Lessons From The Titanic
	------------------------

     	(The following article is an exerpt taken from Rick Joyner's book, The
	Harvest)

	The tragedy of the Titanic brought to light a striking revelation of three
	kinds of leadership�all three of which can be seen in the world and the
	church today.

	The first type can be seen in Captain Smith and the crew of the Titanic.
	They were the best from the British merchant fleet. They believed that
	there was not a more intelligent, experienced or knowledgeable sea captain
	in the Empire than Smith. Combine that with his record of never having
	had a single accident at sea and we have what appeared to be an unsinkable
	crew with an unsinkable ship. Actually, these characteristics are probably
	a significant contributing factor to the doom of this ship. These all fed
	the pride which feeds carelessness, which sooner or later usually leads to
	tragedy.

	The Titanic's crew had never held a proper lifeboat drill. They did not
	have a plan for the orderly movement of passengers to the boats, and the
	crew did not even know how to lower them. Everything had to be planned and
	learned while the ship was sinking under their feet. This obviously
	contributed to a much greater loss of life than was necessary. Many boats
	were lowered only partially full, one with only twelve people, while
	hundreds of passengers were held back on the decks by the crew. The entire
	ship had been caught off guard by the events of that fateful night and they
	paid dearly for it. Will we be caught in the same position? If we are we
	will pay just as dearly. But we don't have to be surprised. The Lord
	exhorted us to know the signs of the times and not to sleep on our watch.
	Prophets throughout the land are now calling for preparation; the Lord is
	giving us signs in the heavens and on the earth. He is sounding His trumpet
	to wake us up and we must hear it.

	Almost every great man of God in Scripture and history was only successful
	after passing through the fires of failure and defeat. Many of the elders
	and fathers of the faith would not trust a man until he had his "limp" (a
	major failure or defeat). As Alexander Solzhenitsyn declared, "Does not
	even biology itself teach us that perpetual well being is not good for any
	living thing?" Perpetual well being can open doors to a most dangerous
	enemy complacency. What else can explain how the Titanic crew could
	receive six warnings that there were deadly icebergs directly in their path
	and yet they did not even slow down!


                         The Danger of Overconfidence
			------------------------------

	The Bible is most candid about the failures and mistakes of even its
	greatest heroes. This is a message in itself. We must take heed when we
	think we stand, lest we fall. Even the greatest men and women of faith had
	defeats and failures. Even the apostle Paul could be "foiled by Satan."
	When we hear the testimonies of individuals and churches which claim to
	have never been deceived or made great mistakes, if this is declared as a
	boast they will be doomed to a great fall. Those who have not been wounded
	probably have not yet been in the fight. Such are in danger of not only
	getting wounded, but getting killed.

	There were two other ships which played a significant role in the drama of
	the Titanic disaster: the Californian and the Carpathia. The captains of
	these ships remarkably parallel the two other prevailing types of
	leadership found today.


                      The Danger of Being Overly Cautious
		     -------------------------------------

	The Californian had a captain who had obviously learned something from his
	years of successes and failures. He was reserved and cautious, but overly
	cautious. The realities of life may cause us to react this way if we allow
	the fear of more failure to sow in us a perpetual hesitancy. Becoming
	overly cautious can be just as deadly as being overly confident as it
	proved to be in this case. When Captain Lord of the Californian heard about
	the ice in his path he slowed down. When he saw the ice he ordered the ship
	stopped and he waited for daylight. His wireless (radio) operator began
	warning the other ships in the area of the danger. At 7:30 p.m. her warning
	was received and logged by the Titanic.

	The usually stormy North Atlantic was amazingly calm that night. More than
	one officer remarked that they had never seen the sea so tranquil. First
	officer Lightoller of the Titanic made this observation at the inquiry when
	he declared that "everything was against us." This seems to have been a
	resounding confirmation of the Biblical exhortation that when men cry
	"Peace and safety, sudden destruction will come."

	This tranquility must have overcome the crew of the Californian as well.
	Her bridge watch saw the Titanic approaching just a few miles away and then
	saw her stop dead in the water. At first they thought she was taking the
	same precautions for the ice which they had taken. Then she started firing
	rockets into the air every few minutes, which is always a distress signal
	at sea. The crew of the California rationalized this, remarking that it
	must be a signal meant for another company ship which they could not see!
	They did not even bother to wake the wireless operator to see if he could
	contact the ship. Then they watched her disappear beneath the sea while
	telling each other as the lights dimmed that she was sailing away! Had they
	responded to the first distress signal the Californian may well have been
	able to save all of the lives that were lost.

	The incredible attitude of the Californian crew is matched by much of the
	church today. When the final inquiry comes and the final story is told we
	are going to marvel at how many were in a position to save life but instead
	slept right through the night like Captain Lord of the Californian when he
	could have done so much. Rationalization is a popular shield for cowards.
	Were they so afraid of the ice that they decided to humor each other with
	unbelievable reasons for not responding to the obvious emergency? Are we
	going to have to ask ourselves a similar question? As our world sinks
	into the deep are we going to sleep when we could be saving many, or are we
	going to rise up and take action?

