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Henry Mahan

What God Taught Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel 4:19-37
Henry Mahan • March, 27 1994 • Audio
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Message: 1143b
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
6088 Zebulon Highway
Pikeville, KY 41501
What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

The Bible affirms God's sovereignty, stating that He reigns over all creation and His will cannot be thwarted.

Throughout Scripture, God's sovereignty is a central theme, demonstrated in His regulation of all events and His ultimate authority over creation. As seen in Isaiah 46:9-10, God declares the end from the beginning, illustrating that His plans come to fruition without exception. In Romans 9:17, God uses Pharaoh to showcase His power, affirming that all actions ultimately serve His divine purpose. God's reign is not only spiritual but affects the very fabric of reality, and nothing occurs outside of His decree.

Isaiah 46:9-10, Romans 9:17

How do we know God's judgment is real?

God's judgment is real and evident through historical examples such as His destruction of Sodom and visible consequences of sin.

The reality of God's judgment is anchored in Scripture and observed through historical events. Genesis 18:20 describes God's response to the grievous sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, leading to their destruction, illustrating that divine judgment is not only inevitable but also necessary in the face of persistent sin. This principle extends to today, with the understanding that God's sanctity demands justice. As Romans 1:18 states, God's wrath is revealed against all ungodliness, affirming the notion that His judgment is active and relevant for contemporary believers.

Genesis 18:20, Romans 1:18

Why is humility important for Christians?

Humility is vital for Christians as it aligns with God's character and positions us to receive His grace.

Humility holds significant importance in the Christian faith, as Scripture emphasizes its necessity for receiving God's grace. James 4:6 states that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble, showcasing humility as a precondition for experiencing God's favor. Moreover, humility allows believers to acknowledge their dependence on God, reflecting Nebuchadnezzar’s realization in Daniel 4:37 that pride brings downfall while humility draws divine attention. A broken and contrite heart, as noted in Psalm 34:18, is where God abides, highlighting the profound connection between humility and spiritual intimacy with Him.

James 4:6, Psalm 34:18, Daniel 4:37

How can we find security in God's will?

Security in God's will comes from the understanding that His plans are unchangeable and that He exercises control over all creation.

God's will provides a foundation of security for believers, as it is characterized by its immutability and sovereignty. Daniel 4:35 expresses that God does according to His will, revealing that no one can challenge His decisions. This should inspire confidence among Christians, knowing that even the apparent chaos in the world is under His control. Romans 8:28 reassures us that all things work together for good for those who love God, assuring believers that despite life's uncertainties, they can trust in God's faithful and sovereign orchestration of their lives based on His divine purpose.

