We Preach Not Ourselves but Christ Jesus

All right, 2 Corinthians 4, let's
begin with verse 1. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 1. Therefore seeing we have this
ministry. Now, this is not a sermon directed
only to preachers. Usually when you read something
like that Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, you say,
well, that's for the preacher and that's for Bruce and that's
for Joe and that's for other preachers, but it's not. No,
it's not. For all the redeemed are in the
ministry. Anyone who's not in the ministry
is not in the body of Christ. He's not in the bride of Christ.
He's not in the family of God. Whether we stand in the pulpit
or serve on the mission field or teach a class, or witness
in the shop, or in the home, or support those who preach,
or pray for those who preach, or whether we're identified with
the people of God, we're all in the ministry. That's right. This 13th Street Baptist Church
is not my ministry, it is our ministry. We have this ministry. We're all in the ministry of
God our Savior. That's what it talks about in
so many scriptures when it talks about the body of Christ. The
family of God, we're all in the ministry. Christ said this, he
that's not with me is against me. He that's not with me is
against me. He that's not with me in the
ministry is against me. And he that gathereth not with
me scattereth abroad. Every child of God is making
his contribution to the ministry, either constructively or destructively,
but he's making a contribution. Brother Barnard said to me one
time long years ago, he said, I'll tell you this, Brother Henry,
if the people of the 13th Street Baptist Church ever get in the
ministry, it'll be hard to tell what God might do with you and
for you. And I believe that's being accomplished.
I believe our people are beginning to realize that this is not a
one-man show by any means. It's not a two or three or five
man show, it's not a pastor and elders and deacon board, but
every child of God is in the ministry. This is our ministry. We have this ministry. All right, what ministry? Well,
it's not a ministry of the law. It's a ministry of grace. It's
not do this and live. We're not going out telling the
world, do this and live. Obey God and get life. But we're
preaching, "'Tis done, the great transaction's done, I am my Lord's
and he is mine." It's a message of grace. Our ministry is not
a ministry of law. It's a ministry of grace. And
our ministry is not a ministry of the flesh. We're not depending
on the flesh. It's a ministry of the Spirit.
Listen to what our Lord said. It is the Spirit that giveth
life, the flesh profiteth nothing. Again, he said, Paul wrote, in
the flesh no man can please God. Again, our Lord said, that which
is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit
is Spirit. What are you trying to say? I'm trying to say this,
that what is done from this pulpit tonight, if God Almighty, by
the power of His Holy Spirit, does not work a miracle and apply
His Word and reveal His Son, then we meet in vain. If God
Almighty does not minister to me and to you and through his
word, if the Holy Spirit's voice is not heard, if God doesn't
do a work of grace, I cannot, by all of our so-called logic
and reasoning and doctrine and orthodoxy and illustrations and
preaching, I cannot effect one spiritual thing. It takes God
to do it. It's a ministry not of the flesh,
it's of the Spirit. And these are the contacts for
these missionaries and over television and other ways that the book
ministry and the bulletins, these things we send forth. We send
them forth not believing that we can organize anything or that
we can affect anything or that we can promote anything. We send
forth his word and these tapes. And these bulletins, and these
books, and other things, and these messages, praying that
the Holy Spirit will take the Word, preached or printed, and
use it to bring men to Christ. It's of the Spirit, though, totally
and completely of the Spirit. It cannot be organized. We've
got to learn that. That while we pray, and while
we plan, and while we seek for God to open effectual doors,
He has to open the doors. And He has to effect the work.
Like I was telling you a moment ago about visiting, if I go and
visit with the missionary, I go with this in mind, that we're
not going to be able to sit down and go over truth and go over
me use whatever wisdom I have or whatever experience I have
or whatever knowledge I have and convey it to him. It's not
done that way. If the Holy Spirit is in this
and if the Spirit of God is going to accomplish anything for him
or for me, the one, God brings the two together, and God gives
you the words to say and the thoughts to say and the prayers
to pray, and the Holy Spirit does the work. You don't deserve
any credit whatsoever for it, or any praise. Same thing with
this preacher's school in Mexico or whatever ministry we have.
We do what we feel God leads us to do because he leads us
to do it, but it's totally in his hands to accomplish anything.
