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Henry Mahan

Stewards of God's Grace

1 Corinthians 4:1-7
Henry Mahan • December, 3 1989 • Audio
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Message: 0944b
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
6088 Zebulon Highway
Pikeville, KY 41501
What does the Bible say about stewardship?

The Bible teaches that stewardship involves being a faithful servant and manager of God's resources, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 4:1-7.

In 1 Corinthians 4:1-7, Paul describes stewards as servants of Christ who are entrusted with the mysteries of God. A steward is defined not only as a servant but also as a trustee who has been given a sacred responsibility. In this context, all believers are also considered stewards of God's grace, called to manage their gifts, resources, and relationships in a way that honors God. The emphasis is on faithfulness rather than success, highlighting the expectation that stewards will remain faithful in their service while acknowledging that the results are ultimately determined by God.

1 Corinthians 4:1-7, Exodus 21:1-6

How do we know that we are stewards of God's grace?

We know we are stewards of God's grace because every believer is called to manage the gifts and resources given by God for His glory.

Every believer who has received the grace of God is called to be a steward of that grace. This includes managing our time, talents, and treasures in a way that reflects our commitment to Christ. Paul highlights in 1 Corinthians 4 that he and Apollos serve as examples of how to view ourselves as stewards. The responsibilities of stewardship encompass various aspects of life, including our relationships, our possessions, and our involvement in the church. Ultimately, it is God's ownership of all things that necessitates our faithful stewardship, reminding us that everything we have is a gift from Him.

1 Corinthians 4:1-7, Ephesians 4:7-12

Why is faithfulness important for Christians?

Faithfulness is important for Christians because it aligns with God's requirement for stewards and reflects our commitment to His work.

In 1 Corinthians 4:2, Paul makes it clear that what is required of stewards is that they be found faithful. This means that our responsibility is not to achieve success in worldly terms but to remain faithful to our calling and duties as entrusted by God. Faithfulness demonstrates our trust in God, our desire to serve Him, and our commitment to fulfill the responsibilities He has given us. When we focus on being faithful, we acknowledge that God will determine the outcomes, which provides peace in our efforts. Faithfulness also encourages us to persevere in our Christian walk, even when we face challenges or discouragements.

