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Show THE WINDS AND THE WAVES OBEY HIM Pastor Russell and Party En Route For Europe. The Storm on Galilee's Sea Furnishet Text For a Discourse Acts as Well Words of Jesus Par.ibolic The I Storm as a Type The Master and Hi Disciples as Types Quelling the i Storm a Type Also the Great Calm. gpEvljH Empress of Ire (PASTOR. glJ5SL0 T..-n He " arose v and relinked the winds and the sr.i; and there was a great cnlm . " Matthew B 24-26. The Bible Informs us that Jesus' teachings were parabolic. The Mattel explained some ( His actions and words t. III- disciples and bold them that they alone were permitted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. He did not explain all of His parables even to His Apostles. On the contrary He said "When the Spirit of Truth is come at Pentecost and after. He shall guide you into til Truth, ODd brine all things to your re-membrance re-membrance whatsoever 1 have spoken " Since Pentecost therefore. Jesus fol-lowers fol-lowers can understand His teaching in a way that BUs earliest followers could not It was not expedient that ' natural men should understand clearly clear-ly the Divine Plan St. Peter declared that if the Jewish rulers had known, they would not have crucilled the Prince of Life But onlv by Jesaa crucifixion could the Divine Plan tie carried out. Therefore it was hidden from those for whom it was not in tended This was a Messing; for If they had done those things under full lijrht and knowledge, their guilt would lj;ne been much greater. They are there fore, to he punished according to their limited licbt aDd knowledge. The same pr:n (pie obtains respecting respect-ing the whole world light increases responsibility He that knew the Master's Mas-ter's will and did It not shall receive many stripes, he that knew not the Master's will, and did things worthy of stripes, shall receive few stripes. Those begotten of the Holy Spirit as ' God's children have the highest responsibility, re-sponsibility, because they bae the greatest knowledge They alone could commit the sin unto death, as St Paul explains Hebrews 6:1-G; 10:26. 27. The secret of the demarcation be tween the Church and the world is that the former has the Holy Spirit begetting be-getting to a new nature, with privileges priv-ileges of knowledge of God and His plans not granted others Only the outlines of the Divine Character and Plan can be clearly discerned and appreciated ap-preciated by those not spirit-begotten. The Boat and the Storm In Antitype Our lesson typically considered, the boat would represent the Gospel Dispensation; Dis-pensation; the Master asleep, the Lord's apparent indifference to the storms of persecution assalllnp His Church; and the disciples' imploring I cry the prayers of the Church I throughout the Age After our l ord's ascension, storms of I persecution followed one another un-: un-: til the history of the true Church has been marked by severe trials of pa-I pa-I tlence and faith Often the Lord's people have wondered at the afflictions I permitted to come upon them It seem-1 seem-1 ed as though the Lord did not care. We might reason that if God had ' raised the storm which frightened ex perienced fishermen, surely Jesus would not ha-vo worked contrary to the Divine- arrangement We might also reason that Satan, "the Prince of the Power of the Air." might have thought, l to thwart the Divine arrangement re- specting Jesus' crucifixion Storm of Trouble Is Near. Bible students are convinced that the I great storm of trouble upon the Church la Tery near We need not prophesy concerning its character We are to remember, however, that the majority of the storms upon the Church have come from professed people of God rather than from the world. The Icribes, Pharisees and Doctors of the Law really crucified Jesus, as St Peter declared Acts 3:13-18 I Our expectation ts that the Church Iwill have its most trying experiences from professed brethren. Church Fed ration has a sincere and Innocent look; but la not its purpose and object lo fortify sectarianism? Should we not expect that, when It shall gain the BQeasnre of political influence and power pow-er indicated in the symbolic book of lUvcitttion, those holding a simple faith in God and His Word, and strlv Ing to walk the narrow woy: will be tntorepeesented, slandered and eventually eventu-ally hindered from the Lord's service? 1 The Lord seems to Indicate that His jChoreh will be perfected on tha Heov eniy plan before the world's tribal a tlon shall break In fury. True, the Church may escape in the sasso of being be-ing enabled to fire above the trouble kmaSecbrf by it; but we think not We believe that the Church wOl have peas-ed peas-ed Into glory before the culmrnarion of the wortd'n Dny of Wratr 8. |