What is Faith?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Read Mark 5:21-6:6
Read Mark 5:21-6:6
These three stories connect faith and healing.
Jesus constantly connects faith with healing and power. Faith is essential to following Jesus.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
“ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Faith is essential to responding to Jesus, and to receiving his power. But what is faith?
Faith: firm belief in someone or something, often without or in spite of evidence.
But let’s look at the Nazarenes’ lack of faith:
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
The Nazarenes did not doubt Jesus’ POWER--they rejected his AUTHORITY. (6:2-3)
Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
Jairus BEGGED Jesus for help, even though he “OUTRANKED” Jesus. (5:22-3)
When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
The woman believed that Jesus himself had the AUTHORITY to heal. (5:27-28)
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.
Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
Jesus COULD HEAL the woman and Jairus’ daughter, but not the Nazarenes. (6:4)
Faith is trust, LOYALTY and ALLEGIANCE to a person.
“I was not a stranger to that treacherous design he had against me, nor was I ignorant to whom he was sent for;...however, I would forgive him of what he had done ever, if he would repent of it, and be faithful to me hereafter.”
Following Jesus
Following Jesus
Jesus’ TEACHINGS and POWER cannot be separated from his AUTHORITY over us.
Faith does not mean believing HARD ENOUGH--it means trusting Jesus TO RULE. (Luke 17:5-10)
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
The only way to develop trust is to SPEND TIME WITH Jesus.