1 Corinthians 4:2, Revelation 2:10

Sermon Transcript

Auto-generated transcript • May contain errors

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1 Corinthians chapter 4. Now, the title of this message is, Stewards of the Grace of
God. I made the statement a few Sundays
ago preaching here. It's been just
two or three weeks ago. that most people my age and who
have been on the same job as long as I have are retired from
that particular work. They're not retired from life.
They're not retired from activity. They're certainly not retired
from worship or praise or attending the house of God, but
they're retired from what they've done so very long. And in the
last few months, the last year or two, I have gone through a
lot of tiredness, weariness of the road. Not weariness of the
gospel at all. I love the gospel. I love to
preach. I love to teach. I love to prepare messages. I
love to sing. I love to worship God. But you
get tired of the responsibilities. You get tired of doing things
that you've done so long, you know. And I studied this particular
passage of Scripture for my own benefit, I hope for yours. A
steward of the grace of God. Now, let me read these first
seven verses. The first seven verses. I'll
be speaking from those seven verses. Let a man so account of us as
of the ministers of Christ and the stewards and stewards of
the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards
that a man be found faithful. But with me, it is a very small
thing that I should be judged of you or of man's judgment. Yea, I judge not my own self.
For I know nothing by myself. He says there, I know nothing
against myself. I know nothing against myself.
Yet am I not hereby justified just because I think I've been
faithful. That doesn't mean I'm justified
because I think so. But he that judgeth me is the
Lord. Therefore judge nothing before
the time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light
the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels
of the heart. He will bring to light the hidden
things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the
hearts. And then shall every man have
praise of God. And these things, Brethren, I
have in a figure, an illustration, applied to myself and to Apollos
for your sakes. In other words, he's saying I'm
using myself as an example for your sakes. that you might learn
in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no
one of you be puffed up one against another. For who maketh thee
to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? Now, if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hast not received it? Now, that's
as far as I'm going to go. But there are two things. There
are two things here that need to be understood at the beginning. They need to be made clear. The
first is what is a steward? We don't use that word too much
now. You'll hear it occasionally when
they have stewardship Sunday in a church, you know. But we
don't use that word very much. They used it two years ago. What
is a steward? S-T-E-W-A-R-D. What is a steward? Well, here's what a steward is.
A steward is a servant. A steward is an employee. That's
what a steward is. He's an employee. He's a servant
who has been put by the owner. He's a servant. He's an employee
who by the owner has been put in the capacity of overseer. or manager of the owner's goods
and property. Now that's what a steward is.
A steward is one, he's a servant, that's all. He's a servant, he's
an employee and he has been, by the owner, placed as a manager,
as an overseer of this manager's property or goods. Another definition,
a steward is a trustee. He's a trustee, he's a treasurer
of the owner's goods. For example, Brother Russell
May and Mrs. Lewis, our organist. Brother
Russell is the treasurer of this church. She's the assistant treasurer
and clerk. And quite a bit of money comes
through this church, about a third of a million dollars a year.
come through these offering plates and through the mail, through
the television, taping, books and things like that, almost
right at a third of a million dollars. Brother Russell and
Marty handled every bit of it. They're trustees. See that? They're trustees. This church
is trusted to them, into their hands. this property and these
goods to disperse, and he's our trustee. He's a steward. See
that? He's a steward. He's an employee. He's a servant of the church,
and he's been entrusted with this responsibility and with
these goods and with this property. That's what a steward is. Now
then, over here in verse 6, Paul is speaking to all of us. You, everyone out here, speaking
to me and everyone out here. And he's using himself as an
example. That's what he says here in verse
6. These things, brethren, that I'm talking about, I have in
a figure. You know what a figure is? It's
a picture. It's a pattern, illustration. I've used these things, brethren,
I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos, my
friend. Paul was an apostle and Apollos
was a preacher. And he says, what I say about
me and Apollos, I'm talking about you too. I've used this as an
illustration. Alright, you got that? Now that
being understood, what a steward is and what Paul is doing here,
he's speaking of himself and he's transferring it to everybody,
every believer. So let's then look at the verses.
First of all, verse 1. Now let a man so account of us. In other words, Paul says, this
is the way I want you to look on me. This is the way I want
you to look on me. So account of me. This is what
I am. Number one, as a minister of Christ. The word minister
is a servant or a bond slave. I want you to look on me this
way, Paul said. I want you to look on me totally
