Hebrews 11: Expanding Faith Across Languages

SPEAKER 01 : 0:03

The firm of foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word.

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The Old Testament patriarch Abraham and his wife Sarah lived a comfortable life in Mesopotamia. So when they packed up their family and left their home for a long journey without even knowing what their ultimate destination was, some of their friends and neighbors probably called them a little crazy. Why did they do it then? Well, the answer is pretty simple. Because God asked and Abraham obeyed. Welcome to Through the Bible. I’m Steve Schwartz, your host on this five-year journey through God’s Word. And I’m so glad that you’re here as Dr. J. Vernon McGee continues our study of Hebrews chapter 11. Now we’ve got some great scriptures to cover, so grab your seat on the Bible bus. And while you do that, Greg and I have got a quick update for you on what’s happening here at Through the Bible.

SPEAKER 03 : 1:01

And, Steve, we need a couple of days to talk about everything that’s happening, and we have just a few minutes. But what we want to do today is give our listening family a taste of the passion that we have to truly try to get the whole word to the whole world.

SPEAKER 02 : 1:17

Yeah. I mean, and people would say, well, you’ve already done that. You’re in 200 languages. I mean, couldn’t you have covered it with like 10? Because, you know, English, most people are doing that. And then, you know, you got Arabic and Spanish and, you know, whatever other languages are there. But the 200 and plus and growing and specifically these small ones, which we’re going to talk about is significant. Mainly what we’re finding is the smaller, the better in some ways, because number one, they have no content. Yeah. And so a guy who’s not going to listen to Christian teaching, but it’s in his mother tongue, is going to listen just to hear his language. Yes. So hopefully you can appreciate that if you’ve ever been in a foreign country and you hear English spoken across the room and it’s like you immediately hone in. That is right. That’s what we do with the languages that we translate into.

SPEAKER 03 : 2:01

Yes, and so we’re going to tell you about what we think God is already doing to get us into seven new languages in South Asia. If I were a betting man, I would bet that nobody under the sound of our voice has ever heard of these languages. I haven’t. I’ve been sort of specializing in this part of the work. So in Bangladesh, and we’ll just do our best to say the languages, we’ve got five languages this year that we will develop home group teaching of Dr. McGee in.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:27

Yeah, and is it Koch?

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Or Koch, Chakma.

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Chakma, Marma, Garo Abeng. And Lushai. Lushai.

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Now, again, I’m not making any bets because I’m not a betting man, but I’m assuming that none of us have ever heard of these languages. But guess what? These are living, breathing human beings who are eternal souls, and Jesus died for the people that speak these languages.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:51

Amen.

SPEAKER 03 : 2:52

Now, let’s talk about the two languages. That was in Bangladesh. Let’s talk about the two languages in Pakistan.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:59

Okay. Well, the two languages in Pakistan are… China. China and Pothwari.

SPEAKER 03 : 3:05

Yeah, I took the easy one. Made you say the hard one.

SPEAKER 02 : 3:07

I appreciate that.

SPEAKER 03 : 3:08

So the point, folks, is not that you have to know these languages, or guess what? Even that we do. Our partners have said, we have people that can take Dr. McGee’s teaching, and we want to form home groups. And… What we want to ask you to do is be praying for the expansion of our language reach. Because when you speak to someone, as Steve said, in your mother tongue, you get their attention and you really capture their heart.

SPEAKER 02 : 3:33

Yeah. And I actually met in Singapore with the team that’s doing this work in Pakistan. And you can be praying for them. They’ve got a tough road. It’s a tough place to get anything done, frankly, in Pakistan. And yet they are. And they’re not just maintaining the ministry. They’re growing it. So be praying. Be praying for them as you think around the world of how you can be praying for through the Bible. And Greg, with that, we’re out of time. Why don’t you pray for us as we begin our program?

