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Henry Mahan

Cry of the Evangelist

Isaiah 40:3-11
Henry Mahan • September, 3 1989 • Audio
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Message: 0933b
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
6088 Zebulon Highway
Pikeville, KY 41501
What does the Bible say about John the Baptist's role?

John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ, preparing the way for the Messiah.

John the Baptist is identified in Scripture as the voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord (Isaiah 40:3; Luke 3). As the last of the Old Testament prophets, he pointed directly to Christ, saying, 'Behold the Lamb of God.' His ministry emphasized the need for repentance and the coming of the Kingdom of God, symbolizing the transition from the Old Covenant system of sacrifices to the New Covenant established through Jesus. John's call to prepare the hearts of the people illustrated the necessity for spiritual readiness to receive the Messiah.

Isaiah 40:3, Luke 3

Why is it important to prepare the way for the Lord?

Preparing the way for the Lord signifies the need for genuine repentance and spiritual readiness.

The call to 'prepare ye the way of the Lord' signifies a personal responsibility to make straight paths for the coming King (Isaiah 40:3). This preparation involves repentance, where individuals cast aside their own works and self-righteousness to align themselves with God's grace. The path must be clear of hypocrisy and deceit, indicating that a true encounter with God requires honesty and humility. When the Lord comes, He will lift the lowly and humble the proud, underlining the need for a heart that is ready to receive His grace and mercy.

Isaiah 40:3-4, Philippians 3

How do we know that the Word of God will stand forever?

The Word of God is eternal and unchanging, unlike human wisdom and flesh.

Scripture asserts that 'the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever' (Isaiah 40:8). This emphasizes the temporal nature of human achievements and wisdom, contrasting them with the enduring truth of God's Word. The consistency of God's promises throughout Scripture reflects His Sovereignty and the irrevocable nature of His plans. Therefore, believers can find assurance and stability in God's Word, which serves as the ultimate guide and foundation for their faith in an ever-changing world.