and completely as a servant of Jesus Christ. I'm His employee. I'm His servant. I'm His bond
slave. I belong to Him, lock, stock
and barrel. That's what a bond slave is.
Let's hold that place right there and turn to Exodus 21. A bond slave is a slave. That's what he is. He's a servant.
He called himself a bond slave, a servant of Christ, in Romans
1. I'm a bond slave of Christ. But that's what a bond slave
is. He's a servant of Jesus Christ. He belongs to Him. In Exodus
21, now this is where this comes from. Now, Exodus 21-1, now these
are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. If you
buy a Hebrew servant, a slave, six years he shall serve. And
in the seventh year, he shall go out free for nothing. That's
the seventh year he's set free. If he came in by himself, he'll
go out by himself. If he were married, his wife
will go with him. Whatever he had when he came
to you, that's what he takes with him, nothing else. If his
master has given him a wife, and she had borne him sons or
daughters, the wife and the children belong to the master. And he'll
go out by himself. But, what's this now? If the
servant, if the slave, shall plainly say, now this is of his
own volition. He shall plainly say. He's the
one saying it. You're not saying it for him.
He's saying it. Plainly say. See that? He shall plainly say.
So as not to be misunderstood. If he shall plainly say, I love
my master. I love my master. I love my what? My master. He's my master. I love him. And I love my wife,
and I love my children. I will not go out free. I will
not accept freedom. Then his master shall bring him
unto the judges with this confession, and he shall bring him to the
door, to the door post. Some say it's the door of the
temple, some say it's the door of the master's house. And they
shall take an awl, and bore his ear, and put a mark there in
his ear, and he shall belong to the master forever." That
is a bond slave. What is a bond slave? He's a
willing, loving slave and servant. And that's what Paul is saying,
I want you to look on me as belonging to Jesus Christ. Now that's where
this whole thing starts. No use looking into stewardship
or stewards or whatever. So let's just settle right here.
To whom do we belong? To whom do we belong? And Paul
said, that's where you look on me. You look on me as a bond
slave, as a servant, as a minister. I go where He sends me. I do
His will. His will is my command. That's
the way it is. All right, secondly, I want you
to look on me this way, he said, as a trustee, as an overseer,
as a manager of the mysteries of God. In other words, Paul
is saying here, God has entrusted me with his gospel. Oh, what
a sacred trust. I was speaking a few nights ago
down in Louisiana. And I use this illustration.
Bob and Becky occasionally go to Florida. We like for them
to have a time to get away by themselves and fish and just
enjoy themselves. And our son Paul has done the
same thing. And they leave the children with
us. They bring the children over to the house and bring their
clothes and their shoes school books and all. They come in the
den and they lay it all out there and they say, now, they belong
to you for a whole week. We're gone. Well, you know, that's
trusting us with their two most precious possessions. This man
and his wife bring and put in my hands their son and daughter. Or Paul and Mindy, to you, Ed,
or to me, bring us Hannah's. There she is. We're going on
a trip. That's trust, isn't it? Well, I'll tell you this, and
I wouldn't, I'd lay down and die before I'd let anything happen
to one of those children. I often tell Bob, I said, they're
better off with me than with you, you know. You didn't even
worry about them. Oh, my soul, you know. I'd die
for either one of them, for that little one over there. But my
Lord has trusted me with something As much as I love these kids,
infinitely more precious than these children. And that's His
gospel. Isn't that right? That's what
he said. He's entrusted me with the gospel. The gospel. The gospel. I'm a trustee, Paul said. I'm
a steward of the mysteries of God. Russell May there. That man, he's been with us for
all these years. I trust Him. I guarantee you
He wouldn't do one thing, not one thing in reference to these
finances around here, not one thing. He'd go the other way
before He'd do one thing questionable as far as those finances are
concerned. Wouldn't He? Well, my soul, do we dare compromise
the Gospel? If a man cares that much for
material things, if I care that much for those children, if I
care that much about my reputation as a grandfather or as a treasurer,
how much more should we preach and defend and be true to this
gospel of God's grace? I hear people say, well, so and
so believes what you believe, he doesn't preach it. I don't
believe that. He couldn't possibly believe
it. He couldn't possibly love it. He couldn't possibly. It's not possible for a man to
love the gospel and not preach it. That's a trust. That's a
sacred trust. I'm a steward of the gospel of
God. You know what he's saying? That's
the way you look on me. He said, you look on me, first
of all, as a a bond-servant, a willing, loving slave of Jesus
Christ. I'm His. Freely, I'm His. Oh, He chose me. He bought me. Just like they bought that Hebrew.
He bought me with His blood, the silver of His sweat and the
gold of His blood. He bought me. But I like it. And I'm going to stay there.
That's the way you look on me. Alright, let's apply that to
you and me. You say, preacher, I'm not an apostle. I'm not a preacher. But you're a bond slave of Christ.
Are you not? Are you not a bond slave of Christ?
Well, certainly you are. You're a servant of the Son of
God by His grace and by your own choice. You're a servant
