Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-10-21

Cole II Text: "WhO is this, that
even the wind and the sea obey
Him. Mark AL.
The crowds that gathered about
Jesus were so great that He had to
use boat for a pulpit. After Civ
ing the parallels, of the kingdom,
Jesus told His disciples to cross over
on the other side of the lake. So
sxSy launched forth.
The Sleeper
BUT as they sailed, says Luke, He
feai asleep. He was so exhausted;
the demands upon His strength and
sympathy had been very great. The
cool lake breezes, the tapping Of the
water along the sides e the ship and
the quiet of the evening hour were
soothing to His weary body and He
fell asleep.
There was no reason for Him to
stay awake. Peter and James and
John and Andrew and the others
, were all experienced sailors. They
had been raised on that lake, they
knew all about handling their boat,
and there was no need for His di-
rection. Jesus leaves us to do all we
oaa sor ourselves; it is only when we
have reached our limit that He steps
in and takes control.
He slept soundly, too, even though
terrific storm had arisen. The noise
of the wind, the raging of the waves,
the voices of the disciples as they
shouted one to another didn't
awaken Him. He was sleeping just
I as soundly and as peacefully as a
babe in a cradle,
The Storm
The lake of Genessaret is noted for
the suddenness of it's storms. 1t
10 Io1r, ,foi,
all around it, it is slightly below sea
level and in the cleft of the Jordan
valley between the ranges of noun
tains running north and south on
either side; it is apt to grow hot. The
!. heat and moisture from the lake riS-
lug strikes the cooler air of the
mountain tops and a storm follows.
These storms usually come up very
suddenly, and often with great Vio-
lence.
The storm on this particular dav.
however, was unusual in its violence.
There came down a storm of wind
on the lake with such suddenness
and violence that the boat began to
fill with water and it's passengers
were in jeopardy. The waves beat
over the boat and filled it faster than
1 the sailors could bail it out. Every
man had as much or more than he
could do, to get down the rigging, to
tie it to the masts, to bail out the
water and steer the ship against the
roaring sea.
To get some idea of the violence of
it, we must just see that even these
men who had been raised on this
lake, and were thoroughly accus-
toned to its storms, saw they were
fighting losing battle. In their ex-
tremity and distress they came to
Jesus, asleep on a cushion in the
stern. They walked. Him up and
said: Lord, save us, we are perish
ing" Master carest Thou not that
we perish?"' Master, Master, we
are perishing." $50 are the three &C.
counts; no doubt all said by differ
ent disciples) They had never seen
storm like this before.
The Silence
Jesus got up, rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea: SILENCE, be
quiet" And in moment there
was not enough breeze stirring to
drive feather, and the sea was
like mirror. There was a great
calm.
Then Jesus rebuked His disciples:
Why are ye so fearful? And how
Is 1T that we have no faith?" Do
you think it was possible to sink any
ship in which I was travelling? DO
you not remember that l command
ed you to cross over to the other
side? Did you think L would let
anything interfere with the compile.
!. ton of my command? We are only
= part of the way across; how is t.
That you had not faith enough to be.
heVe that in spite of any wind or
storm, you couldn't have completed
my orders? Have you not learned
vet who | am after all these
months OF association and teaching?
The Spirits
NO, this was no ordinary storm.
we must not blame those disciples
LOO much, for we would have been
IS just as afraid or worse. Never had
they seen anything like it, and here
lis the reason:
On that ship, and on the others
that were following His, were gath.
/. cred what we would call TODAY the
whole church. Jesus and His
disciples were there. 1t was an on.
: portunity for the devil to wine ont
everything at one fell swoop. So as
prince of the power of the air. the
devil was responsible for that storm
Never a day in the whole life OF
Jesus was He free from the attacks
OF the devil. He knew that Jesus
was his greatest antagonist, and he
I fought against Him desperately ev.
cry day. On this occasion he felt
that he could be successful and he
could have sheen if Jesus had been
nothing but a mere man. No man,
however pure and powerful, could
have stilled that storm. Every boat
on that lake would have sunk and
every passenger drowned had it not
. been for the presence of One, who
n $;.s 'a, more ss.s sna" man. mt 'n'
life demonstrated more forcefully the
fact that He is God, as we'll as man.
tthan this power over wind and wave
/. which He displayed on that occasion.