"Do You Still Have No Faith?"

INTRODUCTION 

 

I would like to begin with a question. 

A rhetorical question. 

Is believing in the power of Jesus Christ and knowing Him enough for us to place our faith completely in Him? 

 

At the beginning of the Gospel according to Mark, there are several accounts of miracles that Jesus performed: 

 

Healing of the demon-possessed man;

Healing of Peter’s mother-in-law;

Healing of the leper;

Healing and forgiveness of the sins of the paralytic;

Healing of the man who had a withered hand. 

 

And in chapter 3 we can read, beginning in verse 7: 

 

Mark 3:7-11 NET 

7 Then Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him. And from Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, and around Tyre and Sidon a great multitude came to him when they heard about the things he had done. 9 Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd would not press toward him. 10 For he had healed many, so that all who were afflicted with diseases pressed toward him in order to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 

 

Up to this point in the book of Mark, there are two certainties about the disciples that I would like to highlight: 

They knew Jesus and they believed in Him. 

 

We have probably all tried to imagine what it would have been like to walk with Jesus as the disciples did. 

The joy they must have felt. 

I imagine their facial muscles must even have hurt from smiling so much. 

 

But one day, a storm came. 

Let us read in Mark 4:35. 

Mark 4:35-41 NET 

35 On that day, when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” 36 So after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat, and other boats were with him. 37 Now a great windstorm developed and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” 39 So he got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. 40 And he said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?” 41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and sea obey him!” 

PART 1 — WHAT IS FAITH? 

Let me return to the question I asked a little while ago: 

Is believing in the power of Jesus Christ and knowing Him enough for us to place our faith completely in Him? 

 

I decided to look up the word faith in the dictionary and in the Bible. 

 

Definition of faith in the dictionary: 

- Absolute belief in the existence or truth of a certain fact; 

- Absolute trust in something or someone; 

- A commitment to be faithful to a given word; 

- Absolute adherence to what is considered true; 

- The state or attitude of someone who believes in or hopes for something. 

 

It is a fairly complete definition. 

But we are more interested in understanding how faith is defined in the Bible. 

 

I will point out 5 characteristics of faith that we find in Scripture. 

 

5 characteristics of faith in Scripture: 

1. Faith is what gives foundation to our hope; 

2. The origin of our faith is in God Himself; 

3. The central object, or focus, of our faith is Jesus Christ; 

4. Faith is essential for us to draw near to God; 

5. Faith must result in a life of obedience to God. 

1st characteristic 

Faith is what gives firm foundation to our hope. 

Hebrews 11:1-2 NET 

1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. 2 For by it the people of old received God’s commendation. 

Proverbs 3:5 NET 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. 

It is faith that gives foundation to our hope and assures us of what we cannot see, but know to be true because of the absolute trust we have in Jesus Christ. 

If our hope were founded on our own understanding, and not on our trust in God, how firm would it be? 

It would probably be founded on other things, such as money, political leaders, mystical objects, or anything else that is lost with the passing of time. 

But it is our faith in God, who is eternal and sovereign, that gives foundation to our hope. 

This does not mean that it cannot go through struggles, doubts, or weakness; but it means that, whatever the moment we are going through, we can always look to Jesus with confidence.

2nd characteristic 

The origin of our faith is in God Himself. 

Genesis 15:5-6 NET 

5 The Lord took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty. 

Romans 10:17 NET 

Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ. 

Since the origin of our faith is in God, then the foundation of our faith is unshakable and absolutely trustworthy. 

We can say this because we know the character of God. 

And it is very important for us to recognize that the origin of faith is in God, because if it were in us, in our trust, or in our conviction, it would depend on our weaknesses, our emotions, and our moods. 

Here we see the difference between the act of believing and the object of our belief. 

This point reinforces what we already know: it is not God who comes from our faith, but our faith that comes from God. 

And that is a good thing.

3rd characteristic 

The central object, or focus, of our faith is Jesus Christ. 

John 3:16 NET 

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 

John 5:39 NET 

You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, 

John 14:6 NET 

Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

He Himself said it. These verses are the words of the Lord Jesus. 

We could read many more passages that show us this, especially because the Scriptures testify about Jesus Christ and point to Him as the agent of our salvation. 

Therefore, the central focus of our faith can only be Jesus Christ. 

It is in Him that the objective quality of our faith lies; that is, He is the truth in whom we place our trust and the object of our conviction. He is the one who gives objectivity to our act of believing.

4th characteristic 

Faith is essential for us to draw near to God. 

Hebrews 11:6 NET 

Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

Romans 5:1-2 NET 

1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have also obtained access into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory. 

We could not draw near to God if we did not believe that we have been justified by the work of Jesus Christ. 

