The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. Psalm 34:7-10
A TRIBUTE TO PASTOR MAHAN
Our dear Brother, Pastor and friend Henry T. Mahan has departed this life; May 31, to be forever with the Lord, he was 92. Our sincere sympathy is extended to Doris and family. We thank our Lord Jesus Christ for sending him to preach the gospel to us and to so many thousands of His people around this world. We will miss our dear Brother, however; we are blessed to have his many sermons and writings on the internet and in book format that will live on. Oh, how we have been and are blessed by his ministry. I think of the scripture found in Hebrews 11:4 about Abel, “He being dead yet speaketh.”
We rejoice in the Lord knowing that Brother Henry is beholding the face of the Lord Jesus Christ right now and worshipping Him without sin, heartaches and distractions; this is the day he looked forward to. We look forward to the day of our departure also (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
Thank you Lord for the life and ministry of Brother Henry Thomas Mahan! What a faithful, dedicated and gracious and merciful servant of the Lord he was and is (Rom. 1:1; Rev. 7:15).
The Fear of the Lord
One fire puts out another. Nothing so effectively kills the fear of man as a genuine abundance of the FEAR OF THE LORD! When the fear of men would tempt a servant of God to compromise or take the offense from the cross, the fear of the Lord gives him EVEN GREATER BOLDNESS.
Lovest Thou Me?
This is the point on which a man’s relationship with God hinges. As simple as the question may sound, it is most searching. If a man has no love for Christ, he has no faith. If a man truly loves Christ, all is right; if not, all is wrong.
Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1985)
Faith, not a Feeling
Salvation is not a question of feeling, as so many would make it. It is entirely a matter of grace wrought in the soul of a sinner by the power of the Holy Ghost and believed by faith. This faith is something quite different from a mere feeling of the person or an assent of the intellect. Mere feelings, sentiments or emotion can never rise above the source from whence they come, and that source is self. But faith has to do with God and His eternal Word and is a living link connecting the heart that possesses it with God who gives it. Feelings and sentiments can never connect with the soul of God. No doubt, faith will produce feeling and sentiments (spiritual feelings and truthful sentiments)—but the fruits of faith must never be confounded with faith itself. Christ can only be known by His own revelation and by the faith which He Himself imparts. Pastor Scott Richardson
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17).
Paul encourages all believers to stand fast in the liberty and freedom we enjoy in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Gal. 5:1).
Consider these brief thoughts on the believer's freedom in Christ…
1). Where Christ in the gospel is the Spirit of illumination in our heart, there is freedom from darkness. "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12). "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Col. 1:13).
2). Where Christ in the gospel is the Spirit of regeneration in our heart, there is freedom from the bondage of sin. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:32, 36).
3). Where Christ in the gospel is the Spirit of redemption in our heart; there is freedom from the curse and penalty of sin. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree (Gal. 3:13).
4). Where Christ in the gospel is the Spirit of Comfort in our heart, there is freedom from fear and wrath; "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine" (Isa. 43:1).
5). Where Christ in the gospel is the Spirit of adoption in our heart, there is the freedom of a child to come unto his loving Father. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).
6). Where Christ in the gospel is the Spirit of love shed aboard in our heart (Rom. 5:5), there is freedom to serve Him not out of fear of punishment, or threat of the Law, but with a generous spirit of thanksgiving; (Psalm 103:1) "The love of Christ constraineth us" (2 Cor. 5:14).
ZEBULON
GRACE
CHURCH
“We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
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