SPEAKER 03 : 3:58

Father, we want to enter into your heart for the whole world that when Jesus hung on the cross, he had all of humanity in view and he was saving all of us. And Lord, we just want to obey you as Abraham did. And we feel called to move into these languages to offer your word and the salvation in Christ. So we look forward to what you will do and we trust you in faith and we will praise you when we see what you do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

SPEAKER 02 : 4:28

We’re back on the road to Hebrews 11 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

SPEAKER 04 : 4:34

Now, friends, we’re in this 11th chapter of Hebrews. We have here a panegyric of faith. And the first man that led off here was Abel outside the Garden of Eden. And we saw the way of faith in Abel. He was actually the first martyr. He was a witness of living faith in God that looked to the coming of Christ. And he died for that faith. And then Enoch walked with God by faith. And it was an evil day. It was the day of Noah when every thought and every imagination of men’s hearts were evil. And I take it that Enoch walked like the others until he was 65 and then Methuselah was born. And then from then on, he walked with God. And then we have in Noah the witness of faith. And this man, he was alone, and he actually stood alone in an evil day. And now we come to the man that’s known as the man of faith. That’s the way he’s identified in the Word of God. It’s Abraham, and he is the supreme illustration in the epistle to the Romans. Also in the epistle to the Galatians and other gospel writers, refer to Abraham. Even the Lord Jesus said, Abraham saw my day and rejoiced. Now, I want us to read this section to get it before us. You follow us in your Bible. I’m beginning reading now in Hebrews 11, verse 8. And in Abraham, we have the worship section. of faith. Will you listen? By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whether he went. Now, you and I have seen before in this epistle that The worship of God leads to obedience to God. It leads to work for God. It leads to doing the thing God wants you to do. And you don’t have to spend time browbeating people and telling them they should get busy for God, because that’s not the proper motive. If they can come in and worship God and catch something of the glory of the person of Christ, then I believe that you can depend on them from then on to work for God, to obey him. And actually, the important word in this entire section, I think, in verse 8 here, it’s obeyed. And worship leads to obedience. And if you go back to the 12th chapter of Genesis where the story of Abraham begins. You find that he came out of Ur of the Chaldeans and he moved along and he delayed and Haran lost a great deal of time. But finally, He appeared in the land, and when he appeared in the land, God appeared to him. And in verse 7 of Genesis 12, it reads, “…and the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto thy seed, Will I give this land? And there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.” Now, this man, everywhere he went, he built an altar. When he came into the land at Shechem, he built an altar. When he went down to the plains of Morah, down near Hebron, he there built an altar under the Lord. In fact, everywhere Abraham went, he built an altar to God. In that land today, we were there, as many of you know, And the thing that impressed me more than anything else was the number of buildings that Herod put up. He not only built the temple, which was really never completed there in Jerusalem, but he built palaces and forts and actually cities all over that land. And you see evidences of it. But actually, no worship of God on his part. But Abraham, all he did was put up an altar, and he worshiped God. And then that led to obedience of God. Why? Because he worshiped God by faith, and then he obeyed God, and that was by faith. And we’re told now in verse 9, “…by faith he,” that is Abraham, “…sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country.” dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” You see, when God told Sarah, 90 years old, she’s to have a child, well, she laughed because it was ridiculous. In fact, it was utterly preposterous and she couldn’t accept it. But God gave her strength, power to believe him. And many of us need that. You remember that poor man that brought that demon-possessed boy to the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus said, I can help him if you believe. And the man says, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. The man recognized he had a weak faith. And the Lord Jesus must have given him the faith because he healed a boy. Sarah had a child, had a little boy named Isaac. And why? Well, God gave her the strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who would promise. Therefore sprang there even a one and him as good as dead. So many as the stars of the sky and multitude and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. Now, this is what happened and it all took place by faith. But now do you want to know something? Abraham and Sarah never saw the fulfillment of God’s promise to them. Verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Now, that’s what faith, I think, will do for any child of God down here, is just to let you know that you’re a pilgrim and stranger down here on this earth. And that, my friend, is what all of us here are. We’re just strangers down here. Now he moves on, verse 14. