not. that do I not, but what I hate that I do. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For For to will is present with me, how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find that in law, that when I will do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. The inward man is the divine nature. He goes on and says, I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity in the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, so then with my mind I myself serve the law of God, and with the flesh the law of sin. And so he talks about two different natures there at the last verse. There's the law of God, which is the nature of divine, and then there's the law of sin, which is the human nature. You'll find that within your mind and your heart of all your life, you'll find that there will be a battle Your body, your human nature has been crucified in Christ. Amen? It will not ever be saved. It will never be righteous. It will never be holy. It will always fight against the divine nature. And this divine nature is holy. Divine nature is a godly. Divine nature is what will rule in your Christian walk and Christian life. Amen? But you'll find, as Paul said, he said, it's not me, because within me there's no good thing that dwelleth in me, but it's sin, amen? It's sin. So let me say it like this as well, that as you can say flesh, and as you can say spirit, amen? The flesh will be the human nature, the spirit will be the divine nature. And because of that divine nature in you, you'll always have a battle with the human nature, amen? But the divine nature is more powerful and more authoritative than the human nature that you have. You're always able to overcome the human nature. You'll always be able to overtake the human nature. The human nature can't ever overtake the divine nature. Amen? And so we find that whenever you do sin, what nature is doing that? What did Paul say? The human nature. The human nature sins, but not the divine nature. The divine nature never sins. Okay? All right. Now since I got you confused, let's go ahead and look in 1 John 1. 1 John 1. See why we needed this on a full stomach? 1 John 1, look there in verse 8, it says, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. And so that scripture is saying unto us, the Christian, He's saying that if you say you don't have no sin, then you're a liar. You say you don't have no sin, you don't have no truth in you. But look in 1 John 3 and look in verse 9. The Bible says, Now is that a contradiction? I mean, in that chapter 3, verse 9, it says you cannot sin. But there in chapter 1, verses 8 through 10, it says if you say you don't sin, then you're a liar. So where do I stand? You stand true, amen? And here's how it works. So in your human nature, there is sin. It's always sin. And as a Christian, we're going to sin because of our human nature. And when we sin because of our human nature, we're going to ask God to forgive us because of our divine nature. See, if we didn't have the divine nature, we couldn't get forgiveness for our human nature. But because of the divine nature, we have sin forgiven on our human nature. And our human nature is always going to sin. So we've got to get forgiveness from God. And God forgives us from that. And we get forgiven. But here in John chapter 3 verse 9, we've got a divine nature. It never sins. Never. We cannot sin. Because that nature that we have is God's nature. And that nature is perfect, righteous, and holy. See the difference? So, on chapter 1, you're a Christian, and your human nature sins. You get forgiveness. And then on chapter 3, your divine nature never sins. Never needs forgiveness. Amen? Amen! Alright, I'm glad we got all that. Ephesians chapter 4. And look there in verse 22. We'll really get into it in just a minute. Y'all, I don't want y'all to go to sleep. The Bible says in verse 22 of chapter 4 of Ephesians, that you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, that's the human nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. All right, so you got an old man, you got a new man, you got a human nature, and you got a divine nature. And so we find in the divine nature, you remember now, you always follow your nature. Is that true? Always follow the nature. Everything that ever has been created has always followed its nature. So you and I that are saved and washed and born again with the divine nature of God will follow that nature. That will be what we follow. From time to time, we'll get off that nature and get into the human nature and sin and get right back out of that nature and get back into the divine nature. Amen? This is how Christian life works. The divine nature is what we follow. The divine nature is what brings leadership and guidance in our lives. The divine nature is called a new covenant. a new covenant. Look in Hebrews chapter 8 with me and look in verse 8. Hebrews 8, 8. Hebrews 8, 8. The Bible says For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant, I