Daniel 4:35, Romans 8:28

Sermon Transcript

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Now, there are two things that led
me to speak on this subject tonight, the four things that the Lord
taught Nebuchadnezzar. And two things trouble me greatly
in regard to the generation to which we preach And we preach
to our times and to our peers and to our generation. The scripture
says David served his generation. I'm not responsible to leave
a lot of writings and sermons and books for the next generation. God will raise up preachers in
that day. And you can't continue the ministry
of a dead man. When God calls a man, He calls
him to preach to his generation. When He called you elders and
teachers, it's to teach and preach to this generation. We're witnesses
of our God, Tom, right now. Not next year or after we're
dead, right now. And as far as I'm concerned,
there are two things that are bothersome and may prove to be
fatal even in our lifetime. One is this, the low opinion that men and
women have forgot of God, the low opinion that people today
have of God. There's a fulfillment of this
scripture in our day. There's no fear of God before
their eyes. Absolutely none. God said, Thou
thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thyself. There's no
reverence. There's no fear. There's no awe
before God. The basketball players have a
term that they use, a team talking trash. It doesn't mean that they're
cursing. The referees wouldn't permit
that. It doesn't mean that they're talking nasty. They're talking
trash. They're talking pride and arrogance
and boasting. That's what it means, doesn't
it, Bob? They're talking trash. Trite and trash. And what's being
spoken today from the pulpit over the television, in the name
of God, is trash talking. It's just trash talking. That's
all the world is. Trash talking and trite. A pack
of foolishness. It's familiarity and loose talk
and small thoughts of the living God. That's what we're surrounded
with. Trash talking. Trite talking. Familiarity with God. Loose talk. Small thoughts of the living
God. Job said, when I saw the Lord, I abhorred myself. I repented in sackcloth and ashes,
and I put my hand on my mouth. I have spoken of things too wonderful
for me. I'm not going to do it anymore. Isn't that what he said? I'm
not going to do it anymore. Holy and Reverend is his name.
And it's so troublesome in this day, the religious talk. And that's why it's trash talking.
And I'll tell you the second thing that is bothersome, and
I said it may prove to be fatal, fatal to life as we know it.
The judgment of God could fall upon our day as it fell on Sodom. There's a good possibility. And why not? But that's not only do we have
a low opinion of God, we've got a high opinion of ourselves.
That's the problem. It says over there, and turn
to 2 Timothy chapter 3, 2 Timothy chapter 3, the apostle Paul said,
I want you to know this also. that in the last days perilous
times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves,
self-love, self-praise, arrogance and haughtiness, lovers of their
own selves, covetous, boasters, boasting, proud, That arises
out of self-love, self-importance, a high opinion of me. Well, when
you have a low opinion of God, that usually follows a high opinion
of yourself. And a high opinion of yourself
has got to bring God down. Blasphemers, trash talkers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection. Oh, I want to say to our young
people, oh, how I want to say to them, don't listen to this generation. Don't even listen to our president
who fills his office with perverts and homosexuals. That's right. And visits with them as another
lifestyle. That's ungodly. The only time
God Almighty ever opened the heavens and by fire and brimstone
consumed a whole city was over this one thing, sodomy. That's right. The only time God
Almighty ever in the history of mankind ever said they've
gone too far. Turn to Genesis chapter 18. Listen to this. Genesis chapter
18. It's not, and we usually get
pretty lathered up when we talk about this subject because it's
so unnatural and so distasteful and so wicked and so perverse.
But try to remain calm and just face the issue and deal with
it with your young people. They're getting it from the movies.
They're getting it from television. They're getting it from the White
House. They're getting it from Congress. They're getting it
in their studies in school. that it's permissive, it's just
another lifestyle, and that heaven's going to be filled with homosexuals.
And that's not so. It's just not so. Listen to Genesis
18. Here the Lord said, verse 20,
Genesis 18, 20, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great,
because their sin is very grievous, What was their sin? Well, you
know what their sin was. That's not hid from you and me.
We know what their sin was without natural affection. It was men
and with men leaving the natural use of the woman and women with
women working that which is loathsome, shameful, degraded, and evil
in the sight of God. He said stone them. Here he burned
them up. I'll go down, and I'll see whether
they've done all together according to the cry of it which is come
unto me, and if not, I'll know. And these angels, the men, there
were two angels, turned their faces from thence and went toward
Sodom. And you know, as Paul Harvey
says, the rest of the story. And I'll tell you, This preacher is on God's side
