Page 23 - Fundamentals Ebook

“the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”
We could talk about “mustard seed” faith. We could relate faith to
works. We could talk about the difference between faith and
presumption. We could contrast it with the law. You get the idea.

Faith is not defined in the Bible. It’s described in many ways but it
is not defined; faith is looking, faith is trusting, faith is eating, faith
is drinking, faith is receiving, faith is abiding. It’s so big that it’s
hard to say, “This is the foundation.” So, I thought I would share
two stories with you. The first story, in my understanding, describes
what faith is and what it is not. 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