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. Faith looks out yonder to the future, and the child of God today is looking to the future. Very frankly, and I’m not an employee of the Chamber of Commerce, but I love Southern California. I’ve lived here long, and I’ve lived any place in my life since 1940, and I love it. In spite of the smog and the traffic, And all these people that followed us out here, I wish we could have put up a wall around California after we got here, not before, and could have had this wonderful place to ourselves. All of us that have come out, we certainly haven’t helped the place, but I still prefer it. But I sat out in my backyard. I have a ranch here in California. And it’s not what you call a big ranch. It’s 72 feet wide. Goes back about 123 or 128. I’m not sure about that. But I have it well stocked. I have my house right in the middle of it. But I have orange trees, avocado trees, tangerine trees, nectarine trees. I have guava bushes. I have plums. I have apricots. I have lemons. So you can see I’m really a rancher. And I sat out there the other day and I just looked up and thanked the Lord that he gave me that place. And he did. First place I ever owned and paid for it. It’s the only place I ever really owned, and I thank God for it. But I told him, I said, don’t let me get in love with this place, and I won’t want to leave it. Go to a better place. We’re strangers and pilgrims, all of us down here. Why? Because we’re walking today by faith, looking to a better place. We read verse 14. For they that say such things, they declare plainly they seek a country. Another one. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity of return. You can go back. All of us can turn around and go back. and get satisfied with the things of this world. But the child of God, by faith, is going ever onward. Now, verse 16, But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly country. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. By faith, now we come to the end of Abraham’s life and the supreme sacrifice that he made Because he took that boy that God had given him, Isaac. By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. And he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now, Abraham had other children. But this was the one that’s called the only begotten. And the word son’s not in the original. He’s the only begotten. Why? It’s to him the promise was made. Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure. Now, God never asked Abraham to do that till he came to the end of his life. And the reason is he wouldn’t have had faith to have done this. God will never test you above that you’re able to stand the test. And so God never asked him to give up Ishmael. That is to sacrifice him on an altar. And you know why? Well, to begin with, he wasn’t the right boy. And the second thing is Abraham wouldn’t have done it. You can put that down. Why Abraham tried to beg God not to send him away later. The boy, you see, Abraham wasn’t ready at that time to do that. And certainly at the beginning of his life, when Isaac was a baby, he never would have offered him either. You have to wait till he’s about 33 years of age and then he’s ready to offer him. And here you have the testing of faith. Now, I’m going to look at Abraham a little bit differently than he’s ordinarily looked at. And we always think of the great promises, God made them, I give you this land, and I’m going to make multitudes come from you. Now, that’s true. But what was it that Abraham got at the present moment of his life? What was it that he actually saw? He didn’t even see the fulfillment of these great promises. Let me put this down, because what you have in Genesis is basic. It’s germane to the rest of the scripture. And what was it he gave to him? Well, he actually gave to him a home. Let’s take a look here at this man, Abraham. They were just a young couple living there in Ur of the Chaldees. And one day, this young fellow, Abraham, said that that beautiful young girl, and she was that, the scripture says she was. He said to her, I love you, and I want to marry you. And so they got married. And then Abraham came home because it was a home of idolatry. He came home and he said, the living God has called me. He wants me to leave this place. And I think Sarah said, well, you have a good business and your relatives all live here. Your friends are here. By the way, where are you going? Abraham said, I don’t know. He said, what do you mean God called you and you don’t know? He said, he’d lead me. He’d lead me. And I’m going out. Sarah said, I’ll go with you. And they both went out, this young couple. They didn’t have too much faith. They took Papa with them and some of the relatives. And so they came to Haran and they hung around there till Papa Tira died. They buried him. Then Abraham moved into the land and God appeared to him. And then God said to him, Abraham, I’m going to do all these things I promised you. But I’m going to give you a son. Abraham and Sarah are going to have a son. Now, that’s what is going to make the home. They’re going to have a son. And first of all, may I say that you have here the basis of what would be in that day a godly home, the kind of home God wants young people to have. And we’d call it today a Christian home. These things are germane and they’re basic. God didn’t give them a course or send them to a preacher for counseling. Frankly, we preachers have done too much counseling, telling young people how