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Henry Mahan

Assurance

Matthew 11:28-30
Henry Mahan • July, 15 1990 • Audio
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Message: 0974b
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
6088 Zebulon Highway
Pikeville, KY 41501
What does the Bible say about assurance for Christians?

The Bible teaches that assurance is found in Christ and comes from learning of Him.

Assurance for Christians is intricately linked to our relationship with Christ. Matthew 11:28-30 reveals that Jesus invites those who are burdened to come to Him for rest, emphasizing that true rest and assurance is only found through faith in Him. Assurance is like a flower that blooms from the root of faith; while one can have faith without assurance, assurance cannot exist apart from faith in Christ. Therefore, our confidence comes not from self-examination or good deeds, but from understanding and believing in Christ's finished work on our behalf.

Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 5:1, 1 John 2:1

How do we know that Christ provides rest for our souls?

Christ promises to give rest to those who come to Him in faith.

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus explicitly invites all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him, stating, 'I will give you rest.' This promise is central to the Christian faith; it assures believers that their struggles and burdens can be laid down at Christ's feet. This rest extends beyond mere physical relief—it encompasses a deep spiritual peace and reconciliation with God, which can only be found through faith in Christ. By recognizing that all things are delivered to Christ and that He is the source of all life, believers can have confidence that He will give them the rest they seek.

Matthew 11:28-30, Colossians 2:1-3

Why is learning of Christ important for assurance?

Learning of Christ increases our assurance by deepening our understanding of His grace and sovereignty.

Learning about Christ is essential for gaining assurance because it provides the true foundation for our faith. As the preacher emphasizes, 'you take my yoke upon you and learn of me.' This is an invitation to engage with Christ actively, which leads to a deeper relationship and understanding of His character and work. Assurance is not determined by our feelings or experiences but rather by knowing Christ and recognizing His complete sufficiency. The more we know Him through Scripture and communion, the more our hearts are comforted, and our assurance grows, as we are reminded of His gracious promises and sovereign purposes.