Isaiah 40:8

Sermon Transcript

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God has given us. What a good Bible study and worship
service this morning. Then to be together again tonight
and hear His Word read, sing these songs of praise, and hear these special numbers I hope God, in his mercy and
grace, lets us enjoy it a while longer, don't you? I certainly hope he does. I hope
he, by his grace, preserves this fellowship and this congregation
and that from the pulpit to the back row that we'll endeavor who preserve this unity and fellowship
in the gospel. I do, don't you? That there may
be how blessed it is when brethren dwell together in unity. The
Spirit of the Lord is present. Where the Spirit of God is, there's
liberty and joy and happiness and His mercies and blessings.
And it's so good, and there's no reason why it should be otherwise. There just is no reason in the
world. No reason. All right, Isaiah 40. Let's take
up where we left off this morning with verse 3. The voice of him
that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. make straight in the desert a
highway for our God. Now we don't have to wonder whose
voice that is. The voice in the wilderness is
John the Baptist. Brother Trabant read that from
Luke 3. Luke 3 quotes this 40th chapter
of Isaiah and applies it to John the Baptist. Some say John the
Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets, the last
of the Old Testament prophets. The tabernacle had stood all
these years, the tabernacle and then the temple. And the priest
and the high priest had gone about all the types and sacrifices
and ceremonies. They had varied for various reasons,
but they had continued through these years. Even our Lord met
with his disciples to observe the Passover. It was still going
on after all these years. The lambs had been slain, the
sacrifices had been offered, the people, I know they were
going through the motions, And I know that their superstition
and all these things had lost all the spirituality of these
feast days, but they were still observing them. They were still
going through all these feast days. The blood of the Lamb from
Egypt's Passover all the way down to the day John the Baptist
began to preach had been carried on. Now John the Baptist, But
the last of the Old Testament line stood and said, Behold the
Lamb of God. Here's the tabernacle of God.
Here's the great priest. Here's the Lamb. Here's the altar.
Here's the mercy seat. He taketh away the first and
establishes the second. The last Old Testament prophet
points to Christ. And then someone else says that
John the Baptist is the forerunner, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, it seems that when a great,
back in these days, when a great and powerful king planned to
visit a certain place, this great and powerful king planned to
visit a certain place. Small measure, we see that even
in this day. When the President of the United
States is going to any certain town or place to speak or to
spend time in a vacation, how many people go before him? They
go before him and they get things all straightened out. They get
the situation all set up. They prepare the people. They
go through all of their secret dealings and phone systems and
all these things before he ever leaves Washington to go to this
place. We see that in a measure, but back here, back here, when
a great and powerful and mighty king planned a visit to a certain
place, a forerunner or forerunners and others went before him to
prepare the way, to prepare the conditions. to establish certain
conditions for his visits, and to prepare the people for his
visits. In other words, they said things
just did not continue as they were when the king came. Everything
is different. Everything must be ordered. Now
watch this. Everything must be ordered to
receive him according to his importance. according to his everything. When this forerunner came before,
he prepared the way, he prepared the people, he prepared the conditions
according to the importance of the king whom he represented. And this was especially true
when the lives of the people and the welfare of the people
and the well-being of the people depended on his coming. And I'll tell you this, this
voice here, this forerunner, is going before and preparing
the way for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I want
you to notice what he says. He says, now John is the voice. The apostle John wrote in John
1, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. And
it says, the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Why
is John out in the wilderness? Why is John not down in the center
of Jerusalem, standing on the porch of the temple, declaring
that the King is coming, the Messiah is coming? All these
things are supposed to typify him and supposed to be our schoolmaster
to teach us Christ prepare us for his coming. I'll tell you
why he's out there in the wilderness. He's out there in the wilderness
because nothing in Jerusalem, and nothing in religion, and
nothing in the temple, and nothing in the priesthood can even be
identified with this King. Isn't that right, John? He's out in the wilderness. He's
out in the wilderness. You see, Christ came to his own
and his own received him not. The king is not going to set
up his reign on the foundation of false religion. He's not going
to set up his reign in a temple. He's not going to set up his
reign upon the superstitions of men. But this king is going
to reign in the heart. So John is away from the temple,
Bob. He's away from the sacrifices.