And if we think by any effort on our part, or any wisdom on
our part, or any finances that we're able to use, that we're
going to affect anything of any spiritual value, it's not so. That's true. God has to do it. It's a ministry not of the law,
but of grace. It's a ministry not of the flesh,
but of the Spirit. And unless God builds the house,
whether it's a personal faith, a personal house, or whether
whether it's a mission work, they labor in vain that do the
building. Now, you can call your men together and say, let's go
over here and do this, let's go over there and do that, let's
put a little money in this, let's put a little effort in this,
let's send our preacher on the road, let's hold Bible conferences.
You can do all that and do it all in the energy of the flesh
and run in vain. But I'll tell you, as we do it,
let's seek God's leadership and God's will, and if evil directs
us this way, let us be. so strongly in prayer that he
may be pleased to use it by his Spirit for his glory." Then something
else. It's a ministry. We have this
ministry. It's a ministry not of merit,
but of mercy. It's a ministry not of merit,
but of mercy. My friends, turn to Romans 9,
salvations of the Lord. Let's begin reading here with
verse 15. You know, Paul, the great preacher,
Paul, the great writer, Paul, the great missionary, Paul, the
man whom God took to the third heaven, you know about all Paul
could say about himself? I obtained mercy. I obtained
mercy. The chief of sinners has obtained
mercy. Look at Romans 9, beginning with
verse 15. He said to Moses, I'll have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that
willeth, it is not of him that runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy. For the Scripture says unto Pharaoh,
Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might
show my power in thee, that my name might be declared throughout
all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. That's
the ministry. that we have. Verse 1, 2nd Corinthians
4. Therefore see, we, we, we have
this ministry. A ministry not of law, but of
grace. A ministry not of flesh, but
of the Spirit. A ministry not of merit, but
of mercy. Look at verse 2. But we have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the word of God deceitfully. But by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God. What is the motive behind our
ministry? What is the motive behind my
preaching? What is the motive behind your support, your giving?
Our motive will determine our methods. Our motive will determine
our conduct. Our motive will determine our
message. Our motive will determine how we handle the Word of God.
Turn to 2 Corinthians 2, 17. Listen to Paul. 2 Corinthians
2, 17. He says, For we are not as many
who corrupt the Word of God, but as of sincerity. That's the
way we operate, sincerely. But as of sincerity, but as of
God, in the sight of God speak we of Christ. Look at 2 Corinthians
5.12, "...for we commend not ourselves again to you, but give
you occasion to glory on our behalf, that you may have somewhat
to answer them which glory in appearance," and not in heart,
in appearance, in appearance, glory in appearance. I believe
that every true pastor and every true church and every true servant
of God has a two-fold purpose in his ministry. That purpose
is this. Number one, the glory of God.
The glory of God. What I do, let it be for the
glory of God. And secondly, for the good of
our heroes. But that's second. The first
motivating purpose is the glory of God. All right, look at verse
3. But if our gospel be hid, now Paul is stating a fact here
which Few men believe. The unbeliever, here's what he's
stating, the unbeliever is dead in trespasses and sin. He is
blind and cannot, by natural wisdom, understand the gospel.
If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Now, you
may understand a brand of religion, you may understand the doctrines
of your denomination, but the mysteries of the gospel of Jesus
Christ have to be revealed. That's so. And I know there are
a lot of people who do not believe that. Turn to 2 Corinthians,
if you will, or rather 1 Corinthians, chapter 2. Let me read some scripture
here. If our gospel be hidden, it is
hid to them that are lost. Now, just the other day I was
talking to a gentleman, and we were talking about this. And
this is a, you know, we have these old clichÃ©s that we state
as if they were all truth. I was talking to my Sunday school
class this morning. You've heard all your life, you
always hurt the one you love. You ever heard that? Everybody
says, that's not so. That's not true. If you love
somebody, you don't hurt them. You don't hurt the one you love.
That's foolishness. Here's another one. And one of
our ladies brought this up. The more you sin, the easier
it becomes. That ain't so. That may be so
for a rebel or an unbeliever, but it's not so for a child of
God. Sin has always sinned him. Sin will always grieve him. Sin
will never be easy for a child of God. He'll be disturbed about
it and troubled about it. If Christ dwells in his heart,
it's going to offend the Holy Spirit just as much today as
it will tomorrow, and just as much the next day as it will
today, if he's a child of God. David grieved over his sin. Sin
doesn't get any easier for a child of God. We just accept these
things. You know, folks make statements
like that, and we just accept them as being so, but then it's
not so. And here's another one. I think
we ought to preach the gospel so simple that a little child
can understand it. You've heard that all your life.
