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Henry Mahan

Faith - Things Hoped For

Hebrews 11:1
Henry Mahan • July, 3 1994 • Audio
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Message: 1154a
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
6088 Zebulon Highway
Pikeville, KY 41501

Sermon Transcript

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Now, my message this morning is on the subject faith. One word. What a word. Faith. And my text will be taken
from Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews 11, and the writer of Hebrews says
in verse 1, chapter 11, now faith, faith, one word, now faith, is,
this is what faith is. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. Now, we've got to go back to
chapter 10, verse 38. Chapter 10, verse 38. And here
Paul says, now the just shall live by faith. Who are we talking
about, the just? Well, Christ is the just One.
He's a just God and a Savior. He died the just for the unjust
that He might bring us to God. But the writer is speaking here
of the justified, of those who are redeemed by Christ. Those
who are purchased and pardoned by His blood. The just shall
live by faith. That's how they live. Not by
works. We conclude that a man is justified
by faith, not by the works of the law. Not by the works of
the law, not by the law, not by ceremony, not by religion,
not by merit. The just live by faith. This
is the way they begin to live. This is the way they begin to
live. You see, the Gospels preached, the true Gospel. Turn to Ephesians
chapter 1. Listen to this. Ephesians 1.
It tells us how this life begins. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse
13, it tells us how the life of faith begins. The just shall
live by faith, it says in Ephesians 1 verse 13, in whom you believed,
in whom you trusted. After you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, you heard something. In whom
also, after you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit
of promise. You heard, you trusted, you believed,
you were sealed. The gospel is preached. The gospel
is the power of God unto salvation. The Holy Spirit takes that gospel,
that seed. We're born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible seed, the Word of God. which liveth
and abideth forever. Of his own will beget he us,
regenerated us, gave us life. Of his own will beget he us with
the word of truth, in whom you trusted after you heard the word
of truth." You heard the gospel, not just any gospel, the gospel. Paul said there's not more than
one gospel, there's one gospel. And if any man preach any other
gospel, let him be accursed. He said it doesn't matter if
it's an angel from heaven with unusual credentials. If they
don't preach the gospel of God's glory, the gospel of God's grace,
the gospel concerning God's Son, let them be accursed, because
there's just one gospel. How shall they call on Him in
whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him of whom they have not heard? And how are they going to hear
without a preacher? They hear the gospel and the Holy Spirit
takes the word of truth and begets life. And the sinner believes,
the sinner receives Christ who is the life. People call that gospel regeneration. Well, that's not a good term.
We're regenerated by the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit uses
the gospel. In whom you trusted after you
heard. When you believed, you were sealed
with the Holy Spirit. He that seeth the Son and believeth
on him hath life. He that believeth not on the
Son shall never see life. Like the Lord said to that Samaritan
woman, if you just knew who was speaking to you, if you just
knew the gift of God and who's speaking to you, you'd ask, and
I'd give you living water. Most all of you are familiar
with the paintings of Russell May, the artist from Prestonsburg,
Kentucky. He's dead now, but he was an
outstanding artist. And we have paintings in our
home by Russell May. Many of you have paintings in
your home. Colin Witt sells them in his gallery, Russell May.
A good artist, but he wasn't always a good artist. He didn't
always know how to paint. And when I met him, I asked,
How'd you get to be a painter? But he said, I wanted to be a
painter. I knew I had some gifts. I knew I had some ability. And
I wanted to paint. I wanted to paint more than I
wanted to do anything else. I wanted to paint. I wanted to
paint pictures that people could enjoy. So he said, I found out
about an outstanding artist over in Europe. who taught people
how to paint. And he said, I saved up my money,
$10,000. This was back a long time ago. $10,000 is what that man required
to teach Russell May how to paint. He said, I took $10,000 and I
went over there. I had an apartment to meet him.