He's away from the priest. He's away from everything associated
with and identified with religion. He's out there in the wilderness.
That's where he's preaching. The voice of one crying in the
wilderness. And to whom does he cry? Well,
what's this? Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Prepare you. This is a personal
matter. This Messiah comes to you. He comes to me. And he commands
you. Prepare ye. Prepare ye. This is not a combined effort. This is not a social effort. This is not an organized effort.
This is not a committee effort. This is a personal matter. Prepare
ye. This Messiah, this King of Kings
commands me and you to repent, to lay aside all works and all
thoughts and ways contrary to His glory, to His kingdom, and
to His reign. That's what Paul said in Philippians
3. He said, I was born a Hebrew
of Hebrews. I was a Pharisee. Concerning the law, I was blameless.
I was circumcised the eighth day. All these things, but what
things were important to me and what things were gain to me,
I counted but loss. Yea, I count them but dumb. So
you, you, watch this, prepare the way of the Lord. And make,
watch this, make straight, make straight, in the desert a highway
for our God. Straight. Straight is the gate. Narrow is the way. Straight. He'll not deal in pretense. He'll
not deal with hypocrisy. If we're genuinely interested
in the coming of this King and the reign of this King, it's
going to be a straight path. And it's going to be a path,
this is so beautiful, in the desert. Have you ever been in
a desert? Well, even if you've never been
in a desert, you've seen pictures of a desert, haven't you? Now,
I hear this voice out in the wilderness that says, you, prepare
you the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert. The King's coming. Make straight
in the desert a way for our God. What's in the desert? Nothing. Nothing of human works, there's
no buildings, there are no bridges, there are no highways, there
are no sidewalks, there are no plants, there are no gardens,
there are no vineyards, there are no orchards, there are no
shepherds, there are no herds, there are no flocks, just desert. And if there's any glory, He'll
bring it with Him. If there's any glory, He'll bring
it with Him. If there's any beauty, that's
right. If there's any glory, if there's
any beauty, if there's anything of value, He'll bring it with
Him. You, you prepare. Get rid of all these thoughts
and ways and works and dead works and religion and everything contrary
to His absolute reign. And you make it straight. You
make it straight. No hypocrisy, no deceit, no pretense. You make straight in that desert
a highway for our God. Our God. Thomas fell at his feet and said,
my Lord, my Master, my Supreme Ruler, my God. If we're serious, if
we're serious. And read on, and he says in verse
4, and every valley, every valley shall be exalted. What does that
mean? When Messiah comes, every valley. What is a valley? A low place.
A valley is a low place. Well, when Messiah comes, all
who are depressed and defeated, all who are heavy laden, and
bow down with the guilt of sin, all who are low and humble shall
be raised. Like Mary Magdalene, like the
thief on the cross, like the publican in the temple, like
old dirty, begging, poverty stricken, blind Bartimaeus, those who are
nothing, nothing, have nothing, know nothing, can do nothing,
they are raised up. and embraced by the king. And
then he says, and every mountain, what's a mountain? It's a high
place. It's a high place. But every mountain, like the
low places and the depressed areas and the low and humble
are brought up, And the hills, I'm glad it said
in the hills because, you know, there are high mountains of influence
and then they're just hills. I don't care if it's an ant hill,
a mole hill, or a dung hill. All must come down. Somebody
said one time that the grave, G-R-A-V-E, is the leveler. All men are the same in the grave.
Well, there's a sense in which that's true, but I'll tell you
this, before men reach the grave, G-R-A-C-E is the leveler. Isn't that right? Grace is the
leveler. Grace lifts and exalts the low
and humble. And the grace of God, the true
knowledge of the King and the Redeemer, brings down the mighty
and the high and the haughty. There's no room for boasting.
In other words, when the king comes, the path is straight,
and it's through the desert. He brings all the glory and beauty
with him. And those low places are brought
up, and those high places are brought down. And the king marches
through. And I'll tell you something else.
It says here, And the crooked shall be made
straight. Now this is difficult. And you're going to get a lot
of different comments on this. John Gill says that this is the
complex, secret, and mysterious prophecies and types and pictures
of the Old Testament that are clearly revealed when our Lord
Jesus Christ is revealed and are fulfilled. in our Lord Jesus
Christ, and he is not wrong there, because those things are, those
strange and mysterious. Who can understand the Passover
without Christ? Who can understand the sacrifices
of the temple without Christ? Who can understand the mercy
seat without Christ? Who can understand any of these
types, patterns, and pictures without Christ? None. He is the
fulfillment. But if you stay with your theme,
and this is what I'm trying to do, if you stay with your theme,
the voice out yonder in the wilderness, preaching to the people, the
common people, having gone around all the superstitions and the
organizations of religion, and the duties and denials and doings