Matthew 11:29, Colossians 2:1-3, 1 John 2:1-2

Sermon Transcript

Auto-generated transcript • May contain errors

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A person can belong to Christ
and not have assurance. Someone said one time, faith
is the root. Faith is the root. Assurance
is the bloom, the flower. You can have a root and not have
a flower. But you can't have a flower and
not have a root. No way to have assurance without
Christ. So I can't give anybody assurance.
I have experienced times of great assurance and great doubt, and
I know many of you have. But I can tell you where it's
found. I can tell you exactly where to find assurance, where
assurance is increased. And I turn to a strange scripture
for this for this subject. But Matthew 11, Cecil read it
to us. Just briefly, let me say this,
our Lord had rebuked these cities in which he had preached, in
which his mighty works had been done. He rebuked them because
of their unbelief. He said, you've heard me, you've
seen me, and you don't believe. But I'll tell you this, if the
things you've heard and seen had been done in Sodom, that's
a great indictment, isn't it? Brother Barnard said one time,
from this pulpit, if you are determined to go to
hell, move away from Ashland, Kentucky. Don't go to hell from
this place where the gospel is preached. because it'll be more
tolerable, it'll be easier for Sodom in the day of judgment
than for men and women who've heard the gospel and have not
believed it. There are degrees of judgment,
that's what Christ said. He said, Barnard went on, he
said, if you're going to hell, said, if you're determined to
go to hell, Get on an airplane and go to a foreign country, like Africa. And when you land,
rent a jeep and ride it as far as you can ride it. And when
the road gets so rough you can't ride the four-wheel vehicle,
get your motorbike and keep going. And when you get to where the
motorbike won't go any further, start walking. And walk as far
as you can into the depths of the jungle and dig your hole
and crawl in it and don't ever hear again the good news of Jesus
Christ. And our Lord upbraided these
cities for their unbelief. And then he lifted his eyes to
heaven and he said, I thank you, Father.
This is what I preached this morning, tried to preach. I thank
you, Father. And every time our Master talked
of the sovereignty of God or his covenant mercies or elective
grace, he was always giving thanks. And every time the Apostle Paul
talked about God's sovereignty and elective grace, he was giving
thanks. Blessed be the God and Father.
I thank God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. I thank
you, Father, Lord, King of heaven and earth. Because you have hid
these things in his wisdom, in his sovereign purpose, the gospel
has been hid from the wise and the prudent. That's what Christ
said. If our gospel be hid, it's hid
to them that are lost. And he said, Father, you've seen
fit to hide these things from the wise and prudent and reveal
them to babes. Reveal them, as you prayed tonight
in the study, Chuck, to the base, to the despised, to the things
that are not, to the foolish. Even so, Father, it seemed good,
and what seems good to him is good. It seemed good in your
sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. I've tried to preach that here
for all these years. Everything's in Christ. all things. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into his hands. There's nothing God has
for a sinner outside of Christ. Absolutely nothing. In him dwells
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Everything's in Christ. Everything's vested in Christ.
The only way that I'll have any part of God or part with God
is to be in Christ. It's vested in Christ. He's put
all his eggs in one basket, and his name's Jesus Christ. The
Father loveth the Son, hath given all things into his hand. All
things. The Father hath given me all
things. And no man knows the Father.
I've tried to preach that. God is unapproachable. God is
inaccessible. God is unknowable, except in
Christ. Show us the Father. You'll never
see the Father till you see Christ. I and my Father are one. No man
knoweth the Father. God dwells in a life to which
no man can approach. Men who reject Christ, who do
not know Christ, waste their breath when they say, Oh God,
help me. God won't hear you. That's right. No man knoweth the Father, save
the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And then he
says to folks like you and me, sinners, not wise and prudent,
not smart alecks, not intellectuals, you who labor and are heavy laden,
you who are poor and wretched and miserable and blind, you
who are lame and hogged, You who are bruised and mangled by
the fall, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I'll give you. You want rest? You come to me.
You want life? You come to me. You want peace
with God? You come to me. You want mercy? You come to me. I'm the source
of life and peace and mercy. You come to me. I'll give you
rest. In other words, in Christ we
have deliverance from the burden and bondage of the law. In Christ we have deliverance
from the curse of the law. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. In Christ the burden of sin is
lifted. In Christ justice is satisfied. We have the total rest of a full
pardon. In Christ we have a perfect righteousness,
a perfect sanctification, a perfect holiness, and we rest. We cease