of Jesus Christ. Every one of you, men and women
and young people who know Christ, can't you say the same thing?
I'm His. I'm a willing, loving, bond slave of Jesus Christ. Are
you not? Sure you are. You say, what has He entrusted
in my care? Oh, I can name a lot of things. Want to hang around while I go
through? I want you to look on me now as a steward, as a trustee
of Jesus Christ. And I have been given a sacred
trust, the gospel. That's my main, but He's given
me some other thing. Some other thing. He has put
in my hands these things, and they're all His. They're all
His. I've brought nothing into this world, and I'll take nothing
out. So that means anything in between. is His. Isn't that right? When I came into the cradle,
I brought nothing. And when I lie in the casket,
I take nothing out. So everything in between the
cradle and the casket is His. And I used it for a little while. The gifts that He has given to
me, alright, here's some of them. First of all, a knowledge of
the gospel of His grace. He's given me His Word. He's
put this in my hand. And a knowledge of the gospel
of His grace. Shall I be faithful? Secondly,
He's given me a church and a church family. He's given me brothers
and sisters. He's given me a fellowship. How
shall I handle it? How shall I treat it? What will
I do about it? See what I'm talking about? This
church, it's not Mahan's church. Of course, it's the Lord's church,
but this is your family. These are your brothers and sisters.
And He's put them in your care. The unity of that church, the
fellowship of that church, the accord of that church, all these
things are in your hands. God help you to mistreat it. God help you. God be merciful
if you do, or if I do. Barely he's given me a family,
wife, husband, children, grandchildren, friends. I have responsibility
to these people. He's given me these, these are
treasures and gifts that he's given to me. Given me this relationship. Then he's given us certain gifts. Gifts to teach, these men here
who teach. Gifts to pray. Gifts to read
the Word, as you just heard Bob read. Gifts to sing. Mike, God gave you that gift
to play these instruments, to witness, to pray. All these opportunities that
God's given us. He's given all of us a certain
amount of money to various degrees. Some have more than others, but
none of us, it doesn't belong to any of us. It belongs to Him. You didn't bring it in, you're
not going to take it out. He let you have it for a little
while, let you hold it for a little while, and gave you the trusteeship
of it. Food, a home, a car. The car parked out there is not
mine, that's God's car. Isn't that right? I'm not going
to take it with me now, and I didn't bring it in. It belongs to Him. My house, clothes, strength,
means of communication, time. Time. I have a certain amount
of months and days and years. All of these things. You just
sit down like I did here and jot down the things that you
have that are related to you or connected to you or that God
has put in your hands, the things you have. They're all His and
He's made you the trustee. He's given you the responsibility
of using it for His glory. I don't care what it is. That's
right. Well, look at verse 2. Now, that's
what we are. We're bond slaves of Christ and we're stewards
in whatever capacity. In whatever capacity, whatever
you have, whatever God has given you, whatever gifts God has given
you, you are a steward. It's just like when He called
those fellows and He gave one ten talents, one five talents,
one one talent. But he made each of them the
trustee, the steward, the manager of what he put in their hands,
and when he came back, he required it of them. Isn't that right? Alright, what's required? What
did he require of them? Verse 2. Moreover, it is required
in stewards that a man be found, one word, faithful. Faithful. He doesn't say successful. He doesn't require a steward
to be successful. He doesn't require him to be
popular. He requires him to be faithful. Oh, I tell you, we preach the
gospel. It seems like so few hear it. It seems like so little
interest in the gospel. But it's mine to preach it. It's
his to either bless it or whatever. And it's my responsibility to
be faithful. Isn't that right? We witness
that. I know you do. You witness. You
invite people to hear the gospel. You give out tapes. You do all
these things, but it seems like they don't hear. Your relatives
and friends, they're not interested. What are you going to do? Be
faithful. It's required in a steward that
he be faithful. Well, brethren, I teach my children. I instruct them, I try to tell
them to get your lessons, and do your homework, and be obedient,
and respect the teachers, and stay in school, and get your
education, and let's go to church, let's hear the gospel. But it
just seems like they're so rebellious, and they have no interest. What
am I going to do? Be faithful. Be faithful. It's required of a steward. Whatever
he's given me, whatever he's entrusted to my care, He says,
just be faithful. Just be faithful. Well, I sing
and I pray and I share tapes with people and I try to encourage
folks and it just seems like my efforts are so futile. What
do I do? Be faithful. Be faithful. Well, I give my gifts and I share
with people and I buy gifts and I send money to these different
places, but it seems like folks are so unappreciative. I contact
people, I write, I call, but very little response. I go out
of my way to do these things. What will I do? Keep on? Yeah,
keep on. And be faithful. And be faithful. You see, Let
me show you a scripture I read over here in Revelation 2. Turn
over here. This is a tremendous scripture. Just be faithful. It's required