of men, and gone out yonder to the desert to whomever would
come to hear And he says, you prepare the way of the King.
You prepare the way of the Lord. And the humble shall be exalted,
and the exalted shall be humble. And the crooked, and the crooked,
the dishonest. When you were reading a while
ago and he talked to those soldiers about their conduct and attitude,
he talked to these others about bringing forth fruit meets for
repentance. He talked to people about these
things. There's a preparation of heart for Christ. The crooked
are made straight. I walked in church while I was
going. I got a little illustration. I looked at Ron Traybant. He's
so dressed up. I said, you look like a Philadelphia
lawyer tonight. He said, don't say that. They're
most of them crooked. Well, I know him. He's not crooked.
He's a sinner, but he's not crooked. I think there's a difference.
God's people are not crooks. That's the reason I don't think
most of these television preachers are God's people, because they're
crooks. God's people are not crooks.
The crooked are made straight. In other words, if a fellow...
Oh, Zacchaeus is an example. Our Lord walked under the tree
and said, Zacchaeus, come down. And he knew he was in the presence
of the king. He knew he was in the presence
of the blesser of men. And what does he start talking
about immediately? Huh? What does he start talking about?
I'm going to restore what I've stolen. You know what he starts
talking about? He says, I'm going to restore
what I've stolen. The crooked are made strange.
A man who is truly seeking the king will seek him not in deceit
and hypocrisy and pretense, but in honesty. He may not even find
him, but he'll seek him that way. That's right. That's right. And that's what Zacchaeus said.
He said, if I've wronged any man, I'm going to pay him back
fourfold. That's what I'm going to do. And our Lord said, salvation
is going to come to this house. Here's somebody that's interested.
And I believe if we stay with our text and the rough places,
Rough places plain. Well, no use going into what
they say about that. But I tell you, it's staying
with the text. I believe it's that old rough, arrogant, natural
heart and ways becomes tender. A tender heart. God said, I'm
going to take out that old stony heart. God's people and people
who are seeking God are not mean. They're tenderhearted. Arrogancy,
haughtiness, meanness, that doesn't go with seeking the Lord. Those
who seek the Lord are gentle and they're tender and they're
kind. Be ye tender-hearted, tender-hearted. I'll take out that old stony
heart, that old flinty heart, that old smart-aleck heart, that
old wise and prudent heart and give you a heart of flesh. You want to know the King? See,
when He comes marching in, everything changes. You prepare the way
for Him. Oh yeah, I'm not preaching Arminianism
at all, I'm just preaching the Word of God. I just say people
who are interested in the coming of the King, people who are interested
in the reign of the Messiah, people who are interested in
being there when He comes in, they're going to prepare a way
for Him. They are. God will lift some,
and you'll bring down others, and you'll straighten out some
thinking on the part of others, and you'll take that old caustic,
rough, worldly, smart-aleck attitude away and give you a tender heart.
A tender heart. You know what will happen when
all that takes place? And the glory of the Lord will be revealed. The glory of the Lord. I know
what that is. Turn to Exodus 33. I know what that is. Exodus
33. Moses said here in Exodus 33,
verse 18, Lord, show me your glory. Show me your glory. And I know what this is. This
is his redemptive glory. The glory of the Lord is going
to be seen. This is his redemptive glory. All right, verse 19, Exodus
33, he said, I'll make all my goodness, that's my glory, my
goodness, pass before you. I'll be merciful. I'll proclaim
the name of the Lord before you. Now, this is the King. Prepare
the way of the King, the Lord. The King is coming. And he said,
if you want to know his will, you'll know it. If you want to
meet him, you'll meet him. If you want his mercy, you'll
have it. But you're not going to accidentally
run into it down the street somewhere. I'll proclaim the name of the
Lord God before you, and I'll be gracious to whom I will be
gracious. I'll be merciful to whom I will
be merciful. The glory of the Lord shall be
revealed. In verse 5 it says, all flesh
will see it. All flesh will see it. Jew and
Gentile, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. Now then,
beginning with verse 6, we have a threefold cry of the evangelist. A threefold cry of the evangelist. Old Brother Barnard said this
years ago, long, long time ago. One of the first messages I heard
him preach years ago. He said this is the threefold
theme of evangelism. Men who know God, who are sent
of God, this is a summary of their message. See if you can
pick it up. There's a threefold theme. I'm
going to read these verses and see if you can pick up. Take
your pen and underscore it if you want to. If you catch it,
the threefold theme. All right, the voice said, cry. And I said, he said, what shall
I cry? What is my cry? What am I to
cry? All flesh is grace. All flesh
is grace. And all the goodliness That is,
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. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth. Did you pick it up? The first theme, the first message
is what? All flesh is grass. All flesh. And here's where we begin. Here's
where we start. We start where people are. There's
no use trying to start where they aren't and supposing conditions
