2970 Baird Rd., Shreveport, LA 71118
CHRIST ALONE-SCRIPTURE ALONE-GRACE ALONE
SEPTEMBER 11, 2005
SUNDAY
Scripture Reading/Prayer: Psalm 119:89-96 (David)
Call to Worship: ‘Thy Word Forever Is, O Lord!’
Scripture Reading/Prayer: I Kings 1 (Mike)
Hymn: #16- The Lord Is King
Message: He Opens and No Man Shuts- Rev. 3:7-13
WEDNESDAY
6:30 PM- Mid-week Service
Nursery care available for all services for ages 4 and younger.
Ken Wimer, Pastor- ( (318) 687-4943
E-MAIL: pastor@shrevegrace.org
WEB SITE: http://www.shrevegrace.org Updated weekly with audio messages now available on-line.
CALL TO WORSHIP
(Tune – Amazing Grace # 236)
Words based on Psalm 119:89-96 from the Scottish Metrical Hymnal
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hy word for ever is, O Lord,
In heaven it’s settled fast;
Unto all generations
Thy faithfulness doth last:
The earth Thou hast established,
And it abides by Thee.
They stand just as thou hast ordained;
And shall Thy servant be.
Unless in Thy perfect law
My soul delights had found,
I should have perished, even when
My troubles did abound.
Thy precepts I will ne'er forget;
They quick'ning to me brought.
Lord, Thine I am; O save thou me:
Thy precepts I have sought.
For me the wicked have laid wait,
Me seeking to destroy:
But I Thy testimonies true
Consider with all joy.
An end of all perfection
Here have I seen, O God:
But as for thy commandment,
It is exceeding broad.
OUR JUSTIFICATION WITH GOD
· Purposed by the Father- Eph 1:11
· Purchased by the Son- Rom 3:24; 2 Cor. 5:14
· Proved by the resurrection- Rom 4:25
· Persuaded by the Spirit- I Cor 2:10
· Portrayed by faith through works- James 2:21
SELECTED
A GREAT GULF FIXED
“And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence.” Lu 16:26
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here is a great gulf fixed between the redeemed in heaven and the damned in hell. By whom is it fixed? It is by God Himself. Why this gulf? It is so that every man may receive according to the justice and righteousness of God. There’s a great gulf fixed and no going back and forth from it. The kindest saint in heaven cannot make a visit to the congregation of the dead and damned in hell to relieve one bit of agony. The most frantic sinner in hell cannot escape the wrath he must endure. On the other side of death, there is no redemption, no Substitute, no Intercessor, no sacrifice, and no blood to pay for sin. The Scriptures tell us that the state of the damned is fixed.
The rich man had five brothers for whom he prayed to Abraham to send a messenger. He is praying to the wrong person. He is praying at the wrong time. It’s over! His damnation is fixed. The rich man still thinks of Lazarus as a servant, and sought Abraham to intercede. If this is the only thing you can see, you fix your eyes on whatever you can see. If you’re out in the ocean about to drown and a plank floats by, you grab hold of it…even a dead fish. You grab at whatever there is.
However, if we’ve laid hold of Christ, it’s because He laid hold of us first. It is because He has been preached to us, the Holy Spirit has invaded our life, and caused us to see Him in truth. We’ve been brought to redemption by the purposes of God in eternity, by the finished work of Christ on the cross, and by the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. That’s the only way that any of us are different from this rich man. We cannot pray for the dead or them for us. Everything’s fixed. The work of God is a finished work unto salvation. The calling of lost souls is accomplished through the Gospel of Christ Jesus alone, preached unto the glory of God. DAVID STRANGE, Shreveport, LA
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Christ is the fulfiller and fulfillment of ALL the promises of God because He is the sum and substance of them.
G. B. WILSON
THE FAITH OF GOD’S ELECT
“…according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness,” Titus 1:1.
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he faith of God’s elect is the revelation of the Lord Jesus, and has as its sole hope the His precious blood shed once for all for the redemption, reconciliation, and justification of God’s elect by His imputed righteousness at the cross, Romans 1:16,17. Election is solely by the purpose and will of God from everlasting, and not in anything belonging to the sinner- 2 Tim 1:9. Faith proves itself to be a genuine grace of the Holy Spirit in that it acknowledges the truth by submitting to and trusting in Christ, whose blood shed unto death pardons freely, whose imputed righteousness justifies, and whose all-prevailing merits and intercession give life- 2 Peter 1:1. It is after godliness in that it produces reverence for God, affection for Christ and His Gospel, dependence on His grace, submission to His imputed righteousness, and gratitude for God’s mercies in Christ, and obedience to the truth. KEN WIMER
PERFECT IN CHRIST JESUS
"If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." --Galatians 5:18
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e who looks at his own character and position from a legal point of view, will not only despair when he comes to the end of his reckoning, but if he be a wise man he will despair at the beginning; for if we are to be judged on the footing of the law, there shall no flesh living be justified. How blessed to know that we dwell in the domains of grace and not of law! When thinking of my state before God the question is not, "Am I perfect in myself before the law?" but, "Am I perfect in Christ Jesus?" That is a very different matter. We need not enquire, "Am I without sin naturally?" but, "Have I been washed in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness?" It is not "Am I in myself well pleasing to God?" but it is "Am I accepted in the Beloved?" DAILY READINGS