"Courage!" One word. So to Paul, Ac. 23:11; and through Paul, Ac. 27:25; and to all, Jno. 16:33). (b) " It is I," turned t he other way " I am I T" (slang, but we use it reverently for fastening a great and comforting fact. Jesus said literally, "I am" (heavy emphasis on " I " ) . He is the "I AM" (Ex. 3:14). For Jesus to say, "I am," is to still the storms of the soul. While HE IS all is well. Had they forgotten Him? He says to them "I am." "God is not dead," said Luther's faithful "Ka t e" to him when he had the blues . Well might the Lord add, and we all heed, "Be not a f r a i d" (Jno. 14:1, 27). 3. "The wind ceased." (1) When Jesus is "received" into ship, soul, or church, the dangers and difficulties cease. (2) "Amazed," there is really nothing amazing about it, but His grace. Faith should expect such things as mat- ters of course.. (3) "Considered not the loaves," i. e., the remembrance of the Lord's former works of might and mercy should sustain us in toil, prayer, hope, courage, at all times, and will unless our "hearts are hardened" (v. 52). dog at His feet. In the breast of the disciples fear and faith struggle for the mastery as in the heart of Martha who wept at Jesus feet (Jno. 11:21-22). Winds and waves battered the boat with- out and fear and unbelief beat against the heart within. When they appealed to Him He proved a present help. At Gadara the legion of demons obeyed His voice as readily as the waves of the sea. Where all human power had failed, where none could bind or tame, He spoke and it was done. The first public confession of His Deity was made by the demons, who not only acknowl- edged His authority but who also rec- ognized the fact of His purpose to finally cast them into the pit of burning. As there was peace upon the sea when He spoke, so will He quiet all the storms of life without. As there was peace in the breast of the madman when He spoke, so there will be peace in the breast of those who call unto Him for help. He is a shelter in a time of storm. He is the shadow of a rock in a weary land. He is your refuge, flee to Him. He is your strength, trust in Him.
omnipresence, and salvation, that they (d) might pass it all down to you and me. 2. Deliverance. (1) At last He came, (a) late but not too late, and better than earlier for t he sake of the impres- sions made, and the lessons taught, (b) In an unexpected way, that we might never despair. (2) "Walking on the sea." Wh at the Lord willed was. If He willed to lift up His foot as He walked He did it, and so do we; if He willed to buoy up His whole body on the waves He did it; when He willed to bear it up into the air He did it (Ac. 1:19). In each case it was the same principle, the power of mind over mat- ter, and we all shall exercise it to the full in the f u t u re (Phil. 3:20, 21). (3) "A spirit (phantom)." As they saw His figure in the dim light rising and sink- ing with the wave, yet moving. steadily onward, "they cred out" for fear, think- ing Him a ghost foreboding their ap- proaching doom, a sailor's superstition. (4) He at once called to them to quell their fears, for He is kind, and said, (a) "Be of good cheer!" (i. e., lit. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble." Here is a golden text which fits the scrip- t u re lesson as perfectly as a divine ap- pointment. The central figure is the Lord. Here we see Him as "God mani- fest in the flesh," manifesting those powers which are essentially divine and compelling the acceptance of Himself as Lord of all. We have in our lesson two satanic demonstrations and two il- lustrations of the truth that Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. I Jno. 3:8. It is the man we see asleep upon the pillow in the midst of the storm, but it is God we hear rebuking the angry winds and waves. In the boistrous waters we recognize the presence of the enemy who is seem- ingly aware of the purpose of the Lord to liberate the demoniac in Gadara. All of the hatred of hell is manifested in this effort to destroy the boat and its occupants, yet in the quieted waters we see the demons crouching like a whipped LESSON 6. Golden Text—iPsa. 46:1-2.
The Heart of the Lesson T. C. Horton
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