Transcript of a published conference session by C. M. Becton, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
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Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
Summary
- C. M. Becton — introduced by the host under his first name, Cleveland, the name his own call narrative also carries — preaches one text-shaped burden for forty minutes: God is constantly speaking, constantly knocking, and the failure is in our hearing. A host's introduction opens the recording and is seamed out of the span; everything after it is Becton's own voice, through a closing word spoken in the first person for God and a final return to his refrain.
- **The voice in the hotel room.** This morning, in his room, he set his travel alarm for six and was wide awake by half past three, the Lord heavy in the room. For two and a half hours, between his own praying, a sentence thundered again and again — he that hath an ear, let him hear — and intertwined with it, the words of the door text: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. He turned to a paraphrase rendering he names himself and read it aloud — behold, I stand at the door and constantly knock; if anyone hears my calling (not called, he insists, calling — present tense) and opens, I will come in and fellowship with him. Out of those words, he says, came the essence of his message: constantly knocking, constantly calling.
- **Sensory adaptation.** They hold seminars, he says, on what they call sensory adaptation: a sound heard often enough stops being heard. His grandfather clock chimes every quarter hour and he, its professional winder, can sit in the room and never hear it strike twelve. Parents ask a child, do you hear me — the child was hearing, but had adapted. He envies sound sleepers; he is the lightest sleeper alive, yet in his first pastorate the parsonage stood beside a railroad track and he learned to sleep through thunderous trains — and then could not sleep when one woke him. If Jesus is constantly knocking and constantly speaking, whose fault is it if we do not hear? The healings performed here today are as great a miracle as any, but some in this meeting would give anything to hear the voice of the Lord for direction — and they can; he is constantly speaking. Becton testifies that he has heard the audible voice of the Lord call his own name, and that every major move of his life has come by that voice; after fifty years of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, no one can tell him God does not speak today. (The refrain of the letters and his door text run through this movement as through the whole message; the refrain is carried by content here and is indexed nowhere — packet.md.)
- **The songs he was raised on.** He was raised on songs of a walking, talking God — the garden song: I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on my ear tells me I am His own. And the telephone song nobody sings anymore — heaven's line never busy, you can talk to Jesus; friend, you need direct tonight; He is on the line right now, pick it up on the first ring, and there is no telephone bill. The sung lines stand in the text as he wove them into the preaching.
- **Hearing beyond sound.** God does not always speak audibly. There is a hearing beyond the natural range: the apostle's own words about what eye has not seen nor ear heard, revealed by the Spirit, and his account of a man caught up into paradise who heard unspeakable words. David's line stands as the movement's indexed text — unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. Some of the most powerful words of God were silent: fingers of a man's hand writing on the plaster of a king's palace wall, and the king's countenance changed and his knees smote together; a Saviour stooping to write on the ground in silence while convicted accusers slipped away one by one. The planets orbit and the world turns at 66,000 miles an hour and you hear no sound: be still, and know that I am God. As many came for direction as for healing — the boy Samuel heard God three times before the old priest, acquainted with every ritual of the temple, recognised what was happening, and answered the fourth time: speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth; and the priest's failure to hear had begun earlier still, when he mistook a praying, sorrowful woman for a drunk one because he saw her lips move and heard no voice. God does not always speak in earthquake, wind, or fire — sometimes it is a still small voice. (Several texts in this movement are voiced or retold without a locator and are carried by content alone, not indexed — packet.md.)
- **Faith cometh by hearing.** This study, he says, has been one of the greatest faith builders of his life. We know what faith is — the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen; we know we must have it, that he who comes to God must believe that He is, that without it God cannot be pleased. How do we get it? One scripture tells us: faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God — and he pauses to note, himself, that the same passage asks how they shall hear without a preacher. But faith does not come by banking a message heard months ago; it comes the way it came to Paul in the storm — an angel stood by him in the night saying fear not, and Paul could say, I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me. We have heard that message; our faith is that in a twentieth-century dilemma the same voice can stand by us and say fear not, because He is no respecter of persons. (The faith texts of this movement are voiced entire but named nowhere, and are carried by content, not indexed — packet.md.)