I had an apartment to study under him. I had an apartment to live
there. And for that man to teach me to paint, for weeks and weeks
and weeks. And he said I went to his place. He told me to be there Monday
morning at 7 a.m. He said I was there at 7 a.m.,
knocked on the door, came in, introduced myself. He said, are
you here to talk or learn how to paint? And he said we painted 14 hours
a day, 7 days a week for months. Isn't that the story? For months. He said, I lost, I forget how
many pounds, 15, 20, 25 pounds. Man wouldn't let me eat. All
we did was paint. But he said, I came back here
an artist. What I would give to find somebody
that interested in knowing the gospel. What I would give. I have people, friends of mine,
in other cities who talk about how they'd love to hear the gospel,
how they'd love for their children to hear the gospel, how they'd
love to sit on the gospel, how they wish they had a place to
worship God, and they don't move from where they are. And they
don't go to where the gospel is preached. And I'll tell you
why they don't do it. It costs too much. They've got
a good job, they've got a nice home, they've got two or three
cars in the driveway, and they've got all these things and they're
not willing to give it up even for God Almighty. So they'll
never be an artist. They'll never be an artist. They'll
never be an artist. They're going to stay right where
they are. It costs too much. This is the
way life begins when a man gets a thirst and a hunger. Blessed
are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness. And they hunger
and thirst so badly, they'll give up anything what you preach
Wednesday night to hear that gospel. And to be where that
gospel is preached. That's where it starts. In whom
you trusted after you had. See the Son and believe Him.
But see, that's the way life continues. Not only the way life
begins by faith, the just shall live by faith. That's how you
live, by faith. That's how you keep living. Look
at that verse again, the just shall live by faith. It does not say he lives upon
his faith. He lives upon Christ. You don't live on faith. My faith's
so weak. Well, you're not trusting your
faith anyway. He's not weak. His blood's not weak. I'm not
living upon my faith. I'm living upon Christ. I'm a
little weak vine who's clinging to a mighty strong pole and building on a cheap cornerstone. Peter says, to whom coming? I
came to Jesus as I was, weary and weak and worn. I'm still
coming to Him weary and weak and worn. Sixty-eight years old,
nearly. I'm still coming, Dale. I'll
be coming tomorrow, too. Next day, too. If you meet me
down the road when I'm eighty, I'll still be coming. To whom
coming? To whom coming? Looking unto
Jesus, seeing that we're encircled about with so great a crowd of
witnesses. Let us lay aside the weight that
doth so easily beset us and look unto Jesus. Yesterday's grace won't work. Got to have it today. Isn't that
right, kids? Yesterday's manna rotted. Don't talk about what you used
to do. How you used to believe, what you used to give, what you
all back on. Well, I sure used to do this.
Yeah, it's rotten just like that old manor that they tried to
store up. They stored it up, you know. The Lord told them,
said, now go out and gather the manor every morning. Don't you
store it up. They did it anyway. And when
they went to get it, it stunk. And that's just the way that
old profession is. And all those old deeds we've
done, they stink. forgetting those things which
are behind. I'm looking to Christ, brand new. His mercies are new
evermore. That's how you continue. And
let me tell you this, the just shall live by faith. That's the
way we're going to wind it up. Look at verse 13, chapter 11.
These all died in faith. It talks about Abel and Noah
and Abraham and Moses and Sarah and all these people and said
that's the way they died. just like they began to live,
looking to Jesus by faith, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. You
know, my friends, whether our walk of faith in Christ be as
brief as the thief on the cross, that's pretty brief, wasn't it?
He didn't walk with him very long, but he walked with him.
He didn't look to him very long, but he looked to him. It's very
brief. Whether our walk of faith be
as brief as the thief on the cross, or whether our walk of
faith be as long a journey as Abraham, and filled with as many
trials and blessings, and filled with as many joys and sorrows,
and filled with as many failures and successes, we'll end this
journey right where we started it, at the cross. At the cross, at the cross where
I first saw the light. And the burden of my heart rolled
away. It was there by faith. I received
sight. And that's the way I've lived
this journey. And one day, I'm going to lie down, weary, tired,
and sick, and ready to leave here. And that's going to be the way
I'm going to leave, looking to Christ, just like I started.
We're not going to talk about what we did, or what we gave,
or how we labored, or how we loved, or anything else. We're
just going to say, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus'
blood and righteousness. And I'm saved and redeemed exactly
like that thief who never preached a sermon, never gave a dime,
and never won a soul, and never walked a step, and never was
baptized. But he looked to Christ. The
just shall live, you understand what I'm trying to say? Faith.
They live, they continue to live, and they die. The least believer. There are no crowns. A lady wrote
me this week. I said, happy with her letter,
and she talked about somewhere in California, how she watched
the television program out there and loved it, wanted the books
and appreciated my preaching. She said, especially that sermon
last week, she said, I know you'll have another star in your crown
for that one. I said, where's she in it? She said, that. Her
letter sounded so good that she got down to that. There are no degrees of glory.