	Revelation 21:8 says, "the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and
	murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and liars, their
	part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the
	second death." Here cowards are lumped together with the murderers because
	their actions often lead to the death of others. When we can help and
	we don't we will be held accountable before the Lord. The Lord Jesus came
	to give His life for others and He has called us to follow Him with this
	same devotion. We may hide and save our lives during times of trouble, but
	we may very well by this action be putting ourselves in the most terrible
	jeopardy for all eternity. If we cower and seek to save our lives we will
	ultimately lose them just like the Lord warned. It is only by losing our
	own lives that we will find them. Cowards have no place in the kingdom of
	God. "Those who know their God will display strength and take action"
	(Daniel 11:32). If we do not display strength and take action it is
	obviously because we do not know Him.


                        The Resolve of True Leadership
		       --------------------------------

	The third ship in the fateful drama of that night was the Carpathia,
	captained by Arthur H. Rostron. He was known for the ability to make quick
	decisions and to energize those who served under him. He is a wonderful
	example of the leadership the Lord is preparing for this day. Rostron was a
	pious man devoted to prayer. At 12:35 a.m. the Carpathia's wireless
	operator burst into his quarters to report that the Titanic had struck an
	iceberg. Rostron reacted in character; he immediately ordered the Carpathia
	turned around and full speed ahead, later asking the operator if he was
	sure about the report, a striking contrast to the reaction on the
	Californian.

	Rostron then gave an masterful display of a truly prepared mind; he thought
	of everything and took care of every detail. He ordered the English doctor
	to the first class dining room, the Italian doctor to second class, the
	Hungarian to third class, along with every possible piece of equipment or
	supplies needed for the sick and wounded. He ordered different officers to
	different gangways instructing them to get the names of survivors to send
	by wireless. They prepared block and lines with chair slings for the
	wounded. Bowlines were secured along the ship's sides along with boat
	ropes and heaving lines for lifting people in chairs. All gangway doors
	were opened. He then directed specific officers to take charge of his
	present passengers and to see to their needs. All hands were to prepare
	coffee, soup and provisions. He then designated all officers cabin's, smoke
	rooms, library, etc., as accommodations for the survivors. Stewards were
	sent to reassure and explain to their own passengers the reason for the
	activity to help keep them calm.

	Then Rostron turned to face the biggest problem of all, the ice. He was
	heading at full speed into the same field that had sunk the Titanic. To
	this courageous man reducing speed was out of the question, but he took
	every measure to reduce the risk to his own ship and passengers. He added a
	man to the crow's nest, put two more on the bow, one on each wing of the
	bridge, and he stayed there himself. His second officer, James Bisset, then
	noticed his captain taking one last measure which he considered the most
	important of all, He prayed.

	At 2:45 a.m. Bisset saw the first iceberg. They steered around it and kept
	going. The next hour they dodged five more. At 4:00 a.m. they reached the
	Titanic's last called position and began picking up lifeboats. As the sun
	rose it revealed an astonishing sight; the sea was full of icebergs for as
	far as the eye could see in all directions. Even with all the lookouts the
	Carpathia had passed numerous icebergs which they had not even seen. No one
	could imagine how they missed them all except their pious captain. He knew
	that he had done all that he could, but he still needed the Lord's help.

	The difficult rescue of the survivors was carried out with such order and
	discipline that peace reigned over all. The Carpathia's passengers caught
	the spirit of self-sacrifice from her crew. Her first class passengers gave
	their own quarters to survivors; others were pitching in to do all they
	could. On one of the darkest nights of tragedy ever experienced on the high
	seas the Carpathia's captain, crew and passengers stand out as bright
	lights of courage and heroism. They are a demonstration of what the
	Lord has called us to be in the night of tragedy and loss that is now
	falling upon the earth. Let us not sleep as some did, or be fooled by the
	calmness of the sea. Let us be prepared!

	___________________________________________________________________________
	
	The above article was taken from Rick Joyner's book The Harvest. This book
	details a vision that Rick had concerning the end times. A brief summary of
	this vision was first circulated in 1987. It quickly found its way into
	major periodicals and countless newsletters, reaching millions in just a
	little over a year. It has been called "a prophetic word for the nineties"
	by major Christian leaders. You may order this book from CHAPEL
	BOOKSTORE, your local Christian bookstore or directly from Morning Star
	Publications. 

	Rick Joyner is the founder of MorningStar Publications located in
	Charlotte,North Carolina and the author of several books, including: The
	Journey Begins,The Final Quest and Leadership, Management and the Five
	Essentials for Success. His prophetic articles have been widely distributed
	throughout the body of Christ. Rick also travels throughout the US and
	abroad as a conference speaker with a message of devotion to Christ and
	preparation for the coming harvest.

	You may write to the address below for a catalog of Rick Joyner's latest
	books and tapes:

	MorningStar Publications
	16000 Lancaster Highway
	Charlotte, North Carolina 28277-2061

	Website Address: http://www.eaglestar.org