from our labors and enter into his rest. We rest from any efforts
to obtain favor with God by anything that we do or say. We accept
it in the beloved. Right? Seated in Christ. In Christ
we enjoy an eternal rest. I'm the source who said, you
come to me. The Father has put everything in my hands. The Father
has delivered all things and ends. And no man knows the Father
but me, and he to whom I will reveal him. So you come to me,
I'll give you rest. To all who come to Christ in
faith, believe on Christ, God gives rest. Let me show you that. If you'll hold this place here,
I'm coming right back here. Now go to Romans 5. Romans chapter
5. Now listen to this. Romans the
5th chapter. Therefore, assuming that we've
been justified by faith, justified by Christ, have we? Do we believe? Then we have these four things.
Listen. We have peace with God, being
justified by faith. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Where? Through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Secondly, by whom? By Christ also we have access,
by faith into this grace. It's by Christ that we have access
into the Holy of Holies. It's by Christ that we have access
into the grace of life. It's by Christ that we have access
into Almighty God's presence. We have it in Him. Thirdly, where
do we stand? We stand in him complete. We stand before the presence
of God, holy, unblamable, unreprovable in God's sight, in Christ. And
then watch this. And fourthly, we rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. Oh my, you know when the people
of Israel, God said, I'll pass through this night. and destroy
the firstborn in every home. But if you put the blood on the
door, on the lintel and the side post, when I see the blood, I'll
pass over you. This is not a death angel now.
God said, I'm coming down. I'm coming down. And so they put the blood on
the lintel and the door post, and they went inside. I don't
know, but they claim there were 2 or 3 million of those people,
and I just know in human nature, I imagine that some of those
people in there when they heard at midnight that horrible cry
that went up over the land of Egypt, I imagine every time they
heard a cry and a wail in a home where someone was dead, they
cringed. I imagine some father was looking
at his firstborn son there walking the floor, the blood's on the
door, but that's our nature, isn't it? Then again, I imagine
there were some that were sitting down, confident, relaxing, resting. Because God said, when I see
the blood, I'll pass, I know that, but I'm still, still concerned. So I'm saying
this, that Christ You see, it's the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. It's not your... It's not how
strong your faith is. It's not how long you've had
that faith. It's Christ himself. Understand
what I'm saying? It's Christ. Christ is my righteousness. Christ is my sanctification.
Christ is my redemption. Christ is my wisdom. Christ is
my life. Christ is my hope. Christ is
the blood. And I believe that. I've come to Him. He's the source.
All right, let's go back to Matthew 11. And in Christ, we have peace
with God. In Christ, we have access to
God. In Christ, we stand holy. In Christ, we have a hope. But
then our Lord said something else. He said down here in verse
28. Coming to me. I read that. Ye
that labour in the heavy laden, I'll give you rest. I'm the source
of rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart,
and you'll find rest unto your souls. Is this another
rest? It's the flower of that first
rest. It's the joy of that first rest. It's the assurance of that
first rest. Now watch this. Everything's been delivered unto
me of my Father. Everything's in me. Now you come
to me, and I'll give you rest. If you really, truly come to
me, if you really believe, I can't answer for you. God, I believe,
help my unbelief, but I do believe. Like the Apostle Peter, when
he sat by that fire, and there was nothing but trouble in There's
nothing but trouble in his heart. There was doubts and fears. And I know the other disciples
were disappointed in him. He's disappointed in himself
and all these things. But finally he said to the Lord,
You know everything. You know I love You. Whatever's transpired, whatever's
taken place, You know I love You. And I can say that. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. Do you? I believe Him. I believe
Him. And that's where my rest is,
whether I ever have any assurance or not. Whether I ever have any
confidence or not. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. That's where peace is, that's
where rest is in Christ. But, he says, you take my yoke. Now what is a yoke? Well, a yoke
is placed on oxen. by their master, which denotes
ownership. That's what a yoke denotes. It
denotes ownership, doesn't it? Like Milton Howard told us, down
in Mexico where we go, they still use yoke on oxen. And each farmer,
landowner, makes his own yoke, and he makes that yoke for that
particular pair of oxen. He makes the yoke for And it
denotes ownership, it directs the oxen in the owner's way and
to do the owner's will. And our Lord said, you take my
yoke. It's not going to be forced on
you. It's not forced on an unwilling servant. You take it, isn't that
right? You take my yoke upon you. That's
faith, you see. I say, you take my yoke, you
take it willingly, and it says this, it says, when you take
my yoke, and my yoke's easy, my burden's light, I'm meek and
lowly. When you take my yoke willingly,