in this matter. And if his judgment falls upon
cities in our day, so be it. Anything to stop this plague,
this awful disease sweeping this country, and where people are
calling it, all right, my, my. And what gives birth to this
is a low opinion of God and a high opinion of ourselves. That's
what gives birth to it. It's putting our opinion above
the Word of God. The Word of God says it's evil. The Word of God denounces this
kind of behavior. And we're putting our opinion
above the Word of God. Now turn to my text, Daniel. So God taught this man Nebuchadnezzar,
four things that I want to deal with tonight. I wish that we
could learn these four things. Now, no one ever accused Nebuchadnezzar
of being a prophet. But I'm telling you the Lord
was pleased to deal with him in a most unusual way, like He
did Jonah. He took Jonah to the belly of
a fish and taught him some lessons. And here, this man Nebuchadnezzar
was a powerful man. He talked about here, verse 20,
The tree which you saw, which grew and was strong, whose height
reached the heavens, and the sight thereof to all the earth,
whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, was meat
for all, under which the beasts of the fields dwelt, upon whose
branches the fowls of heaven had their habitation. Verse 22,
that's you, okay? God blessed this man, gave him
wisdom and might and power and gifts, made him a shade for the
weary, and fruit for the hungry, and a resting place even for
the beast of the field. Powerful and mighty. And ye are
become strong, and your greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven
thy dominion to the end of the earth." Babylon's king. Well, he believes his press clippings. He got to where he was taken
up with himself. And down here in verse 30, verse
29, at the end of twelve months, he walked in the palace of the
kingdom of Babylon, and he spake and said, I want you to look
at this place I built. It is not this great Babylon
that I built. For the house of the kingdom,
by the might of my power, for the honor of my majesty. And
while the words fell from his mouth, the judgment of God fell upon
him. And I don't understand what God did to him. Evidently he
must have lost his mind. His fingernails grew and curled,
and his hair grew long, and his understanding was gone. And he
went out for men and dwelt with the beast of the field, ate grass like an oxen, till
seven times passed over him. What? Seven weeks, seven months,
seven years? I don't know. Some say seven
years. I don't know. But God is teaching him something. I hear preachers say, now God,
what's God trying to show me? God's not trying to show me anything. What's God trying to show me,
God doesn't try to show. If He's going to show something,
He'll show it. That's what I'm praying, Lord, show me, teach
me what You taught this gentleman. Well, God taught him, and it
says here in verse 36, Verse 36, turn over there. I'll
come back to the four things. Verse 36, listen. At the same
time, a reason returned to me. That's the reason I think he
was mentally deranged. And for the glory of my kingdom,
mine honor and brightness returned to me. My counselors and my Lord
sought unto me, and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent
majesty was added unto me. God blessed him, but he learned
these four things. All right, let's see what they
are. Number one, in verse 34, And at the end of the days I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and my understanding
returned unto me. And I blessed the Most High,
and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion
is an everlasting dominion. And his kingdom is from generation
to generation. What did he learn? He learned
the majesty and the sovereignty and the greatness of our God. God reigns. God reigns. Over there, and don't turn to
it, but I read this morning in Isaiah 40, the boy said, cry. And Isaiah said, what shall I
cry? Cry! Well, what shall I cry? Cry two
things. Number one, the Lord reigneth.
The Lord thy God reigneth. The God of heaven, the Lord of
heaven and earth reigns supreme. over all this universe. His reign
is universal. His reign is everlasting. His
reign is irresistible. His reign is unchangeable. His
reign is infinite in every area. In creation, He made all things
by the word of His power and for His glory. In providence,
listen, turn to Isaiah 46. Listen to this. Isaiah 46, verse 90. Remember
the former things of old. I'm God. There's none else. I'm God. There's
none else. I declare the end from the beginning
and from ancient times of things that are not yet done, saying,
My counsel shall stand. I will do all my pleasure. calling
a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executed my counsel
from a far country. I've spoken it. I will bring
it to pass. I've purposed it. I'll also do
it. This is God. And He's sovereign in salvation.
He said to Moses, I'll be merciful to whom I will be merciful. I'll
be gracious to whom I will be gracious. Turn with me to Job
38. The Lord God revealed himself
to several of these men back in the Old Testament. In Job
chapter 38, I want you to turn there, but he appeared to Moses
at the burning bush and Moses said, now when I go down to lead
the people out of Egypt and they say, who sent you? What am I
going to say? The voice of God said, Moses? I am that I am. That is my name. I am. I am. To Isaiah, he revealed himself
as holy, holy, holy. His train filled the temple.