of a steward. What, Bob? That he be what? Just
be faithful. Just be faithful. Look at Revelation 2 now. I know
your works, God says. I know your works, even if nobody
else does. I know your works. I know your
tribulation, I know your poverty, but you're rich. You may be poor by world standards,
but on a heavenly scale, you're rich. We're a bunch of rich people,
do you know that? That's what he's saying, you're
rich. And I know the blasphemy of them which say they're Jews,
they're children of God and are not, they're the synagogue of
Satan, but you fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer.
Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that
you may be tried, and you'll have tribulation ten days, but
you be faithful unto death, and I'll give you a crown of life.
Just be faithful. See, that's it. Just be faithful. The fruits of our ministry, the
fruits of our efforts are His to determine. And what Paul is
saying of himself and of us, is that the results of our work
and the results of our efforts, they're not in our hands at all.
God moves in mysterious ways. He has wonders to perform. But
there's one instruction He gives me. Just be faithful. Just be
faithful. All right, watch verse 3. But
with me, I wish we could come to this place, but you know this
is so difficult right here. Public opinion. Boy, I tell you
that's so important. Public opinion. What others think.
It shouldn't be, but it is. But not with Paul. He says here
in verse 3, with me it's a very small thing that I should be
judged of you. Or of any man's judgment. What's
he saying? He's saying this. It does not
matter what people think of my ministry, he said. It does not
matter what they think of my works of faith. It does not matter
what conclusions they draw as far as my ministry and my message
and my work of faith and my labor of love. I do what I feel led
of God to do, he said. I serve God for His glory. And it does not matter to me
one bit what other people think of my ministry, of my work. It does not matter. That's what
he's saying, isn't it? It's a very small thing that I should be
judged of you or of any man's judgment. In fact, he said, I
judge not myself. He said, I can't really judge
the true effect of my ministry at all. I can't do it. I can't
even do it myself. John Thompson answered the phone
in here a while ago about six o'clock. He called me the telephone.
And there was a man on the telephone that I had never met or heard
from in my life. He lives up in West Virginia
somewhere. He's a preacher. And he said,
you've never met me. You don't know who I am. He gave
me his name. But he said, I tape your television ministry every
Sunday morning. I have for years. He said, I
preach the same thing you do. And he said, I tape your television
ministry. And he said, I have a friend.
I used to be in country music. He said, he used to play. And
I have a friend who's still in country music. In fact, he plays
on HeHall, that show. He lives down near Nashville.
I said, I've been sending him your tapes. I've been taping
them up here and sending them down to him. I said, he's just
about two or three months now I've been sending him tapes and
he's just crazy about that gospel you're preaching. I said, I sent
him your commentaries and I sent him these tapes. And I said,
what's his name? He told me. I said, I'll call
him. And so I went in there, hung up the phone with him, and
I called him. I said, Russell, call him Sugar. He said, that's
what I call him. He'll know who put you on him. I said, Russell,
Sugar. I said, it's Henry Mahan. He
said, now don't kid me. I said, I'm not kidding you.
It's Henry Mahan. He said, is it really? I said, yes. He said,
man, I've been listening to you preach now for two or three months.
I said, I'm going to be down there where you live preaching
in January. Why don't you come hear me? He said, I'll be there.
We never know, do we? So that's the reason Paul said,
I can't be the judge. I don't know where this message
is. We don't know where these messages are going. Oh my, we
don't know who's hearing them. So how can you judge? And how can I judge? Just can't
do it. And these things you do, what
I give that illustration, these things you do, that little card
you send, I received a card from Scott Richardson yesterday, just
an encouraging card, I put it on your bulletin board. Funny
little card, but a nice little word. The card had a picture
of an old man on the front with a long-faced horse. He opened
it up and said, ìThe more I learn about women, the more I love
my horse.î Darcy didnít like it, but I thought he was cute. But these little cards and phone
calls and gifts and things you do, you can't judge where they
are or what they've done or who they've touched. You see what
I'm saying? That's what I'm saying. The messages you fellas bring,
you never know. So it's a small thing what folks
think. And you can't even judge it yourself.
And then he says, really verse 4, he says here, he said, I know nothing against myself,
that's what he's saying. He said this, I've fought a good
fight, I've kept the faith, I've finished my course. He said,
I don't know anything against myself, but he said, that won't
justify me. Even if I feel that way, he said,
that won't justify me. He says, I've acted in honesty,
in good faith, in my stewardship, and yet I'm not justified by
what I think. I'm not judged by men, I'm not
judged by me. What's this? He that judges me
is the Lord. Oh, I tell you, if we could just
have that attitude in our giving, in our witnessing, in our work,
in our praying, in all these things, that the Lord is my judge. You know, Peter said, Lord, you
know I love you. And that's what counts, what he thinks, not what