Every believer is saved by the grace of God, kept by the grace
of God, and die in faith. Everybody at the wedding feast
has on the same garment, praising the same Lord. That's right. All right, what's the next line
now? It says in verse 38, that just shall live by faith, but
if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure
in him. If any man draw back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in him." What pleases God? What pleases
God? God talks about having pleasure
in a man. Isn't that what it says? My soul
shall have no pleasure in him if he draws back. In other words,
if one who professes to believe Christ, who professes to know
Christ, withdraws from the gospel, withdraws from the assembly of
believers, compromises the gospel through fear or covetousness,
turns away from the gospel back to ceremonialism, back to works,
back to law, back to religion. If he draws back from this gospel
of grace for whatever reason, my soul has no pleasure, no joy
in him. I'll say to him at the judgment,
I never knew you. Depart from me, I have no pleasure
in you." Well, what gives God pleasure? Faith. That's right. Look down here
at verse 6. Verse 6, look at it, "...by faith
Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was
not found, because God translated him." Enoch walked with God,
one day he just walked on into glory. God took him home. Look at the
next line. For before God did that, translated him, he had
this testimony. He pleased God. How did he please God, Dale?
By faith. That's how he pleased God. Look at verse 6 up there in chapter
11. Without faith, it's impossible
to please Him. Therefore with faith, It's possible
to please Him. Isn't that right? Without faith,
it's impossible to please Him. With faith, I please Him. Ken, that's right. That's what
that says. Enoch pleased God. He believed God. Abel, God had
respect to Abel, pleased Him. Why? By faith, he brought an
offspring. By faith. That's how you please
God. By faith. Let me show you an illustration
of that in Matthew chapter 8. This is so clear to me, I want
it to be to you. In Matthew chapter 8, here was
a man that had a sick servant. A servant whom he loved dearly
was very grievously ill, and the man lived way off somewhere
in another town, and he came to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
he said, my servant is grievously ill. Matthew chapter 8, verse
6. He said, Lord, my servant lieth
at home, sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus said, I'll
come heal him. Now watch the next line. The
centurion objected. He answered and said, Lord, I'm
not worthy that you should come under my roof. You just speak
the word, my servant will be healed. You don't have to go
down there. You control diseases, you control
sickness, you control all things. You don't need to go down there.
You just say the word. And that germ will flee him and that disease
will flee him. He'll be made whole. For he said,
and here's what he based it on, I'm a man under or having authority,
and I have soldiers under me, and I say to this man, you go,
and he goes. And I say to another, you come,
and he comes. And I say to my servant, you
do this, and he does it. I know what authority is, and
I know you have authority. over everything. I believe it. Now, you just speak the word. When Jesus heard this, He marveled. He rejoiced. His heart was filled
with joy. He marveled. He said, Verily
I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. You want to please God? Oh, but if any man draw back,
if any man leaves the gospel, if any person for fear or covetousness
or applause or popularity or possessions or whatever agrees,
leaves the gospel, pulls away, takes himself away from identification
with the people of God and thinks, no pleasure. No pleasure. But, thank God,
verse 39, look at this. But we're not of them who draw
back unto perdition, but we're of them that believe to the saving
of the soul. I want to show you something
right here. I don't know why in this world
I've never seen this in 40 some odd years. Two critical, vital
words in this verse. We're not of them. Of them. Who draw back, who quit, who
desert the gospel. We're not of them. We're not
identified with them. We're not like them. We're not
of their company. We're not of their persuasion.
We're not of their principles. We're not of their conviction.
We're not of them. We're as foreign to them as if
we spoke another language or belonged to another race. But
we are of them that believe. Oh, the key to understanding
this thing. Some people leave the gospel,
some never do. Some get weary and quit, some
never do. Some say, oh, to heck with it.
Others, it's my life. Some find something that's more
important. Some, to them, nothing is more important. What makes
the difference? Some draw back, some remain.
Some quit, some persevere. What's the difference? Two words. Of them. Of them. Of them. The key to this scripture
right here is two words. Of them. We're not of them that
draw back and deny Christ. We are of them. We are regenerated. We have a new heart, a new nature,
a love for Christ. We are one with Him. We are in
His body. We are of-believers. Turn to
1 John 2 and listen to John over here. 1 John 2. Oh, look at this. 1 John 2 verse 19. You see, true believers do not
draw back and leave Christ because they are of Christ. Christ can't
deny Himself. True believers never draw back
and leave Christ because they're of His body. They're held with the cards of
everlasting love, elective grace, precious blood. They're one with
Christ as Christ is one with God. And they can only leave
Christ and Christ can leave God. John said in 1 John 2, 19, they
went out from us, they quit, they left, they disassociated
themselves from us. Why? They were not of us. That's
the sole reason. You see that, Bob? That's the
reason. And you wonder, you say, well,
boy, so-and-so used to sit and live the gospel, and listen to
the gospel, and rejoice in the gospel. He must stand up here
and teach it. But he's gone. Why'd he leave?
