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The second story describes how I know that I’m trusting God.
             How do I know that I have faith?


             The first story that describes what faith is and what it isn’t is the
             story of the disciples on the stormy sea.  That’s in Mark 6.  In
             the second story I’ll only be looking at one part of it; the woman
             that touched the hem of the garment of our Lord Jesus.

             Mark 6:45-52, “And immediately He made His disciples get
             into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida,
             while He Himself was sending the multitude away.  And after
             bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain to pray.
             And when it was evening, the boat was in the midst of the sea,
             and He was alone on the land.  And seeing them straining at the
             oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch
             of  the  night,  He  came  to  them,  walking  on  the  sea;  and  he
             intended to pass by them.  But when they saw Him walking on
             the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out: for they
             all saw Him and were frightened.  But immediately He spoke
             with them and said to them, ‘Take courage; it is I, do not be
             afraid.’    And  He  got  into  the  boat  with  them,  and  the  wind
             stopped;  and  they  were  greatly  astonished,  for  they  had  not
             gained any insight  from the incident  of the loaves, but  their
             heart was hardened.”

             They  did  not  learn  the  lesson  of  the  loaves.    So,  there  is  a
             connection.  The boat ride on the stormy sea was supposed to
             remind them of the lessons of the loaves.  I don’t want to spend
             time on the feeding of the five thousand but I want to give you
             the lesson.  It’s described in Mark 6:37, “But He answered and
             said to them, ‘You give them something to eat!’  And they said
             to Him, ‘Shall we go and spend two hundred denari on bread
             and give them something to eat?’”  There were five thousand
             people, plus more. “You give them something to eat.”  That was
             an  impossible  command.    Nobody  could  do  what  Jesus  told
             them to do.  They had five biscuits, two fish and maybe ten
             thousand people because it was men plus women and children.
             It was absolutely impossible to obey God.
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