regarded them not, saith the Lord." He's talking about the Abrahamic covenant. He says, I'm not going to use that covenant no more. Verse 10, this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws in their mind, and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old, now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. So we're looking at this old covenant. He said, I took as the old covenant with Israel. You remember the Bible teaches and said already a couple of verses. It said the Jew first, then the Gentile. Salvation's come to the Jew first, then the Gentile. The Jew first. The Bible says that the gospel belongs to the Jew first. Talks about you and I, that knowing that the Jews were the one that God came to first. Well, he's talking about that same thing here. He came to the Jew first, then he came to the Gentile. With the Jew first, he said to them, he said, listen, while you were there in Egypt, look at verse 9. He said, I took them by the hand to lead them. What God is saying to us about the children of Israel, He said, what I did with them is I took them by the hand and led them. They had to follow me in obedience to the law, right? I had to lead them. Well, I can tell you right now, friend, I could probably take a two-year-old, maybe a four-year-old this morning or this evening, and I could take them by the hand and lead them anywhere I want to. I'm stronger than they are. I'm more determined than they are. And I promise you, man, we can get where we're going to go, and they're going to be dragged, they're going to be screaming, they're going to know all kinds of stuff, but I got them by the hand, and they're going to be moving. Does that look like grace to you? Does that look like God, how He would handle? Well, that's how He handled the children of Israel in the old covenant. In the old covenant, He handled by the hand, and He led them out by the hand. He grabbed them by the hand. But He said, there's a new covenant coming, the new nature. And in this new covenant, in this new nature, He said, I'm going to put my laws in verse 10. I'm going to put my laws in their mind. And I'm going to write them in their hearts. And that's going to be the new covenant, amen? And that's what God's going to do in the new nature with you and I. He took the old nature, amen? He said, I'm not fooling with the old nature no more. I'm not messing with the old nature no more. That old nature, friend, is wicked. That old nature is ungodly and unrighteous. But I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to take that new nature. And in that new nature, I'm going to take my laws and I'm going to write them down on their hearts. I'm going to write them down on their minds. And they will never, ever leave. They will be my people. I will be their God. I will forgive them of their sins and their transgressions. And where I am, they'll be. Where they are, I am. Amen? I'm going to give them a new nature. That's what he's talking about here in Hebrews chapter 8. That new nature. That new nature. It's going to be a sinless nature. We read that in verse John chapter 3. Turn back there and look in verse 7. When he writes his laws, he writes on their hearts and on their minds in this new covenant. It's going to be a sinless nature. The Bible says in verse 7, little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committed sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, the son of God has manifested. and he that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and cannot sin because he born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. So what are you talking about? I'm talking about this this morning. God said this, or the word of God said this, he that doth doeth righteousness is righteous. Now, let me ask you a question. If you do righteous, where are you doing righteous? I'm doing righteous from the divine nature, right? Because my human nature has no ability of doing righteous. What does my human nature have the ability of doing? Unrighteousness. Well, the Bible says that if you do unrighteousness, then you're the child of the devil. But over here, if you do righteousness, then you're the child of God. What makes us a child of God? Not our human nature, but what makes us a child of God is our divine nature. Our divine nature that does righteousness and the human nature does unrighteousness. Now what makes us so righteous is because of Christ, amen? He is our righteousness and in Christ we become righteous. But I want you to notice in the human nature it's all about sin. In the divine nature it's all about sinlessness. Now, he says a seed right here in this verse 9. He said, For his seed remaineth in him. Now, whose seed is he talking about? He's talking about God's seed. And so what is God's seed? Well, we recognize in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 23 says, By being born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible by the word