He wasn't of us. His body was here, but His heart
wasn't. He talked about the body of Christ,
but was never in the body. He was not of us. Listen, read
on. If they had been of us, they
no doubt would have continued with us. They couldn't have left
us if they'd been of us. This arm, you won't find it down
the street tomorrow. It'll still be where this body
is. This little finger. Don't look for it anywhere else
but here in this body. If it's anywhere else, it's dead. It's dead. If you find this arm,
cover it up. Don't bring it back to me. It's
dead. But it can't leave. It's off
me. You can't use it. John 17, our Lord said this,
don't turn to it, you know it. He said, Father, I pray for them
which you have given me that they may be one as we are. And Paul over here in my text
says this, he says, the just live by faith. But if any man
draws back, my soul hath no pleasure. But we're not of them that draw
back. We're not of them. That's foreign
to us. We're of them that believe and
keep on believing. It's not a matter of our holding
Him, it's a matter of Him holding us. If you can be happy away from
Christ, you're not of Christ. If you can be contented with
the people of this world, you're of them, you're not of us. If
you walk with them and talk with them and talk their language
and live with them and be contented, you're not of us, you're of them. And sooner or later, you'll prove
you're of them and never were of us. Isn't that the key to
this thing? Of them. We're not of them. And John said they left us because
they were not of us. Matthew 26, listen to Peter here. You know, I hear people say,
well, I'll never leave the gospel. Be careful now. There's just
one reason why you won't, and that's His grace. It's not of
us. It's of Him. It's of Him that
we're in Christ Jesus. In Matthew 26, verse 33, listen
to my friend, the Apostle Peter. Matthew 26, 33, Peter said, Peter answered and said unto
him, Though all men should be offended because of thee, I'll
never be offended. He was the one that was." Don't
say that. Don't say that. That's not it. Turn to Luke 22. I'll show you
what it is. It's Luke 22. Listen over here. This is what our Lord said to
him in this confrontation. In this confrontation, Luke 22,
verse 31, and the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I've
prayed for you, that your faith fail not, and when you're converted,
strengthen your brethren. And he's still talking. He said,
Lord, I'm ready to go with thee both to prison and to death.
He said, Peter, I tell you this, the cock shall not crow this
day before you three times deny you even know me. Well, he did a lot of things,
but he never left Christ. He was of Christ. He said, Lord,
you know all things, but it's Christ that held him. We're of
them that believe. All right, let's read. Go back
now to our text, Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11, verse 1. Now faith, this faith, this faith,
the gift of God, This faith, by which the just shall live,
this faith that brings us into a living relationship, a living
union with our Lord that will never be dissolved, this faith
is the substance of things hoped for. Now listen to me, see if
I can help you with these verses here. Faith is the substance
of things hoped for. What are the things hoped for?
What do we hope for? Well, we hope for salvation.
We hope for acceptance with God. We hope for eternal life, don't
we? We hope for eternal glory. We hope for eternal existence
in heaven. That's what I hope for. An inheritance,
undefiled, incorruptible, that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for us. We hope for that. Well, the faith
of Christ, of Christ, in Christ, from Christ, is the very ground
and foundation and confidence of all these things for which
we hope. We've not entered into these things. I'm not in heaven.
I'm not like Christ, perfectly conformed to His image. I hope
to be, but I'm not yet. But this faith makes that possession
mine now. It is mine by faith. Faith gives
us the possession right now of all those things. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. In other words, it gives me the
possession. Faith is the ground, substance,
confidence of what I hope for. It's mine already by faith. Let
me show you an example of that and see if I can illustrate it.