How can you preach the gospel so that anybody can understand
it? A college professor, a little child, if it's head to them that
are lost. You can't preach the gospel so
that any natural man can understand it. It has to be revealed by
the Holy Spirit. Men, by nature, do not see the
gospel. They don't understand it. They
hear words and facts, but words and facts do not save salvation
in a person. And we just accept these things
as being so, and they're not so. For listen to this in 1 Corinthians
2, now follow it. He says in verse 7, we speak
the wisdom of God in a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world under our glory, which none of
the princes of this world knew, had they known it, they never
would have crucified the Lord of glory. They saw him, they
heard him, and they still nailed him to a cross. But as it is
written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them
that love him." It hasn't entered the heart of natural man. They
can't see it, they can't hear it, they can't understand it,
but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." Listen,
what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man
which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man
but the Spirit of God. And we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Go back to 2 Corinthians 4. Now, Paul said our gospel is
here. Men are not interested in religion,
but not in the gospel. They're interested in going to
heaven, but not in knowing Christ. They're interested in the facts
of religion, the theology of religion, but not in the person,
because they cannot see his glory, nor his beauty, nor his justice,
nor his righteousness, nor his mercy. Verse 4, why? Because
the God of this world hath blinded their minds. How does Satan blind
men's minds? He blinds it with pride. He blinds
it with a false concept of sin. He blinds them with a self-righteousness. He blinds them with pleasure
and worldly possessions. He blinds them with a false profession.
He's the great imposter. He is the great deceiver. He's
the great counterfeiter. Jeremiah said that the heart
of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
Who can know it? The God of this world hath blinded
the minds of men which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them.
Verse 5, for we preach not ourselves. When can it be said that men
preach themselves? Now this is deadly. This is deadly. Paul says boldly, we have a ministry. We have a ministry. And we have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. We have a sincere
ministry. We are motivated by the glory
of God. We're motivated by a concern
for the good of our heroes. We have a ministry. We have a
ministry of grace, not of law, of spirit, not of flesh. We have
a ministry. And we're preaching to a people
who are blind. We're preaching to a people who are deaf. We're
preaching to a people whose minds are blinded by Satan. And he
said in verse 5, we preach not ourselves. Now, when can it be
said that people preach themselves? Well, you want to listen to me
a moment? I've written down what I believe to be our eight things here about preaching
ourselves, when it can be said that a man preaches himself.
First of all, men preach themselves. When they preach what they think,
men ought to hear instead of preaching what God says. Now men are preaching, when men
do that, when they preach what they think men ought to hear,
instead of preaching the word of God, they're preaching themselves.
Secondly, when men preach in such a way that they take the
offense out of the cross, they take the flesh-cutting edge off
the word of God in order to please their congregation, then they're
preaching themselves. When they take their fence out
of the cross, when they take the edge, the cutting edge, the
flesh-cutting edge, the convicting edge off the Word of God, that
edge that brings men down in the dust, that humbles them,
that strips them, that makes them cry for mercy, that makes
them fall at the feet of Christ like Saul of Tarsus and cry,
Lord, what will you have me do? Like Mephibosheth who said, who
am I that you should show mercy to such dead dogs? Like the Canaanite
woman who said, I am a dog, but the dogs eat the crumbs that
fall from the master's table. When a man takes that offense
out of the cross, he preaches himself. Thirdly, men preach
themselves when they set themselves up as spiritual authorities,
when they set themselves up as lords over God's heritage, when
they set themselves up as judges of the consciences and experiences
of other people. They're preaching themselves.
I've seen this happen. I've seen folks begin to, especially
preachers, begin to decide who's saved and who's not saved. If
you don't do this, you're not saved. If you don't do this,
you're not saved. If you don't believe this, you're
not saved. If this, that, and the other, oh, they're just not
saved. That man's preaching himself. He's not preaching Christ. Fourthly, men preach themselves
when they set forth their wisdom, their learning, their eloquence
and their intellect to impress other people. Boy, how careful
we have to be, how careful, whether it's in the pulpit, whether it's
in the class, whether it's in personal conversation. We have
to be careful when we're discussing spiritual things, when we're
discussing theology, when we're discussing God's Word. Let's
be careful we're not trying to impress someone. Because the
minute that we begin to try to impress others with our wisdom,
with how much we've learned, or how many times we've fasted,
or how many times we've prayed, or how many times we've read
this book and that book, we're preaching ourselves. That's right. In the next place, men preach
themselves when they grow ambitious. When they grow ambitious to build
impressive monuments. When they grow ambitious to boast
of great numbers. When they grow ambitious to inquire
wealth or recognition or fame or honor, they have to preach
themselves, because God's preachers and God's ministers have always
been a despised lot. That's so. In the sixth place,
men preach themselves when they fear what other men say, when
they court the approval. of other men when they court
the friendship of other men at the expense of God's Word. Paul
said, If I please men, I am not the servant of Christ. That's
plain. If I please men, I am not the servant of Christ. Not
that we want to offend anyone, not that we would deliberately
hurt anyone, not that we would wound any of the sheep of Christ,
but we must preach the word of God even when it convicts us,
even when it sits in judgment upon us, even when it sits in
judgment upon our close loved ones, even when it sits in judgment
upon our close friends. And if they become offended at
the word of God, let them become offended. If they depart from
us, as 5,000 did from the presence of our Lord, let them depart.