To Jeremiah, the power of the potter. I have the power to make
of the same lump a vessel under honor, a vessel under dishonor. the life giver, he stood and
overlooked that valley of dry bones, and he said, Can these
bones live? Thou knowest. Then preached to
them, and there rose a great army. To David he revealed himself
as he that sitteth in the heavens, who has them in derision, and
laughs at their opposition. But listen to this, Job 38. Verse 1, Then the Lord answered
Job out of the whirlwind, and he said, Who is this? Who's this
trash talker? Who is this that darkeneth castles,
that muddies the water? That's what that means. Who is
this fellow muddying the water? By words without knowledge. Get
up now your loins like a man, and I'll demand of you, and you
answer me." Job was defending himself and defending his righteousness
and talking piously and sanctimoniously, just like we talk too often. And he said, you're just muddy
in the water. You're talking about things you don't know anything
about. Verse 4, Where were you when I laid the foundations of
the earth? Declare if you have understanding. Who hath laid
the measure thereof, if thou knowest? Who hath stretched the
line upon it? Do you know? Whereupon are the
foundations of the earth thereof fastened? You got any idea? Who
laid the cornerstone thereof? When the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy, who shut up to see what
doers, when it break forth, as it had issued out of the womb?
when I made the cloud, the garment thereof, and the thick darkness
a swaddling band, and break up for it my decreed place, and
set bars and doors, I said to the oceans and the seas, Here
unto shall you come, and no farther, here, you proud ways, be stayed." People talk about God wants to
do this and God's trying to do that. And verse 22, listen, Job,
verse 22, have you entered into the treasure of the snow? Have
you seen the treasure of the hail, which I have reserved against
the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? By
what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind
upon the earth? Who hath divided a water course
for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of
thunder, to cause it to rain on the earth where no man lives,
on the wilderness wherein there is no man, to satisfy the desolate
waste ground, to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring
forth? Does the rain have a father?
Who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the
ice and the holy frost of heaven? Who hath gendered it? Verse 33,
Noticed thou the ordinances of heaven? Can you set the dominion
thereof in the earth? Can you lift up your voice to
the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you? Can you
send lightning, that they may go and say to them, say to thee,
Here we are? Who hath put wisdom in the inward
parts? Who hath given understanding to the heart? Who gave you the
power to sit there right now and read this and think? Huh? We're sitting here reading this
and comprehending it, understanding it. Who gave you that understanding? And loving it, who gave you that
love? Verse 37, who can number the
clouds in wisdom? Who can stay the bottles of heaven
when the dust grows in the hardness and the clouds cleave fast together? Will thou hunt, pray for the
lion? Will you fill the appetite of the young lions? You're going
to feed all the billions of birds everywhere? The animals? Amen. I want to say, Thou throne
eternal ages stood as seas or stars were made. Thou art the
ever-living God where all the nations did. Eternity with all
its years stands present in thy view. To thee nothing old appears,
great God, there's nothing new. Let all the idols topple to the
ground and their own worshipers confound. Let Judas shout, let
Zion sing and confess our sovereign King. Let God be God. I make a motion. I second it
and vote for it. Let God be God. I'm not satisfied
with anything less. I wish, I pray above all things
that I may know more of His greatness and majesty. That old Nebuchadnezzar,
God taught him, I'm God. You breathe by my permission.
You take your next step by my permission. by my permission,
by my will. Secondly, turning back to my
text, I'll show you something else he learned, verse 35. And I learned when I got my senses
back that all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing. Oh, listen, all the inhabitants
of the earth, not some of them, And we agree with that to an
extent. There's some people we think
that they're nothing. But he said all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing. Not some of them. The poor, the
weak, and the sick, yeah. The old, yeah. But the scripture
says, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All,
we like sheep, have gone astray. And all the inhabitants of the
earth, the learned and the foolish, the old and the young, the great
and the small, the ignorant and the smart, are all nothing, nothing,
nothing. That's what the scripture says
over and over again. Christ said, without me you can
do nothing. He said again, a man can receive
nothing except it be given him from above. He said, we brought
nothing into this world. It's certain we'll take nothing
out. Paul said, I'm not one whit behind
the chief apostle, though I be nothing. Nothing. Now brethren, I'm not talking
about learning this theologically. I'm talking about us learning
it experimentally. Turn to Isaiah 40. I want you