Genesis 15. Genesis chapter 15. God took Abraham out and showed
him the stars. Remember? In Genesis chapter
15, verse 3, and Abraham said, Behold, to me thou hast given
no seed. I don't have a son. One born
in my own house is my heir. In other words, everything I've
got is going to be left to my servants. Behold, the word of
God, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This shall not
be your heir. This servant will not be your
heir. He that shall come forth out of your own bowels shall
be your heir. Isaac shall be your heir. And he brought him
forth abroad and said, Look now towards the heavens. Tell me
the number of stars, if you're able to number them. And he said
to Abraham, So shall thy seed be. That wasn't a reality. He didn't
even have a son. And yet God's talking about He's
going to be the Father of nations, of numbers of the stars. He believed in the Lord, and
it was His. Faith gave Him the possession
of those things when they hadn't even happened. Turn to Acts 27. Let me show
you that again. Acts chapter 27. So you remember Paul was on this
ship, and the ship was about to sink, about to go down, and
everybody's about to jump overboard. And Paul stood out in front of
all these sailors in Acts 27, 22, and he said to them, Acts
27, 22, Now listen, I exhort you, be of good cheer. There's
not going to be the loss of any man's life among you, but the
loss of the ship. The ship's going, but not one
person's going to die. This is the future he's talking
about. For there stood by me this night the angel of God,
whose I am and whom I serve, and said, Fear not, Paul, you
must be brought before Caesar, and lo, God has given you all
them that sail with you. They're yours. Not one of them
is going to be lost. They're yours. Sir, be of good
cheer. It's mine. I believe God. Isn't
that what he said? I believe God. It shall be exactly
as He told me. That is the ground, that's the
confidence, that's the substance of all that I hope for. It's
mine. You see that? Faith is the substance
of everything we hope for. Everything we hope for. Faith
makes it mine right now. Right now. Because I believe
God. Your God-given faith is your
guarantee that all these things shall come to pass. Now listen
to this. Faith is the evidence. It's not
only the ground of your possession, and the confidence of your possession,
and the assurance of your possession, but you've got evidence. It's
the evidence of your possession. Faith is. I've never seen the
things done in eternity past. The covenant, the lamb slain
before the foundation of the world, the book of life. But
they're real. I've never seen the things done
in time. I didn't see the incarnation. I didn't see the crucifixion.
I didn't see the resurrection. I didn't see the ascension. But
they're real. I've not seen the future. I've
never died. I've never talked to anybody
who has. I've never seen anybody resurrected.
I've never seen anybody changed in the likeness of Christ. I've
never seen the glory of heaven. One man saw it and didn't tell
me anything about it. He came back and said, not possible
to tell you what I heard. Things not seen. But I have evidence. Nobody saw
O.J. Simpson killed his wife. But
the prosecution says they've got enough evidence to prove
it. Evidence. That's what evidence is. Somebody
believes he did, because they're making a lot of fuss over it.
Somebody believes he did. A lot of people believe he didn't.
But somebody believes he did, and they've got evidence. Proof,
they say. All right, I've never seen these
things. I've never seen them. Never seen
them. But I have evidence that they're
real. Faith gives me evidence. Faith
is my evidence. Faith is my evidence. Faith is
the living proof that all these things are true. I have His Word.
I have His Spirit. I have His presence. I have His
confidence. I have a new heart. I know they're
so. Noah, what are you doing? I'm building an ark. You're building
a ship. Yes. On dry land. Yes. Why are you building that
ship on dry land? Because there's going to be a
flood. And God will destroy the earth. Noah, have you ever seen
a flood? No. Noah, have you ever seen
it rain? No. Have you ever seen anything
destroyed by water? No. Well, how in the world Why in the world are you building
an ark? I have evidence there'll be a
flood. I have God's Word. I have God's
promise. I have God who spoke to my heart
and said there'll be a flood. It will come. It did. Abraham, don't take your son
up on that mountain and put a knife in his heart. Don't do that,
Abraham. God will raise him. Abraham, have you ever seen anybody
raised from the dead? No. Have you ever seen anybody come
alive that's been dead, that's been killed? No. What makes you
think God will raise him? I have his word that my seed
is in that son. And God's going to save a multitude
of people by his seed. And if I kill him, God's got
to raise him. That's my evidence. I believe
God. I've got evidence. Faith is the
evidence. The evidence of things not safe.
Moses, what you doing putting the blood on the door? That won't
look good. Who's going to wash it off? Moses,
don't smear blood on the door. The Lord said, put the blood
on the door. He said he's going to pass through
tonight and destroy the firstborn in every home. But when he sees
the blood, he'll pass over. Moses, have you ever seen such
destruction? Nope. Have you ever seen such
deliverance? Nope. Then why do you believe
it? God said it. And I have the witness in here. I got evidence. I know what He's done in me and for
me and in you and for you. You're our epistles. You're our
evidence. What God did for you, no one could do. You see, faith sees. Noah being
warned of things not seen. Mood was pure. Built in art.