that do not exist. The first thing, when a patient
goes into the hospital, the first thing, they don't start treating
him. Got to find out what's wrong with him. That's the first thing. You say, why aren't they giving
him medicine? They don't know what kind to give him. And when
we preach to people, I know it's not agreeable to man's pride
and dignity, but my friends, all flesh is grass. Now here we are, there's folks
here tonight who are up in years, up in years, and you've held
jobs, and you recently retired from those jobs, and you've left
an impact. listens to our television program
and supports our television program so faithfully and loyally up
near Parkersburg. She was principal of the school
with inside of her home 45 years. My hat's off to her. I mean a
lovable, gracious, dear 84-year-old precious lady who gave 45 years
to boys and girls at probably a low salary. But all flesh is
Christ. And here you are, here I am,
whoever we are, whatever we are, whatever we know, some of you
are educated, and you're smart, and you're built with your bare
hands, homes and businesses, and you've done these things,
and you've helped others, and you've given. Notice that financial
report. You are so gracious to give. I thank God for you. And you've
opened your hearts to one another, you've helped one another, and
you do that. But, my friends, all flesh is grass. It's grass. And all of the things, let not
the wise man glow in his wisdom, not even a little bit. But, preacher,
it ought to count for something. What does grass count for? I
don't say the grass we cut over the house. I don't know about
you. We throw it away. It usually takes care of itself.
It just dries up and blows away. And we don't save flowers around
here either. When they wither and die, they're
thrown in the garbage, aren't they, Tom? They're not worth
anything. And that's our flesh. All flesh
is grass, and all the goodliness, the goodliness thereof is as
the flower of the field, the grass, withered, the flower faded. Let not the wise man glow in
his wisdom. Let not the strong man glow in
his might. Let not the rich man glow in
his riches. It's all grass and withering
flowers. Well, somebody says, I don't
see that. Well, look at verse 7. I tell
you, when the grass withereth and the flowers fadeth, when
the Spirit of God blows on it, That's when she's really shown
up to be what it is. That's when, you know, the phony
cool breezes of flesh can keep that old grass looking green,
but you get the hot, fiery, burning breath of God to blow on this
old flesh and this old grass and it withers, it withers and
fades away into nothing. And that's the first cry. Now,
when this grass of flesh and flowers of our glory appear to
be what they really are, is when the Spirit of God blows upon
it. The fire reveals it. Sewing found
the second word, verse 8. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. What word are we talking about
here? It can't be anything but the twofold word. That's the
incarnate word and the written word. I don't know why we ever
have any problem with this. You cannot separate the two.
Somebody says, well, this is talking about the Bible. Over
in John 1, it was talking about Christ. They're both talking
about Christ, for He is the Bible. Christ is the Bible. You understand
what I'm saying? Christ is the Bible. Darce was
reading me a book we have for our children. I just find it
so hard to find a good, I mean a good, some are fair, but I
mean a good book of instruction for young people. But this man
went along saying, well, Jesus had respect for the Bible. My
soul, what a way to say that. Jesus had respect for the Bible. What in the world are you talking
about? Christ is the Word of God. That's His Word. That's the Word of the King.
Where the Word of the King is, there's power. Somebody seems to be separating
Christ from the Scriptures. The Scriptures mean nothing without
Christ. He told the Pharisees, you search
the Scriptures, in them you think you have life, there they would
testify of me. And this is what this is saying
here, my fellow preachers and pastors and brothers and friends,
preach the Word of God. Preach the Word of God. Do what
I'm trying to do here tonight, what I've tried to do here for
years, what we tried to do back there in that Bible school. Don't
read a text and close the book and put it down and start talking
about all these different themes and topics entertaining theology. Take God's Word. It's the Word.
God says He'll bless His Word. His Word will not return void.
It's the Word of God that's the power of God unto salvation.
The Gospel. He hath begotten us again, not
with corruptible seed, but incorruptible. The Word of God. We're born again
of the Word of God. But she said, I listen to you
every Sunday on the television. And she said, I don't know whether
I'm saved or not. I want to be saved. I said, well, where do you attend
services? Where do you go and hear the
Word preached? Well, I don't. I try at a church over here,
but she doesn't live far from this building, just right over
the hill. And she started talking about
all the things she'd done and hadn't done and all these things,
and whether I thought a person could be saved and still think
angry thoughts. And I said, what you've got to
do is get under the Word. You've got to come and hear the
Word of God. You've got to get the book open
and find out what God says. All these thoughts and calling
somebody and getting opinions and feelings and experiences
and decisions. Well, what did I say back then?
