SHREVEPORT GRACE CHURCH

2970 Baird Rd., Shreveport, LA 71118

CHRIST ALONE-SCRIPTURE ALONE-GRACE ALONE

JULY 2, 2006

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORSHIP

SUNDAY

WEDNESDAY

7:00 PM- Mid-week Service

Nursery care available for all services for ages 4 and younger.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Ken Wimer, Pastor- ( (318) 687-4943

PO Box 5028, Shreveport, LA 71135

E-MAIL: pastor@shrevegrace.org

WEB SITE: http://www.shrevegrace.org Updated weekly with audio messages now available on-line.

CALL TO WORSHIP

( Tune: ‘DOXOLOGY’)

lessed are the humble souls that see

Their emptiness and poverty;

Treasure of grace to them are giv’n

And crowns of joy laid up in heav’n.

Blessed are the men of broken heart,

Who mourn for sin with inward smart;

The blood of Christ divinely flows,

A healing balm for all their woes.

Blessed are the souls that thirst for grace,

Hunger and long for righteousness;

They shall be well supplied, and fed

With living streams and living bread.

NOT THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD, BUT OF GOD

here is but very little true religion anywhere. Our hearts are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and the Scripture, which cannot be broken, tells us that the righteous scarcely are saved. It is a very narrow way to heaven, and if we enter in, it will be entirely by the grace of God. You will be led to see how vain the doctrines of the Arminians are. It is very plain that the world is too much in the hearts of [professing] Christians, and Satan covers over covetousness under the name of prudence. How [professing] Christians compare themselves one with another, instead of with the Word of God; but God has a people, whom He will separate from the world. He will show them, by His blessed Spirit, what He has done for them through our Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul says, 'Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.'

Happy and blessed are they who have not the spirit of the world ruling in their hearts, but the Spirit of God, so that they may understand the things which are freely given to them, such as justification through the blood of Christ, pardon of our every sin, promises of help, support and strength to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, and a certainty of our being more than conquerors through Him who died that we might live, who was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

WILLIAM TIPTAFT, 1833

TWO BY TWO, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SEVENS?

“Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female:  and of beasts that are not clean by two, the mal and his female,”

Genesis 7:2

ost of us know about God bringing the animals into the ark two by two, but what were these extra clean beasts Noah was to take in by sevens, male and female?  There are a number of lessons we can draw from this.

The distinction of clean and unclean beasts, being before the flood, was in view of the sacrifices that Noah would need to offer to the Lord upon exiting from the ark after the waters subsided, Genesis 8:20.  Although Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, Genesis 6:8 (Eternal electing grace), and God prepared that ark to preserve Noah and his family alive through the judgment of the world (a type of salvation), yet, it all could not be without the shed blood of innocent victims, all typical of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus- Hebrews 9:22.

Why clean animals?  While some proclaim loudly today that ‘Christ made sin’ means that He actually became guilty with sin charged to Him, and died guilty of the sin of His people, NOTHING could be more foreign to the Scripture types and teachings.  Why the importance of CLEAN animals?  It is because they typified Christ the SPOTLESS LAMB, ‘who did NO sin, nor was guile found in his mouth,’ 1 Peter 2:22. Scripture says that He died THE JUST FOR THE UNJUST, 1 Peter 3:18, NOT the GUILTY for the unjust. He was made sin (legally and judicially CHARGED with the sin of His people BY IMPUTATION only).  Our sin was laid on Him, not put in Him.  He died FOR our sin, not IN it.  He was numbered AMONG the transgressors, He was NOT a transgressor.  He was affected BY our sin, not infected with it. His soul was made an offering for sin, not made sinful.  It was for this reason that God was pleased to bruise Him, because He was just, holy and the PERFECT sacrifice, and thereby the JUST God and Savior, Isa. 45:21; Isa. 53:6.

The clean animals were to be taken into the ark by sevens.  Is not seven the number of perfection, pointing to the perfect work of the Lord Jesus in His cross death, perfectly redeeming and justifying there ALL of His elect once for all?  See Romans 3:24 with Hebrews 9:15.

KEN WIMER

A Righteousness in Which God Himself Cannot Find a Flaw

e must have a righteousness in which Jehovah Himself cannot find a flaw, a righteousness which Jehovah cannot mend, a righteousness which neither sin nor Satan can mar; and unless we have on a righteousness of this nature, we can never enter into the blessedness of the world to come.

Where, then, are we to find it? Eternal praises to the matchless mercy of a covenant God, we have it in the blessed Person, glorious work, and spotless obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ! And, therefore, as it was essential for Him to fulfill all righteousness for His people, He loved the Lord His God with all His heart, with all His mind, and with all His strength. He began at the beginning, and went through holily, righteously, and steadily every step of the law of God and all in justice and righteousness. He fulfilled every iota of it, and gave it immortal glory and honor. The law could only require the perfect obedience of a perfect man, but He gave it the perfect obedience of the God-Man, and stamped forever a holy dignity and majesty on it, in order to manifest that this glorious righteousness is suited to every sinner's case, to all their needs, and to honor and glorify all the perfections of God; and thus He has "forever perfected them that were sanctified," all those who were set apart for Himself. They are perfected forever in His own blessed obedience and spotless righteousness; and this righteousness which God gives shall endure forever.

As for you who have a righteousness of your own, you never can feel your need of Christ's righteousness. You do not know your need of it, and it is an insult to your pride to mention it. But, for the poor creature who feels himself to be a loathsome, vile, and ruined sinner, and is brought experimentally to feel what he is before a heart-searching God, and that every iota of the law was against him - for God to give this righteousness to him, to put it upon him and communicate the power of it to his soul, why it will raise and exalt him to such a blessed enjoyment of God's righteousness that his tongue will sing aloud and speak forth praise to the honor and glory of His blessed Name; and he will say, "My soul shall be joyful in my God; I will glory in the God of my salvation; for He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness; He hath adorned me with the garments of salvation." 

WILLIAM GADSBY, 1843 

NOTES

·         CLEANING SCHEDULE: Wimers (6/26-7/9)

·         NURSERY SCHEDULE:  Sandra McWherter/ Tricia Pennywell