to look at this. Isaiah 40. I read a portion of this this
morning, but I want us to look a little further along. He said, You cry. What shall
I cry? All flesh is grass. Look here
at verse 6. You cry, the Lord behold your
God, but you cry, all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness,
the glory thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth,
the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon
it. Surely the people is grass, and the grass withereth, and
the flower fadeth. Young people, boys and girls,
You're in the prime of beauty, of intelligence, of life, and
this is hard for you to understand. This is hard for you to understand. But there'll come a day, as the
days go by, as the years go by, there'll come a day when you
won't remember what happened a few minutes ago. That keen,
sharp mind that can punch the buttons on a computer won't even
be able to spell your name. That's right. Because this flesh
is grass. It withers. It fades. It's got
to go back to the dust from whence it came. It's nothing. That's right. Don't let the wise man glow in
his wisdom, or the rich man in his riches, or the strong man
in his strength. Let him glow in one thing, that
he knows me. He knows me. It says here, and
look at verse 15, Behold, the nations are as a drop of the
bucket, and accounted as the dust, the small dust of the balance. Behold, he taketh up thou as
a little thing. The nations are as a drop of
the bucket. What is a drop of the bucket?
Well, if you've ever lived in the country and gone to the well
and taken that old bucket, sits there on the side of the well,
raised the lid, and it has a a weight on the side so it'll dip over
and fill up, and dropped it. You hear it go down. Hear the
whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, the spinner up here. And it hits
the water. And you grab the rope. And it
falls over and it fills up. You pull it up. Pull it up. Pull
it up. Pull it all the way up. Then
tie your rope over here and get your bucket and pour it into
your bucket you're going to take in the house. And while you're
pouring it, some of the drops drop on the ground. Some of the
drops drop on the ground. You don't stop and try to grab
them, do you? Nah. They're worthless. Just a drop
of the bucket. And he said, that's what we are.
We're as worthless as the wasted drop of the bucket that falls
off the bottom of the bucket. No value at all. And he says,
you know what the small dust of the balance is? They used
to weigh things, you'd go into an old store, and they had scales
there, and they had different size weights, and they had a
pound weight, and a half a pound weight, and a two pound weight,
and they'd put it on here, and put whatever you bought over
here, and they'd balance it. And they'd tell exactly what
it weighed. That's the balance. Scales that balance. Your purchase,
oh, balanced over here. Well, that scale sat there in
the store all day, and it gathered little small dust. But that dust
on that scale does not affect the outcome one bit. And we need to realize that's
all we are. That's all we are. That's how worthless, that's
how meaningless. And I know we feel so important
to ourselves. David said, when I consider the
heavens, The stars, the moon, the sun, things you've made,
what am I that you're even mindful? This drop of the bucket, this
dust of the ballot, blow it off. It doesn't affect the outcome.
And I can come into this world and my mom and daddy get so excited
and name me for my dad, name me for my granddad, brag
on me. Oh, we got a boy, and then send
me to school and all this sort of thing. My boy is a preacher. And he comes to me and laughs
and dies. If he doesn't know Christ, he's
not going to affect the outcome of anything or anybody in any
way. He's just like the dust of the
balance or the drip of the bucket. That's hard, isn't it? No. Not when you know Him. Not when
you know Him. And I'll tell you, when we know
who God is and what we are, it enables us to praise and glorify
Him for what He's done for us. And it enables us to rightly
approach Him in order to give thanks, like you read tonight,
and to worship. Now here's the third thing you
learn. The third thing he learned, listen, back here in chapter
4, verse 35. He learned God reigns, he learns
that we are reputed as nothing, and he, listen, he learned he
doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of this earth, and none can stay his hand or
say unto him, What doest thou? What is this he learned? He learned
two things about the will of God. One, it's unchangeable. Two, it's irresistible. God's will is unchangeable. He
doeth according to his will in heaven and among the inhabitants
of this earth. And I know we can, I was in last Sunday in Rocky Mount, Virginia. And I went out to eat with a
couple, and we passed a church building. And the fellow told
me who lived over there in that community, he said they had a
sign up in the yard of that church which said, they've taken it
down, but it said for a long time, this is an Arminian church. That's what this is. Well, we
got one out here, this is a free will church. But let me tell
you, a person may argue about free will and our will and whosoever
will, but let me tell you, there's one unchangeable will. There's
one immutable will, and that's His will. And every man doing
his own will and his own thing just accomplishes God's will. Did you know that? Now let me