Faith sees things that natural men don't see. Faith hears. No,
we don't hear voices. Don't listen to anybody that
does. Something's wrong with him. We hear him speak through
his words. We hear His voice in His Word.
Faith sees what other men do not see. Faith hears what other
men do not hear. Faith knows what other men do
not know. And faith stands in the place
of all these things not seen until they are seen, until they become a reality. That's right. See all these fellows, look at
verse 13. All these fellows died in faith,
not having received the promises. They didn't live till the day
of the Messiah. They had the promise of the Messiah, but they
saw them afar off. That's right. Moses wrote of
me. Abraham saw my day. They were
persuaded, confident. I tell you what, I am so confident
and fully persuaded that Almighty God sent Christ Jesus into this
world to be my substitute, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Lord,
my Atonement, my High Priest, that I have committed unto Him. I'm so fully persuaded that He's
able to keep that which that I've committed unto Him, lock,
stock, and barrel. Everything I own, have, my children,
my relationship with every human being is built upon one thing.
I believe Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Don't you? They were persuaded. This is
what I'm worried about, and I was talking a while ago about people
that don't give any evidence that they're fully persuaded. They're not burning bridges.
The bridge is still there because they might go back. You know,
I better save something for a rainy day. Well, who sends the rain?
God help us. Aren't we a sad lot? What a sad lot. God help us,
O ye of little faith. Where in did you die? Lord, wake
up! Don't you care if we drown? These people were persuaded and
they embraced this person. And they confessed, let the whole
world know I'm a stranger and I'm a pilgrim, I'm passing through.
And they that say such things declare plainly they're looking
for a country, they're looking for a city, not made with hands
eternal in the heavens. If they had been mindful of that
old country from which they came, they had an opportunity to go
back. God will let you go back any
time you want to. He turned to the disciples and said, will
you go away? No, I'm of them. I'm of them. I'm happy with them
and him. I can't go back nowhere to go.
But now they desire a better country, a heavenly, wherefore
God's not ashamed to be called their God. He prepared for them
a city. Faith is the confidence. substance of things we hope for. And not
only that, it's the evidence, the proof. See, we know whom
we have believed. We know we've passed from death
unto life. We know the Son of God has come and given us an
understanding. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love Him. We know if our earthly
house of this tabernacle be designed, we have a building of God eternal
in the heavens, not made with hands. We know that when He shall
appear, we're going to see Him like He is, and we're going to
be like Him. And we, He that hath this hope
in Him, I have it, the hope. It's as real as that Bible is.
It's real. That's the evidence. Evidence. It's evidence of the things we've
never seen. That's saying number 228. My
faith has found a resting place.
Henry Mahan
About Henry Mahan

Henry T. Mahan was born in Birmingham, Alabama in August 1926. He joined the United States Navy in 1944 and served as a signalman on an L.S.T. in the Pacific during World War II. In 1946, he married his wife Doris, and the Lord blessed them with four children.

At the age of 21, he entered the pastoral ministry and gained broad experience as a pastor, teacher, conference speaker, and evangelist. In 1950, through the preaching of evangelist Rolfe Barnard, God was pleased to establish Henry in sovereign free grace teaching. At that time, he was serving as an assistant pastor at Pollard Baptist Church (off of Blackburn ave.) in Ashland, Kentucky.

In 1955, Thirteenth Street Baptist Church was formed in Ashland, Kentucky, and Henry was called to be its pastor. He faithfully served that congregation for more than 50 years, continuing in the same message throughout his ministry. His preaching was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, in full accord with the Scriptures. He consistently proclaimed God’s sovereign purpose in salvation and the glory of Christ in redeeming sinners through His blood and righteousness.

Henry T. Mahan also traveled widely, preaching in conferences and churches across the United States and beyond. His ministry was marked by a clear and unwavering emphasis on Christ, not the preacher, but the One preached. Those who heard him recognized that his sermons honored the Savior and exalted the name of the Lord Jesus Christ above all.

Henry T. Mahan served as pastor and teacher of Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky for over half a century. His life and ministry were devoted to proclaiming the sovereign grace of God and directing sinners to the finished work of Christ. He entered into the presence of the Lord in 2019, leaving behind a lasting testimony to the gospel he faithfully preached.

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