But let us not seek their friendship, let us not court their approval
at the expense of this world. In the seventh place, men preach
themselves when they preach salvation by any other means than the sovereign
grace of God through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that with all my heart.
I believe that any man who preaches salvation any other way that
as the free, unmerited, gracious gift of God, through the righteousness
and merit and blood of Jesus Christ, is preaching himself. He's not preaching Christ. And
the eighth place, men preach themselves when they have any
other reason for preaching, or any other reason for teaching,
or any other reason for witnessing, or any other reason for giving,
or any other reason for existing. than the greater glory of Jesus
Christ. They're preaching themselves.
Now, if you don't think that a man in the pulpit who is a
true child of God and a servant of God, is it any wonder that
Paul said, I come to you in weakness, in fear, and trembling? Is it
any wonder when we have to measure, can we say with Paul, we preach
not ourselves? What do we preach? Look at the
next line. but Christ Jesus the Lord. All right, let me bring
you something here that I think will be worth consideration.
What is it to preach Christ? Everybody in the world and everybody
in religion says they preach Christ. What is it to preach
Christ? Well, may I give you this definition.
To preach Christ is to preach in our ministry the whole of
his person and his work. that men might know the true
Christ. Let me give you an illustration.
Suppose you met someone in another state and you wanted to introduce
me to that person. I'm not there. But you wanted
that person to really know me. You want that individual to know
Henry Mahan. You start out, you say he's a
man. Well, that's not enough. Well, he's 51 years old. Okay,
that person knows I'm a man. I'm 51 years old. He still doesn't
know anything. They say he's a husband. He's
the husband of Doris Mayhem. Well, he still doesn't know anything. Well, he's a father. He's a father
of four children. Father of two grandchildren.
Well, you told him something about me. He's a man. He's 51
years old. He's a husband. He's a father.
He's a grandfather. He still doesn't know me. He
is the pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church. You're narrowing
it down now. He's the only pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church
in Ashland, Kentucky. The only one. All right? He knows more about me now. He
knows, he's narrowing it down. He's identifying it to one, any,
when he says he's a man, that could be anybody. 51 years old,
that could be anybody. He's a husband, he's a father,
he's a grandfather. There's several men here tonight
that fit that very All right, but there's just one pastor of
the 13th Street Baptist Center. You're getting down now to who
he is. Then you offer this, and he preaches
the message of redemption by grace. You're narrowing it down,
you see. You're bringing it down to who
this man is, what this man is, what this man believes, how this
man thinks, what this man thinks, what he presents. You're getting
that. You've got to present the whole man. And there's other
things you've got to present in order for that person to know
me. All right? I'm saying this. Turn to Romans
10. Now, this is important in the ministry. Romans chapter
10. It's not enough just to go out here and say, Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus. Jesus who? Who is Jesus? Jesus
said, Jesus, who is this Jesus that says? How does this Jesus
say? Where does Jesus come from? Where
is he now? What did he do? Why did he do it? Tell me, introduce
me to this Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 10 verse 13 says,
listen to this, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. The name by which he's known,
his attributes, his character, his person, who is he? the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But how shall they call on him
in whom they've not believed, and how are they going to believe
in him of whom they've not heard? They've got to hear who he is. Imagine, we've got to go out
here. Paul said we're not preaching
ourselves, we're preaching Christ, Jesus, the Lord. All right? Let me give you these following
things, and I won't keep you much longer. What is it to preach
Christ? First of all, to preach Christ
Jesus, the Lord. Christ Jesus, the Lord, is to
preach that he is truly and eternally God. He is truly and eternally
God. That's who he is. He is God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God, and all things were made by his God. He said,
I and my Father are one. He said, Father, glorify me with
the glory which I had with thee before the world was. In Hebrews,
God says, God, speaking of the Son, is forever. So Jesus Christ,
whom we preach, is eternally and truly God Almighty. Secondly,
Jesus Christ the Lord, whom we preach, is the surety of the
eternal covenant. He is that lamb slain before
the world began. That's identified. He was with
God in the beginning. And God gave him a people, and
his blood is the blood of an eternal covenant. He's the guarantor,
the surety of an eternal covenant. He is the federal head of his
people. He is the second Adam, the Lord from heaven. That's
who he is. Thirdly, Jesus Christ the Lord is the virgin-born son
of Mary. He's the descendant of David.