of God that liveth and abideth forever. So in order for you to be born again, according to 1 Peter 1.23, it's going to require that you have a seed called the Word of God. And that Word of God is going to come into you and it will live and abide forever. Is that true? Is that what that Bible's teaching? That that seed, when you get saved and born again, and then that by nature will be that seed that's in you. That seed that liveth and abideth forever. That's what makes you saved forever. Well, we got that Word in us. We got that seed in us. And man, it won't come out. It's not coming out. He won't ever leave us. It's in us. The Bible said that that seed remaineth. And that's the Word of God. But there's another seed. In Galatians, Galatians chapter 2, I think it is, or maybe chapter 3, we looked at it this morning in chapter 3. We find a seed, and in that seed, it's talking about Jesus being the seed. Galatians, turn there with me if you don't mind so you have that reference. Galatians chapter 3, there's another seed that it's speaking of. What's so beautiful about this is that the Word of God and Jesus is the same. Amen? So we find in verse 16 of Galatians 3, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as plural, as of many, but as one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. So when the Bible's speaking of John chapter 3, about we that have the divine nature, that's sinless. And the reason why it's sinless is because that seed remaineth in us. And that seed is the Word of God. And that seed is the Lord Jesus Christ. For not only is He the righteousness that makes us righteous, and only He's the Savior that saves our soul, but He's the one that remains in us that will keep eternal life within us. Amen? and therefore if because of Jesus Christ having a seed in us and the Word of God having a seed in us we'll find that we'll do righteous and there'll be no sinfulness in our lives and our divine nature. Okay? Now don't walk out of here and say Brother Larry's preaching sinless perfection. I'm not preaching that. I'm telling you in your divine nature there's no sin because the seed remaineth in there. I'm talking about your human nature is all but sin. And it's all about sin. It never will go to heaven. It will always cause you trouble. The life of God, know the word is in you. The life of God is in you. That's what makes you saved. That's what makes you righteous. That's what makes you holy. That's what makes you godly. That's what makes you who you are. that divine nature. You have been justified. That word justified means rendered innocent, rendered just. Have you been rendered righteous? Have you heard that before? Have you heard that when I get saved, I get justified? What does justified mean? Well, there's three parts of salvation. There's justification, there's sanctification, there's glorification. When you get justified, friend, is when you receive Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, you'll find that now you've been rendered or you've been declared just or declared righteous or declared holy. Well, how can He say that to us when we've got a human nature? I'll tell you how He can say that, because we've got a divine nature. And in that divine nature who we will follow as a child of God is because that seed of the Word of God and that seed of the Son of God is lying within us and it won't come out. It won't run out. It won't just drop out. It will be with us for all of eternity. Amen. That's what gives us this salvation that's eternally safe. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Glory to God. I know your mashed potatoes are about right here. I know that. I know, friend, that the struggle you're going through right now. But have you ever heard of this before? It says, and I'll put it like this. I said, finally, finally, Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48 can finally be accomplished. It says this, be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. I've always wondered, how can I be perfect? Well, I've asked preachers. They tell me, well, when you get to heaven, That's not satisfactory to me when I get to heaven. It doesn't say that. It doesn't say be perfect as your Father which is in heaven perfect when you get to heaven. So finally, I got it. Today, I can announce to you that I'm perfect. Am I? And you can announce to me, I'm perfect. What's so perfect about you? I've got Christ in me. I've got the new nature with the seed of God and the Word of God within me. And when God looks upon me, He sees the blood of the Lamb. He sees the righteousness of God. It was Jesus that met the need of righteousness and met the demand of redemption. And when Christ Jesus lives in me, I can tell you right now, when the Bible says, Be ye perfect, I can look at God in the eyes today and say, I am. Finally, finally. There's another finally. There in 1 Peter, he tells us, he says, be holy for I am holy. I've often wondered how in the world can I get