not forced, but willingly, you're saying I'm his servant. I'm not
my own, I'm bought with a price, I'm under the rule and dominion
of my Lord. My friends, the foundation of faith is the Lordship of Christ. Now that's right, it's saying,
you're my Lord. I own you, your rule, your dominion. I belong to Christ Jesus. Now
what's the next line? You take my yoke upon you, and
you learn of me. Oh, Paul said, this is what Paul's
talking about. Oh, that I may know him. that
I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. Paul, you're
an old man, you're in prison, you're about to die. This is
your last one of your last epistles. You don't know Him? Oh, I know
Him, but I want to know Him more. Oh, that I may know Him. This
is what the Apostle is talking about over here in Hebrews. Turn
to Hebrews 5 a minute. Hebrews 5. We taught this in
Sunday school last Sunday or Sunday before. Hebrews 5. Over
here in verse Verse 8, listen to this, Hebrews 5, 8. Though he was a son, talking
about Christ, yet, Hebrews 5, 8, learned he obedience by the
things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became
the author of eternal salvation to all them that obeyed him.
Called of God and a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Of whom? Of whom? Yeah, of this son. of
this high priest, of this perfect one, of this author of eternal
salvation, of him I have many things to say." Hard to be uttered,
because you're dull of hearing. There's a whole lot to learn
about him. This is what he's saying, you take my yoke upon
you, and you learn of me. There's a whole lot to learn
of him through the You'll find rest. You'll find assurance. You'll find confidence. You see,
there's a difference in faith and assurance. Let me see if
I can illustrate. See if this helps. Faith is that
poor woman with the issue of blood. Twelve years. She's suffered
12 years. She's hemorrhaged 12 years. She's
grown weaker and weaker. And she said, if I can, as she
came through the crowd and pressed closer to Christ, she said, if
I can but touch the hem of his garment, but his clothes, I'll
be made whole. That's faith, isn't it? That's
faith. But assurance is old man Stephen. who has walked with Christ and
learned of Christ, standing in the midst of his murderers, lifting
his eyes to glory, about to die, and said, I see Jesus, standing
on the right hand of God. That's assurance. Faith? Faith is that dying thief. An
outcast cast out by the outcast. Knowledgeable? Very little. But
yet he looked to Christ and he said, Lord, I'm getting what
I deserve. I'm dying under my sins and judgment. But you're not going to stay
dead. You're coming into a kingdom. Would you think on me? That's
faith. Is that not faith? Assurance
is old Job, who's known God a long time, sitting in the dust, scraping
himself and his balls with a piece of clay, and saying, though he
slay me, I'll trust him. I know my Redeemer liveth, and
though worms destroy this flesh, this body, yet in my flesh I'll
see God. Faith is Peter sitting there
in the boat with the other disciples. And he saw the Lord walking on
the water, and he said, Lord, bid me come to you. And the Lord
Jesus said, come on. And he stepped out of the boat,
and he started walking on the water. But then he began to realize
where he was, and what he was doing. And the wind and the wave,
and he started down. And he raised his hands and said,
Lord, if you don't save me, I'll perish. That's faith. But assurance is that same man
on Pentecost facing the religious people from all nations and declaring
boldly to them, knowing it would probably mean his death, that
man Jesus whom you crucified. God's made him Lord and Christ.
There's a difference, isn't there? faltering, slipping, sinking,
you save me or I'll perish. And here he is, that bold, confident
preacher of the gospel. He told that bunch of Pharisees,
you expect me to obey you or obey God? That's different, isn't
it? Ah, my. Faith is the trembling
voice of that father with the epileptic son. He turned to the
Lord Jesus and said, if you can do anything, help him. Whatever
he said. And our Lord said, it's not if
I can do anything, if you can believe. All things are possible
to them that believe. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. That's faith. Weak, but faith. Assurance is the confident challenge
of the Apostle Paul who challenges heaven, earth, and hell and says,
who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who can condemn
me? Crash down, rose again, ascended,
and makes intercession for me. That's assurance. Faith is the root, the life,
The relationship, the union with Christ. Assurance is the bloom and blessings
and rest and flower. You come to me, I give you rest. That's something you don't have
anything to do with. That's something I give you. That's something you don't grow
in either. You don't positionally, I'm as
perfect right now as I'll ever be. That's right, in Christ. Huh?
Perfectly sanctified, perfectly righteous. Legally in God's sight,
I'm as holy as I'll ever be. Because I'm in Christ. Isn't
that true? Well, you know it's so. But there's some growth. There's
some growth in love, joy, peace, faith, understanding, patience,
meekness, temperance, kindness. There's growth in the grace of
God, in the knowledge of Christ. And as I grow in the knowledge
of Christ, come to me, I'll give you rest. Rest that can't be
improved upon. It's perfect rest, perfect peace.