they ought to do it. The thing is that we have been idealistic. God was very practical. He said, Abraham, if you’re going to have the kind of home I want you to have, you’re going to have to get away from Papa and Mama. And that’s what God meant at the very beginning when he said, and of all things, he said to Adam and Eve, man will have to leave father and mother. Adam and Eve didn’t even have a father and mother. But he said, you’re going to have to leave. That is a great principle that’s put down. And you know, the easiest thing in the world to do, and I’ve been learning it myself, is I never thought that I would be a grandfather that would tell the parents how to raise their child. Didn’t do so well myself, but I sure can tell them. Well, they’ll make mistakes, but that’s none of our business. They’re going to have to make their mistakes too, because we made ours. And Papa and Mama is not to interfere with the home of the children. And God got Abraham about as far away from home as you could go. And none of the relatives are going to be able to interfere. I think that’s primary to the building of a godly home. To begin with, for Abraham, it was a godless home that he left because it was a home of idolatry. Joshua makes that clear, that he came out of a home of idolatry. That was the first thing, you see. And then the second thing that God did with him, and these things are so important today because right now a great many rules and regulations are being given to young couples. And I don’t want to be revolutionary or sound different today, but let’s face it, all I’m trying to do is say what the Word of God says to do. You forget the rules and regulations untell. You’re walking by faith. If you’re a child of God, you’re to walk by faith in that home. The father’s to walk by faith, and the mother’s to walk by faith. And you want to know something? The home will never be an ideal home. I get so sick today. of hearing these folk tell about how they went to a counseling session, and now they have the most glorious home that you’ve ever heard of. Well, may I say to you, I’ve been married to my wife a long time, and you know that she and I disagree on many things. In fact, the matter is, she’s got a right to be wrong, and so we disagree sometimes, but we’ve always been able to You know, to get to the place where I can put my arm around and tell her I love her, in spite of the fact she’s wrong. May I say to you, friends, young person today, if you think you’re going to start an ideal home, I think you’re wrong. You’re going to find out you’re going to be tested. Abraham was tested, ran off to Egypt. And I’m of the opinion that all the way down there, Sarah says, Abraham, I don’t want to go to Egypt. But they went to Egypt, and he almost lost Sarah down there, too, by the way. Lied about it, you see. That’s not an ideal home, is it? May I say to you, then he came back. And when he came back, why, we find that he had trouble there with his nephew. Could maybe have left him back in Ur of the Chaldeans. But he got rid of him, and he went down to Sodom and lived there. And now Abraham’s left alone up in the hill country. And even then, neither one of them are, I would call, ideal. Abraham still doubts God. He didn’t believe God ought to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And God had to make it clear to him that he was doing a righteous and just thing. And he had to make it clear to Sarah. And he gave her power to have a son. And then he gave them that little child in the home. And they are now prepared to raise that little fella in the home. And they brought him up in the home. May I say to you, friends, here I would say is God’s home, the kind of home he wants you to have. If you think that somehow or another that putting up a few little rules that you’re going to avoid all of the rough places and the hardships of life, you’re wrong. You’re going to find out that one day you’ll argue with your wife. You’re going to find out one day that you’re going to have a problem with that child that you got. You’re not going to have a thing that’s ideal by any means. And how are you going to handle all of these, my friend? By faith. By faith. And when you and I reach the place that we’re willing to put our child on the altar for God, then you and I have arrived. Here is a home that is just about as near to what God wants down here as you and I will be able to attain. And so, Christian friend, today, if it’s going hard with you and you’re having your problems, may I say to you, God’s trying to teach you something. And let God be your teacher. Don’t run to the pastor and don’t run and think you can take a course somewhere that’s going to solve all your problems. You and I are going to have problems. But if we walk by faith, he’ll see us through. Until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

SPEAKER 02 : 25:03

When we walk by faith, God will see us through. That’s so encouraging, isn’t it? Well, I’ll meet you back here for more great teaching in Hebrews. Until then, to be in touch, call us, 1-800-65-BIBLE is the number, or visit our website, ttb.org. And of course, you can always find all of Dr. McGee’s teaching or contact us on our app. Look for it in your app store. Now, go into your day walking by faith with God.

SPEAKER 01 : 25:34

All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.

SPEAKER 02 : 25:53

Our journey on the Bible bus today is supported by the prayers and gifts of fellow passengers as we travel through the Bible.