show you that in two or three places. Just be patient with
me. In Romans 9, listen to this.
I'm saying that God's will, He doeth according to His will.
He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. In Romans
9 it says this, listen, verse 17, Scripture said unto Pharaoh,
Even for this same purpose have I raised you up, that I might
show my power in you, and that my name might be declared throughout
all the earth. Pharaoh did what he willed. But
doing what he will, he did what the Father will. Got that? Alright,
John 17, 12. John 17, 12. Our Lord is talking
about his disciples. He said in John 17, 12, While
I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those
that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but
the son of perdition. that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Judas did what he willed to do, but in doing what he willed,
he did the Father's will from the beginning. All right, Acts 4. Acts chapter
4, verse 27. You're familiar with this one,
but I want you to look at it again. Let's learn these things. In Acts 4 verse 27, listen, For
of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the people of
Israel were gathered together to do, what were they gathered
together to do? To do what they willed to do. To do what they plotted and planned
to do. but to do whatsoever your hand and your counsel determined
before to be done. That's what I'm saying. In one
other verse, Acts 13. Acts 13. Verse 27. Now listen to this.
They that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they
knew him not, No, yet the voices of the prophets, which were read
every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled these writings in condemning
him. And though they found no cause
of death in him, yet they desired Pilate that he should be slain.
And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, who
wrote it? God wrote it. What was the writings? God's
will. And they fulfilled all that was written of him and then
took him down to the tree. But they couldn't take him down
one second before they had even fulfilled every word that they
were supposed to say. And yet, they did what they will.
God's will is unchangeable. Now watch this. It's irresistible. Look at my text. I learned that
he doeth, verse 35, according to his will in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
his hand. And none can question the wisdom
of his will. His will is irresistible. They
said, David, where's your God? He said, our God's in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever he pleased, whatsoever the Lord pleased.
That did he in heaven, earth, and seas, and all deep places.
My friends, I'm very happy with that. The songwriter said, my
times are in thy hands. My God, I wish them that. I'm certain of one thing, none
of us, no matter how we might think otherwise, want to be turned
over to our wills. Believe me, we do not. Somebody said, well, you make
God's people robots. Who would I rather be the robot
than make God a robot? You act like people are puppets
on a string. That's better than putting God
on a string, isn't it? But no, we're not puppets, we're
not dead logs, we're not robots. But God is sovereign. All right,
here's the last thing, fourth thing he learned. Down here in
verse 37. Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise
and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are
truth, and his ways judgments. And those that walk in pride,
he's able to abase. Over and over again, our God,
in his word, reveals his wrath against pride. He calls it in
Proverbs 6, the cheap sin. Six things the Lord hates, yea,
seven are abomination unto him. One, a proud look. He says pride
precedes destruction. Pride goeth before destruction,
a holy spirit before the fall. He said God resisteth the proud
and giveth grace to the humble. Now I want you to turn to a verse
of scripture, and this will be the last one I'm going to use.
The book of Psalms, chapter 34. The Lord is known to them that
are of a broken heart, and save as such as be of a contrite spirit. The only thing that I can think
of that is most useful and at its best state after it's broken is the heart. I can't think of anything else.
The Lord is none to them that are of a broken heart. The Lord
save us such as be of a broken heart. You can't see in a broken
mirror, throw it away. You can't drink from a broken
glass, throw it away. You can't use a broken arm, put
it in a sling. You can't walk with a broken
cane, but a broken heart is well pleasing to God. God, He actually says He dwells
with those of a broken heart. God dwells in a broken heart.
Lord God, let me understand. Oh, let me understand. God reigns. I'm nothing. God has willed mercy
and grace in Christ and giveth it to whomsoever He will. I will
be merciful. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious. That will is unchangeable. It's
irresistible. Invincible. It conquers. None
can stop Him. The Lord quickeneth whom He will.
And I'll tell you, He's able to abase those that are proud. The proud, those that walk in
pride, able to abase. Robert Murray McShane said, When
I stand before His throne, dressed in beauty not my own, when I
see Thee as Thou art, and love Thee with an unsinning heart,
then, Lord, shall I fully know, and not till then shall I fully
know, how much I owe.
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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