He's the seed of Abraham. He is that prophet of whom Moses
wrote. He is the promised Messiah. He
is the priest. He is the King of Israel. He
is the fulfiller of every type. That's who he is. He died for
our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again
according to the scriptures. Fourthly, Jesus Christ is the
only Savior of sinners. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them born under the law. He is the crucified substitute
of whom Isaiah wrote. In Isaiah 53, when he said he
was wounded by a transgression, of whom David wrote, My God,
why hast thou forsaken me? In the next place, Jesus Christ
the Lord is the risen Redeemer. He is the risen Redeemer. whom
Job said, I shall see with mine own eyes, and not another. He
is the risen Redeemer who is seated at the right hand of God,
who is the only mediator between God and men. What is it to preach
Christ? It is to preach Christ Jesus
is made of God unto us. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, we are complete in him, he is our life. Christ
Jesus has all authority over all flesh. He has all authority
in heaven and earth. He has preeminence. God has highly
exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue shall
confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. In the
last place, Christ Jesus is coming again. The angels said to the
disciples, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall
so come in like manner as you see him go. And the Father hath
committed all judgment to the Son. And Jesus Christ is the
one of whom the redeemed of all ages shall sing unto him who
loved us and washed us from our sins. He's the theme song of
heaven. That's who he is. And I say this. to preach Christ is to preach
his person and his work to that extent. It's to identify him
in this way from the Word of God to present the whole Christ. All right, let's look on that.
We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves
your servants, for Jesus' But God commanded the light to shine
out of darkness to shine in our hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.
Now verse 7, and remember this, but we have this treasure. Let's not be puffed up. Let's
not be lifted up. Let's not seek the praise of
men. We have this treasure. This is a treasure. This knowledge,
this revelation, this mystery. This privilege of preaching the
glorious gospel, this knowledge of the mystery of God's grace,
we have this in earthen vessels. The saints are still sinners,
and the greatest of God's servants are but servants. And we are
to put no confidence in the flesh, in your own flesh, or in my flesh,
or anybody else's flesh. We have this treasure in earthen
vessels, that the excellency of the power It may be of God
and not of us. What's he saying? That God might
have all the glory. Turn to 1 Corinthians and let
me show you that, that God might have all the glory. 1 Corinthians
1, 1 Corinthians 1, he says in verse 27, God hath chosen, verse
27, 1 Corinthians 1, God hath chosen the foolish things of
the world to confound the wise. God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty. the
base things of the world, and things which are despised, that
God chosen, and yea, things that are not, to bring to naught the
things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.
But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord." That's bowing prayer. Our Father, we believe that we
can say with Paul tonight, we have this ministry, this ministry
of grace, this ministry of thy glory, this ministry of the Spirit. For thou hast revealed unto us
the wisdom of God in Christ, the righteousness of God in Christ.
how that God Almighty can be just and justify the sinner.
Not only have we had this revealed to our hearts as a fact and as
a truth, but as an experience. And we love this truth and we
love this person and we trust him, we believe him, we've received
him. We love him in all of the glory that we understand and
we pray that we may understand more. We receive him and all
of his attributes that we understand, and we pray that we may understand
more. We give him the glory and the
praise in his person and work and all that we understand about
it, and we know that in future glory we're going to know as
we have been known, we're going to understand as we have been
understood. And this faith is going to give way to reality.
This hope is going to give way to the person of Christ. move
in our midst according to thy will, O Lord, and use us in whatever
way it pleases thee, and can bring thee the most glory, and
thy people the most good. For his sake and in his name
we pray, amen.

We Preach Not Ourselves but Christ Jesus

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We Preach Not Ourselves but Christ Jesus

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