I said, I don't know. I don't know. Well, can I be saved and think
what I think? I don't know your thoughts, but
I do know God is pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe. Preaching. And if you're serious,
if you're serious, you'll get under the voice of somebody preaching
the gospel. Well, bless her heart, she said,
are they allowed to wear pants at your church? What's that got
to do with it? No, I'd rather the ladies dress
like ladies. But if you get serious enough
about the gospel, you'll wear overalls to hear it. You see, these are little things
people keep shoving. It's really disconcerting when
you're talking seriously about heaven or hell, about salvation
or condemnation, and then you want to know about pants. How'd
we get on this? You see what I'm saying? But
it's an excuse. And our Lord said, go out and
invite them, and they went out and invited them, and they began
to do what? make excuses. Well, I'll tell you this, here's
what'll stand, here's what'll endure forever, the Word of God. Now, we'd better become acquainted
with that Word, incarnate and written, and be ready to give
a reason, an answer to every man that asks you a reason for
the hope that's All right, let's see if we can pick up the third
one. O Zion, who is Zion? The church, people of God. O Zion that bringeth good tidings,
you that tell good news in Zion, the bad good news. Get up on
the mountain. Get up on the high mountain.
Don't be embarrassed. Get up there on the high mountain.
Get out in public view. That's what we're doing every
Sunday morning on television. This thing's not done in a corner.
He that believeth on him will never be ashamed. We don't preach
one thing here and another thing somewhere else. We don't talk
grace in the study and preach disgrace in the pulpit. Get on
a high mountain. Oh, Jerusalem that brings good
tidings, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. And say to the
cities of Judah, Behold your God. Is that the threefold message
of evangelism? All flesh is Christ. But the
Word of our God, and the Word is God's communication, God's
revelation of His truth in Christ. And then Christ, there He is.
Behold the Lamb of God. Behold the man. Behold your God. What's he like? We'll read on.
Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong hand. He's sovereign,
and he'll come with power against the strong, both ways. He comes able to save and able
to judge. He comes with a strong hand.
Can I not do with my own what I will? My ear's not heavy, I
can't hear, my arm's not short, I can't save. He comes with a
strong hand, but he comes with a hand strong against the strong.
And his arm, his power, shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him. His reward. He'll see the travail
of his soul and be satisfied. His reward, glorify me with the
glory which I had with thee, I finished the work thou gavest
me to do. But his reward for us is with
him. It's in him. He shall not fail,
and what he has for us shall not fail. And his work is before
him, his redemptive work, his salvation is before him, and
he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. feed them the bread of life,
and he'll gather the lambs with his arms." And that's what we
are. We're not strong. We're just lambs, just little,
feeble. The Lord has engaged to keep
the weakest of his sheep. Is that sheep here tonight? Well,
he'll carry the lambs in his arms. He'll carry them in his
bosom, close to his heart, and he shall gently lead those that
are with young. Even if you don't know the words,
but when you know the words of the song, I know who holds tomorrow. Oh, it's blessed. It's such a
blessing. But that thing's laying over there in the corner now,
it's not making a sound then. And it'll lay there from now
on. The music's not in the instrument. It's in the Master. And that's the same thing as
this old carcass right here. The music is not there. Lifeless, dead, but when the
master comes, the master comes. Let me give you my little poem.
Hadn't done it in years. It was battered and scarred,
and the auctioneer thought it scarcely worth his while. to
waste any time on that old violin. But he held it up with a smile.
And he said, what am I to bid, good folks? Who will start the
bidding for me? One dollar. Two dollars. Somebody make it three. Three
dollars. The old violin going once, going
twice, but now from the room far back. A white-haired man
came forward and picked up the bow, and tightening the loosened
strings, he played a melody on that old violin like an angel
sings. And then the auctioneer, in a
voice that was subdued and low, he said, I put in my bid for
the old violin, and he held it up with a bow. A thousand. Two thousand. Somebody make it
three. Three thousand. Going and gone,
cried he. And the people cheered. But some
of them cried, we don't understand. What changed the worth of that
old violin? And he said, the touch of the
Master's hand. And many a man, woman, boy or
girl, with life out of tune and battered and scarred by sin are
auctioned off by a foolish world just like that old violin. But
the Master comes to prepare you the way of the Lord. And the
foolish crowd never can quite understand the change that's
wrought in a sinner's life by the touch of the Master's hand. But all the glory is His. What I am, what I know, what
I have, what I'll ever be, this old desert, owes to the King
and His coming. I want Him to come. Don't you?
I want Him to come. All right. Might come later,
Senator Hill.
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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