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. But can you take my yoke on you?
And you learn of me, and you'll find rest for yourselves. That's true. Turn to Colossians.
Let me show you this, Colossians 2. Colossians chapter 2. I put a little note in the bulletin.
Did you read it this morning? Why are you turning to Colossians
2? Believers. I'll read it again.
Colossians 2. Believers. who neglect the study
of God's word. A lot of us do. Believers who do not have a faithful
pastor to teach them and encourage them. He said that's why he gave pastors
and teachers, that the man of God might be mature and grow. Isn't that right? That's what
Christ said. He gave prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors,
and teachers. For the perfecting of the saints,
for the maturity, for their growth. Growth in what? Growth in acceptance? Accepted in the beloved. Growth
in legal righteousness? No, Christ is my righteousness. Pastors can't help me there. Growth in grace and the knowledge
of Christ, and people who don't have that. and who do not have
the benefit of regular fellowship with other believers always suffer
in three areas, always, without fail. Neglecting the study of God's
word, not being taught, and not having regular fellowship with
God's people, you're going to suffer in comfort, you're going
to suffer in contentment, and you're going to suffer in assurance,
confidence, because it all comes Comfort one another with these
words. Exhort one another with these
words. And here's assurance. Now look
at Colossians 2.1. Paul said, I would that you knew
what great conflict care I have for you and for them at Laodicea,
and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. that their
hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love unto all
riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement
of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ. Oh,
he said that you might have the riches of full assurance. Where does that come from? Understanding
and acknowledging the mystery of God and of the Father and
Christ, in whom are here the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Come unto me, learn of me, learn of me, learn of me. We don't gain assurance by working
harder. I remember how people, when I
was in school, 40 some odd years ago, if anybody had any doubts
about their relationship with God, somebody said, well, you
need to get busy for Jesus. That's not going to do it. That's
part of my problem. I'm too busy doing something
for Him. He hasn't done anything for me.
Activity is not going to increase assurance. You just become involved
and you find a substitute for Christ. You're not going to gain
assurance by working harder. Well, learn more doctrine. Buy
some more books and read them. Find out where other people got
assurance. His assurance is not going to help me. His experience
is not going to help me. Well, what we need to do, and
this is what the preachers out there on television all advocate
now. You folks aren't making enough
noise. You're just not clapping enough. You're not happy enough.
That's the way to get assured. Get happy. Get happy and you'll
get assured. They said churches where you're
not shouting and clapping and waving your hand and cutting
up, they're dead, you see. I'll tell you this. You're not
going to gain confidence and assurance of a saving interest
in a relationship with Christ by external happiness and giddiness
and foolishness. That's a camouflage is what that
is. That's a camouflage. That's taking some kind of strong
medicine to do away with the pain. The pain's still there
but you just don't feel it. You just don't feel it. It's
still there. You want me to tell you how to get assurance? Christ
said, you take my yoke on you and you learn of me. The more
you learn of Him. Now let me give you some illustrations
in closing. There's a covenant of grace. There's a covenant of grace.
The word covenant is in the Bible about 300 times. And my Lord
said, All that my Father giveth me will come to me, and him that
cometh I'll in no wise cast out. I came down from heaven, not
to do my will, but the will of him that sent me. And this was
the will of him that sent me, of all which he hath given me
I'll lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day." There's
a covenant. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. They
follow me, and I give them eternal life. My Father gave them to
me. No man's able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. found
comfort in that covenant, in that righteousness, even on his
deathbed. He studied that covenant. He studied that covenant. He
learned about that covenant. Preacher, we just want to hear
about Jesus. We don't want to hear doctrine. You better learn
some doctrine. You can't have the teacher without
his teachings. And David studied that covenant,
and when David laid down to die, he said, Although it be not so
with my house, God's made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure, and this is all my salvation and all my
desire." That's peace, isn't it? That's rest. Then there's
an incarnate Savior. Learn of him. God came down to
earth. Simeon made a study of that. and found joy. Old Simeon was
waiting in the temple. His beard had grown long and
gray, and his hair had grown gray, and his shoulders had gotten
stooped, and wrinkles on his brow. But he's waiting on somebody.
God told him, he said, you're not going to die until you see