there. I mean, man, I tell you, I mean, I do want to be holy, but how will I get to the place of this holiness? And so, finally, I come to a place and say, you know what? I got it. I got it, finally. Finally, it can be accomplished because it is written, the Bible says, for I am holy, you be holy. I could look at God today and say this, I'm a dirty, rotten, sorry, no good, low-down piece of trash. I can say that my human nature today, I'll never do anything good. I'll never be anything good. I've got nothing to boast over. I've got nothing to say. I acknowledge my sinfulness. I acknowledge my heart is wicked. I acknowledge that my mind could roam. I acknowledge that my imagination, friend, could go down to the dark place and to the sorry place. I tell God, God, I am sorry. I am no good. And I'm telling you as a church, I'm pathetic. But I can tell you at the same time that I've got a divine nature. And in that divine nature, Jesus Christ lives right there. And I'm as holy as you are. I'm as holy as God. I'm as holy and perfect as I can be and I will always be. He lives there never to leave. He dwells in me with eternal life. That's salvation. That's what God is teaching this morning about this thing called eternal security. Finally, finally, got another finally. Matthew chapter 5 verse 20. I mentioned this to Brother Charlie a while ago. He says, For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Could anybody ever explain that to me? I mean, he says that your righteousness is going to have to be exceeding. That means above a Pharisee or a scribe. Do you know what a scribe is? A scribe is one who has been assigned and designed to take the holy writ and to write it down and to put it in order and to put it in places and to make sure that it's right. That's a scribe. You know what a Pharisee is? The Pharisee are the very closest to any people that are living according to the law. You can't get no closer than a Pharisee. So, my mind is this. I know I've got a little bit of an old mind. If my righteousness does not exceed the scribe who handles the Word of God, and the Pharisees that obeys the laws of God, and my righteousness has got to exceed that, or I'm not going to heaven. That's worrisome. On my human nature? There's no way. Absolutely no way I can be better than a scribe, nor I can be better than a Pharisee. But on my divine nature? Because that Pharisee and that scribe, all they got is human nature. And they're all working with their skill, working with their mind, working with their heart. They're following the law. They're washing their hands. They're dipping the cup. They're not doing anything on Sabbath. I mean, everything in the world they're doing over there. But over here in the divine nature, where I'm free, and then Jesus Christ, I got Him, He's got me. He set me free of my sin. He set me free of the law. He set me free of who I am. He let me go of my human nature, and now He sets in my divine nature. He tells me right now, You have far exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. Finally. Finally. Finally to divine nature. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Divine nature is the only way to exceed human righteousness. It's divine nature. Divine nature is sinless and righteous and perfect. I'll tell you the third thing about this divine nature. It's Christ's nature. Christ nature. Galatians chapter 3, turn with me. Some of y'all sleeping, go ahead, wake up later, we'll get you up later. It's okay. Look at brother Keith, he's both of his eyes is closed. Galatians chapter 3, verse 26. The Bible says, for you are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male or female, for all you are one. in Christ Jesus. So this nature that you have is Christ's nature. Not a divine nature, but Christ's nature. We are one in Him. In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 31. Let's read that scripture. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 31, verse 32. The Bible says, For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, shall be joined unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife, even as himself. and the wives see that she reverence her husband. What are we talking about here? This is what we're talking about. The Bible talks about Ephesians chapter 5. We use this chapter a lot to compare about wives and husbands and their responsibilities. Husbands, love your wife as Christ loved the church. Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands as it is right unto the Lord. And we find that these scriptures apply to that. But it tells us in verse 31 what this chapter's really about. What is it really about? It's about Christ and His church. That's what it's really about. What is it saying? It's saying this. It's saying that the church and Christ is one. Where two become one. Let me ask you a question. If this divine nature is Christ's nature, And He's going to come into me and be one nature, right? Christ in me is two and we become one. He's got to have a divine nature in me for us to have a marriage with Him. He will never marry the human nature. They're not compatible, right? If you're going to have one, you've got to have a husband and a wife in order for them to become two to become one. It can't be male and male. It can't be female and female. It can't be male and dog. It can't be female and cat. It's got to be male and female. They've got to come together and become one. Well, Fred, if you and I are going to be saved and saved for eternity, then our divine nature, which is Christ's nature, has become one nature. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Not our human nature. Our human nature stinks. Yes. It's pathetic. It's the divine nature that we're married with. We are the brides of Christ in our divine nature. We're a piece of dirt in our human nature. Christ's nature cannot marry human nature. Christ's nature must marry divine nature. Look at verse 4, the last portion of it. We'll close. There's another, there's a divine escape. Boy, this is sweet. This is sweet. Whereby are given unto us exceeding and great precious promises that by these you might be partakers, that's possessors of the divine nature, Christ nature. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. You know what this tells us tonight, dear church? That all our lives we have been in captivity with human nature lust. We don't even know what it means when our lust is not in charge. We grow up as young children We grew up as children that would say, that would have, be stingy. Am I right? You've got to teach that human nature to share. All those little kids, they think everything is theirs. Right? Some of us never grew up, but everything is theirs. And then whatever they have that's theirs, they want what they have. You say, well, you've got something to play with. Why are you over there messing with their things? Who taught him that? Daddy? Mama? No. It's just human nature. Oh, they go over there, and they cry, and they fight, and all that kind of stuff. That's all human nature. So that lust. It's just a small kid, right? They grow up. The lust is have more. For example, and we're really bad about this about parents, is we got Christmas, and we buy them 15 gifts. Right? Their birthday, oh, you'd think that that's the greatest day of all life. They buy them meals, they buy them gifts, they buy them gifts on the gifts, and they celebrate. They go out and rent out a place. It costs $1,500 to rent out this thing. You get a free pizza. You get to jump all over the place. You get to run out all over the place. And when they get done, they get to eat pizza and they drink Dr. Pepper. and then you flourish them with all these gifts. These kids have gifts all over the place. They already know what to do with them. And then when you go home, and if you could go to the houses of all these kids, you can go to their rooms, and the gifts are put in the closet that not even played with or not even meshed with. So we have gifts for Christmas. We have gifts for our birthday. We got gifts for graduation. I mean, a kid comes out of kindergarten. We got to have a big shindoo. Candy garden! Really? Our human flesh is pathetic, folks. So, when we're growing up, we've got this flesh, right? This flesh, this lust, this lust for things, this lust for wanting more, this lust for everything that's forbidden. Don't touch the TV. It's like the demons got a hold of them. Am I right? Don't touch that. Then you say to them, hey, pick that up. Right? Let's do it. Don't touch the TV. And boy, they go over there and touch it because they're full of the devil. And then you say, OK, pick up your toys. Your toys are over here. Pick up your toys. They're full of the devil. They're full of the devil. You don't believe it? They're full of the devil. Your kids are full of the devil. 1 John chapter 3 verse 10. Read it. Your children are full of the devil. All they have is a human nature. All they have is old life. All they have is lust. All they have is desire. All they have is what they want. They're full of selfishness and they're full of sin and they're full of Satan. I'm sorry. Till you get that divine nature. Now when you get that divine nature, read that last part of that verse there. He says what having to what? Escape. Woo! Finally! I get out of the bondage of sin. Finally! I get out of the chains of lust. Finally! I don't have to operate with the desires of my heart. It is now the corruption, the damnation. I'm escaped. I'm escaped. I'm escaped. And the Bible says, I'm escaped that is in the world through lust. This divine nature, church, listen. Divine nature is so powerful, is so authoritative, that when you get divine nature, divine faith, divine power, you'll find divine escape in that lust. that you always had in your life will be dissipating, amen. It will no longer have that authority, that superiority over you anymore. You better tell it no. That's right. Amen. That's