And it is only by having faith in what the Lord Jesus did for us that we can draw near to our God, because through faith we have a deep trust in His mercy. 

By faith we know that we have been made a new creation, adopted as beloved children, and redeemed by the power of the blood of Jesus. 

There is no longer the chasm that existed between us and God, maintained by sin, because our Lord Jesus came so that we could be reconciled to God. 

It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can draw near to God.

5th characteristic 

Faith must result in a life of obedience to God. 

John 14:21 NET 

The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.” 

James 2:17 NET 

So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. 

James 2:22 NET 

You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 

We do not merely believe; we deeply desire that the declaration of surrendering our lives be transformative. 

Our faith is not merely something we say we have; it is something we live and that is an integral part of our being. 

It is the motivating force behind our attitudes, behind our works. 

That is why James says that faith, without works, is dead in itself. 

None of this is automatic; we will fail because we are human, but because we have genuine faith, we will always eventually know whose example we should follow and to whom we can draw near. 

We need to know that the natural result of our faith is to live a life of obedience to God.

5 characteristics of faith in Scripture: 

1. Faith is what gives foundation to our hope; 

2. The origin of our faith is in God Himself; 

3. The central object, or focus, of our faith is Jesus Christ; 

4. Faith is essential for us to draw near to God; 

5. Faith must result in a life of obedience to God. 

PART 2 — PUTTING OUR FAITH IN JESUS 

So what conclusion can we draw from this? 

Putting our faith in Jesus is not merely believing in Him, trusting Him, or adhering to His principles. 

Putting our faith in Jesus means that we believe, trust, and place our absolute hope in Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives. 

This helps us to have a strong foundation so that we can live with an attitude of surrender to what we believe: 

That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth as one of us,

lived a life free from sin, but not free from temptation,

showed us the truth about God, the way back to God

and the eternal life we can have at His side as children, justified and redeemed by His blood. 

We believe these truths and we know Jesus, but: 

Is that enough for us to place our faith completely in Him? 

It was not enough for us, just as it was not enough for the disciples. 

PART 3 — DO YOU STILL HAVE NO FAITH? 

Let us revisit the episode we read at the beginning. 

Mark 4:37-41 NET 

37 Now a great windstorm developed and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” 39 So he got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. 40 And he said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?” 41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and sea obey him!” 

 

"Do You Still Have No Faith?" 

 

That was the question Jesus asked the disciples who followed Him, walked side by side with Him, learned from Him, ate with Him, and had already witnessed several miracles. 

And yet they asked: 

"Who then is this? Even the wind and sea obey him?" 

 

"Do You Still Have No Faith?" 

How many times must Jesus have looked at us and asked this question? 

I know that this must have happened to me a few times. 

 

My faith is in Jesus. 

This is something I say, pray, and sing... 

 

But what about when a heavier concern comes? 

A frustration, or a problem I cannot solve? 

Someone in traffic who drives in a rather unique way? 

A disappointment from a family member, a friend, or a brother in Christ? 

A serious illness? 

Sometimes, in those moments, 

I realize how fragile my faith can be. 

Not because I stop believing in Jesus, nor because I stop trusting Him, but because in those moments I sometimes forget to get down on my knees and thank Him for being in the boat. 

My faith is not great enough to move mountains, nor to command a tree to be transplanted into the sea. 

Sometimes my faith is not even enough to keep me from crying in the middle of a storm. 

But my faith is enough to absolutely trust in something; to know something: 

In our small and fragile boat is Jesus Christ. The Good Shepherd. 

And He has authority and power over the wind and the sea. 

And He promised that He would never leave us alone. 

 

Let us read at the end of Matthew. 

Matthew 28:18-20 NET 

18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Amen. 

CONCLUSION 

To conclude, let us return to the question: 

Because we believe in Jesus and know Him, 

do we place our faith completely in Him? 

 

It is not automatic. 

There is always more ground to cover in the pursuit of knowing God. 

There is always a need to spend more time in His presence, to study His Word more, and to pray more, so that our faith may grow and be perfected and matured. 

 

This is not so that we stop going through storms, 

nor so that no more tears fall, 

but so that in any situation we remember that Jesus, 

our Lord and Savior, our God, is, and always will be, with us in the boat, and we can cry out to Him with confidence, because we know that He has the authority and power to calm any storm. 

 

 

 

Final reading: 

Psalm 62:5-8 NET 

5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! For he is the one who gives me confidence. 6 He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be upended. 7 God delivers me and exalts me; God is my strong protector and my shelter. 8 Trust in him at all times, you people! Pour out your hearts before him! God is our shelter! (Selah) 

 

Psalm 23 NET 

The joy of having the Lord as our shepherd 

A psalm of David. 

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. 3 He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. 4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me. 5 You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full. 6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.