the Lord's Christ on this earth. And old Simeon waited. And when
Mary came in and placed that infant in his arms, That old
man lifted his eyes to God and he said, now Lord, let your servant
depart in peace according to your words. I've seen thy salvation. Boy, that's rest, isn't it? He
had studied and thought and contemplated the coming of the Redeemer. Want
assurance? Learn of him. There's a righteousness
provided. There's a righteousness. It's
not in what you do or have done. It's in Christ. And Abraham believed
that. Abraham told Isaac, he said,
Lord will provide. The Lord will provide himself
a land. There's a righteousness and Abraham believed God and
it was counted to him for righteousness. He spent his whole life, Christ
said, seeing my day and rejoicing. That's where he found his rest.
Abraham saw my day and rejoiced. Rejoiced to see it. Learn of
Christ. There's a cross of redemption.
Isaiah wrote about it. Hundreds of years before Christ
ever came to this earth, Isaiah studied and thought and contemplated
the substitution and sacrifice. And he said he was wounded for
our transgression, bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement
of our peace was aborted. By stripes we are healed. There's a risen justifier. And
Paul said, if he be not risen, we're yet in our sin, we're false
witnesses of God, but thank God he has risen and become the first
fruits of them that slept. There's a great high priest,
and Paul said, seeing, understanding, knowing that we have such a high
priest, and I've got so much to say to you about him, so much
to say, let us come boldly. And I tell you this, the more
you know about Him, the bolder you'll come. That's right. Let me see if I can illustrate
that. Here is a great personage, individual with great power,
prestige, and position, you're very reluctant to go into that
person's presence. Very reluctant. Not to use Becky. She'd be very
reluctant just to open the door and go in. Even if she got an
invitation to come, she'd still be hesitant. What am I going
to say? What am I going to do? How am I going to act? He's so
far above me, so famous, so powerful and all this. I'm kind of afraid.
I'd just rather not go. But suppose I, her dad, was in
there with him and ranked equal to him and sitting beside him. And she was invited. She said,
I'm not afraid to go. My dad's in there. And I knew
he had never let anything happen to me. I know this, He loves
me so, I don't have to be afraid to go in where that man is. But
let me tell you something, I can't explain, I can't describe, I
can't define the matchless, majestic, almighty, eternal God, the Father.
But I know my Redeemer liveth, and I know He's at the right
hand of the Father. And I know He's equal to the
Father, and He loves me. The more I know about Him, and
the more I know where He is, and the more I know how much
He loves me, the more I know about Him, the more boldly I'll
come into God's presence. That's right. And I can sit out
here all day and try to make myself neat enough, pretty enough,
clean enough, smart enough, and all this. It ain't going to change
what's within that door. Within the veil, you pray. That
makes all the difference. I come like I am because Christ
is there. Isn't that right? It's only because
He's there. And Paul saw this. He said, seeing
we have a high priest, let us come lowly before the throne. Not of judgment. He turned it
into a throne of grace and found mercy. And in closing, turn to
1 John 2. 1 John 2. The Apostle John knew something
about an advocate. An advocate. 1 John 2, 1. My little children, these things
write unto you that you sin not. That would be great, wouldn't
it? And if any man sins, and when
any man sins, thank God we have an advocate. We have an advocate. We have a mediator. We have a
lawyer with the Father. Where is He? He's with the Father.
Who is He? He's Jesus Christ. What's so
special about Him? He's righteous. And we are righteous
in Him. Want assurance? Like I said when
I started, can't give it to you. Can't give it to me. But I know
where it's found. It's found in learning of Christ. The more you learn of Christ,
the more assurance you're going to have. Now, you can go back
and look over your profession. Well, did I know this? Did I
know that? Did I know the other? Go back and look over your profession,
look over your experience, look over your baptism, look over
the fellow that baptized you. Look over your life since then.
Look over your knowledge. That's not going to help you.
That's going to hurt you if you're an honest man or woman. That's going to hurt you. Because
I tell you, the more you examine yourself, the less you're going
to find commendable if you look closely enough. And if you don't
know some things, come into me and I'll tell you. But if you want assurance, come
to Him and learn of Him. Isn't that right? And you'll
find rest. Rest where? In your souls. Not
in your hand-waving, not in your clapping, not in your whoop-de-doo.
But like you fellows said a while ago when we left to study, this
is all good today, but what about tomorrow? It'll do tomorrow.
Where you live and where you work, if you learn of Him. Because
we're not depending on feeling or experience, we're depending
on Him. Is that right? That's where it's
found. All right, Mike, come lead us
in a closing hymn.
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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