right. Yes, sir. If you don't, then you have the human nature. Yes, sir. Human nature has... Some of the parents are human nature. They never say no. Yeah. Right? That's right. That's right. They always say yes. They say, hey, mom, can I go do that? Yeah. Can I have that? Yeah. Going to the store. Hey, mom, can I have one of those? You got one at the home. Yeah, but I don't like that one. Okay, come on. Always yes. Always yes. And one of these days, they're going to say, hey, mama, can I go out and smoke pot? Yes. You won't even know. He said yes so many times. That's just all you do is yes. I'm going to go out and rob a bank and kill somebody. Okay, go ahead. Be careful. Love you. That's what parents do, right? Love you. Don't call me unless you need money. Don't call me unless you need something. If you get put in jail, call me mom and daddy loves you now. Puke on that. You know what we need? We need divine nature. You know what happens when we get divine nature? We escape. No longer does lust control and destroy our lives. Man, in your face devil. Here we come, oh world, and we're coming to you with a divine nature, with a divine faith, and divine power, and no longer, no more does lust go to keep me down in the dark, and keep me away from God, and keep me away from my Bible, and keep me away from my church, and keep me away from righteousness and holiness, and being perfect with God. I can live a life under God, and die and go to heaven. Thank you for the escape. Thank you, Lord. Now I'm telling you, that's what happens when you get saved. If you haven't experienced this, lust is still a problem for you, then you don't have the divine nature. The Bible's not teaching this may happen to you, that you have a divine nature, and it could possibly cause you to escape corruption in the world through lust. It could possibly happen. Do y'all see that? It's no possible nothing. It will. That divine nature, friend, will bring you out. Once you receive the divine faith, experience the divine power, you possess the divine nature, you'll never be destroyed according to the scripture, you'll never be damned, you'll never be defiled. Human faith, human power in nature, it will always be damnation, it will always be destruction, it will always be defilement, but not with you, with the divine nature. There's escape from damnation, escape from defilement, escape from being destroyed. Now, to ask you a question, how can you lose it? How can you lose it? How can you lose it? God, thank you for eternal salvation. Thank you. Now, if you want to challenge me on these scriptures, I beg that you would. Matter of fact, I start praying now. God send anybody and everybody who wants to talk about these passages and tell me where I'm wrong at. I don't believe I'm wrong at all. I believe I am right according to the scripture and I'll preach it just like you said. Divine escape. Now can you escape it yourself in the human nature? But you can in the divine nature. Let's stand to our feet, our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. Some of y'all's eyes are closed, won't you open them? The Bible says, by grace are you saved. Divine faith is grace. Divine power is grace. Divine nature is grace. Divine escape is grace. You know what we ought to be doing this morning or this evening? Every single one of us who have been born again, we ought to be on our face before holy God, giving praise and giving thanks for what he has done in my life. If you're not saved this morning, You ought to be on your face before God. Say, God, forgive me. I don't have the divine nature. I just live on human nature. And lust has got me bondaged in bitterness, unforgiveness, disobedience. I don't want to come to church. I want to read my Bible. I love the world, the things of the world. Lust is eating you up. I'm going to tell you why. Because you don't have divine nature. Only way to escape that is through this nature. Won't you come and get saved today? Come. Search your heart out. Seek it out. Either you're praising or you're coming. What you doing? You sing, Brother George. You sing. Praise His holy name. To our Lord Jesus, He's so worthy to be praised and so worthy to be honored. Glory to His name. What a God. What a Savior. No wonder He's worthy to be praised, worthy to be honored. This divine nature will change your marriage. It'll change your home. It's divine nature to change your way of life, your walk. Oh God, help. Give us help today, Lord. Blessed be your name. Anybody this evening. Anymore. Come. Praise Him. Worthy is the Lamb. Honor be to our Lord. Thank you, Lord. What a God. What a Savior. Thank you, Lord. ♪ Hold on my love ♪ ♪ There's a room in my heart ♪ ♪ My Jesus is there ♪ Amen. All right, y'all don't forget about Wednesday night. We have service at Brother Gary's. We're all going to meet there at seven o'clock. And then Friday night is the Ladies Bible Study. Following Friday is the Church's Bible Study. And tonight I'll be at Brother