others think, what he thinks. What he thinks. The Lord's my
judge. Therefore, this is good here. You know, therefore, he
says, don't judge anything before the time. In other words, be
slow in your judgments and slow in your opinions concerning any
man's work, any woman's stewardship of work. Don't pass sentence
on people and on works and on these things done in the name
of God. Don't pass sentence at all. Don't judge anything before
when? When the Lord comes. When the
Lord comes. That's when, when the Lord comes,
when Christ comes, that's the time for the judgment of all
things. That's it. It says here, the
Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, the
things hidden from us. We may not understand a person's
motive or they don't understand their objective or their aim
or so forth, their attitude, but don't judge it in that way
that he comes. Because he's going to bring to light the hidden
things of darkness and he's going to manifest what? The counsels
of the hearts. That's the aim of the hearts
and the motive of the hearts and the purposes of the hearts
which no one could see. Be faithful. I know out here
there are people who do things for others nobody knows about.
Who give to others nobody knows about. Who call and write and
take care of sick people and friends and mothers and fathers
and It's not on a billboard. Most things I do are from the
pulpit. But things you do, nobody knows. He just, don't judge anything
for the time. And He comes. When He comes,
everything that has not been known, everything that has not
been discovered, everything, even the counsels of the heart,
are all going to be made manifest. And then shall every true believer
have praise of God. Every servant, every trustee,
every slave, bond slave, well done, thou good and faithful
servant. See what I'm talking about? And when you get discouraged,
when you get tired, when you get weary, when you feel like
nobody understands, nobody knows, well, just do what Paul says. I care not what others think. I don't even know myself the
outcome of these things, but I do know that He knows. And
when He comes, it will all be revealed. So I'm going to be
faithful. Faithful. See that? And here
in verse 6, I'll close with this. Brethren, these things I have
referred to myself and to Apollos. He said, I've been talking about
myself. And when you preach these things, you nearly have to. But
I have in a figure, transferred to myself and to Apollos for
your sakes, that you might learn in us, from us, not to think
of men above that which is written." Let me add this. Don't think
of any man above what is written, or any man less than what is
written. You see what I'm saying? You know, in Christ, you know
Paul was an apostle, but he was still a man. Apollos was a great preacher,
but he was still a man. Why do we insist on glorifying
this flesh when God says all flesh is grace? Why do we boast
and brag and set one against another? This man is important,
that one... Oh, just turn that thing this way. The higher brought
low and the lower brought up. And the plain places are level. See what I'm talking about? that you might learn not to think
of men above that which is written. Don't think of a man more highly
than you ought to think. Let no one of you be puffed up
one against another. We're brethren. We're brethren
and sisters in the family. You know, in your household,
there are you that have a large household. There are two girls
and two boys, or three boys and a girl, or three girls and a
boy and all this. They're all the same. They're
loved the same. One may be more talented than
the other. One may play a musical instrument.
The other can't play the radio real clear, you know. One might
make A's in school. One might have a struggle making
C's. But do you make a difference? You shouldn't. And this is God's
family. And we don't make any difference.
Because He said in verse 7, Who made you to differ? Who made you to differ? I look
out here and I see men that are supervisors in plants. I mean, they're up there. I see
you fellas' names in the paper once in a while. You're somebody.
And there are men in this congregation that work for you. But I tell
you, in Christ, we're brothers. Isn't that right? There's no Mr. Big or Mr. Little.
Oh, no. Who made you to differ? Listen
to this question. What do you have that you did
not receive? Say, I got a good mind. If it
wasn't for His grace, you'd be a moron. He gave you that mind. I got this, that, or the other.
God gave it to you. I believe that. That's what the
Word says. What do you have you didn't receive?
You received it. You obtained it by mercy. It was a gift of God. I tell
you this, you've got a good mind, you better use it for God's glory,
because you're going to give an account of it. You say, I've
got money. This man doesn't have any. I
tell you, to whom much is given, much will be required. I'm telling you, you think when
Christ comes, all of this is going to be brought to light.
All of it. The unknown, the hidden things.
God, you're nothing but a trustee. Oh, I tell you. What do you have
you didn't receive? Now, if you received it, why
do you glory? Why in this world would you ever
have any room to glory or boast? or be proud, whatever we have,
He gave it to us. We're just servants. We're just servants. And it's
required in a servant that he be faithful. Isn't that a beautiful
picture? That's a precious passage of
Scripture. One we need. I need it desperately.
And just be like you did. It's required of a servant, a
steward. god make me faithful all right
mike lead us in a latest in a closing here
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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