- **A life turned around.** Young man, young woman at the crossroads: you have come too late to tell him. He played for the Stamps Quartet and taught in their schools, and names two outstanding pupils who took license from him — one of them about nine years old when he taught him (that pupil's name stands redacted in the record). A thousand students enrolled the year he taught in Dallas; in Frank Stamps's office a career was outlined for him, and he wanted it more than anything. In Monroe, Louisiana, a little girl came to his school but did not take lessons from him (her name likewise redacted). Then one evening, walking out of the studio after teaching all day, a voice behind him said one word, loud and audible: "Cleveland." He turned, saw nobody, went back in and fell down beside the piano bench with tears rolling down his cheeks: God, this is not what You want for me. There is nothing wrong with a musical career, but it was not for him; that day God turned him around, and he has tried to be sensitive ever since. His grown daughter and his children, who are present, are urging him to make a record before his playing goes out of style.
- **The master's direction.** Missionaries, evangelists, home and foreign: in the chapter he names, Paul came to Corinth, and the Lord spoke to him in the night — be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city — and Paul continued there a year and six months, unhurt, because he had heard. Simeon, aged, had it revealed to him that he should not see death; sick as he sometimes was, he knew he would not die, and when the child was brought into the temple he took Him up in his arms: Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word. And the evangelist he names tells of a nobleman whose son lay dying: the man walked all night to reach Jesus, fell down before Him — come down, ere my child die — and heard, go thy way, thy son liveth; he believed the word spoken, journeyed home through the night, and met servants with the news, thy son liveth, amended from yesterday at the seventh hour — the same hour Jesus had spoken. What problems have you left at home? There could be a still small voice whispering in your ear right now: everything's all right — and you would find it changed at twelve minutes till eight, the hour God said it.
- **Finding the path.** Beethoven, that noted composer, became totally deaf and still composed some of his greatest works, hearing through a stick clenched between his teeth against the sounding board of the piano. Becton would be content, tonight, to put a stick between his teeth hard against the battlements of glory, so desperate is he to hear. We do not have to wander in a maze and a fog: there is a way — a path which the birds of the air, with their bird's-eye view, have not seen, which the fierce lions wandering the jungle have not come upon; and in sensitiveness to the voice of the Lord, he believes, it can be found. (The hidden-path wording is voiced without a locator and is carried by content, not indexed — packet.md.)
- **Closer: the still small voice and a word for one hearer.** The songwriter said it: there is a still small voice saying to me, closer, closer, come closer to me — a whisper tone that never leaves him alone, that stalks his trail every day and keeps him from sleep many nights, battling the things of the flesh. The purpose of this meeting tonight, of every service of this day: have you heard Him, or have you ruled Him out? To them that hear, more will be given; he whispers sweet peace when I am cast down. Then the message turns: a further word, spoken in the first person for God, for one hearer he does not name — what you have thought and planned to do is not My will; if you do it, it will wreck your entire life and touch the members of your own family; you are in My hand now — stay there, and I will give you direction; you will not walk in the darkness of uncertainty; give yourself to Me right now, and My voice will whisper in your ear what I intend for your ear alone to hear. And the whole message closes where it began, on the refrain: he that hath an ear, he that hath an ear, he that hath an ear, let him hear.
Scriptures: Revelation 3:20; Psalm 94:17; Acts 18:9-11; John 4:49-53
Scripture index: Revelation 3:20; Psalm 94:17; Acts 18:9-11; John 4:49-53.
Transcript
he God and you may be seated I sat on the edge of my bed this morning about 12:30 setting my little travel alarm for what I intended to be a 6:00 waking up but long before 6:00 it was about 3:30 I was wide awake I felt like I was having a heart attack but I knew I wasn't and I quickly got out of the bed I wasn't I wasn't afraid but the Lord was Heavy in the room and as I knelt in that room for the next two and a half hours intermittently between things that I would say he would say loudly loudly oh I know it was a an audible voice but it was so strong in the room that it seemed like an audible voice he that have an ear let him hear what the spirit and then I prayed some more and again he that have an ear it thundered let him hear and then again he that haveth an ear let him hear and he that haveth an ear thundered over and over he that hath an ear let him hear Let Him hear what the spirit had to say and intertwined intertwined in those thunderous words that I was hearing were these words if any man hear my voice my God yes if any man hear my voice and open the door yes I will come in yes sir I turned to the living Bible which I know is not a complete translation but it reads on this wise look I have been standing at the door and I am constantly knocking constantly if anyone hears me calling him not called not past tense right calling him constant and opens the door I will come in and F ship with him and out of those words was the essence of constantly knocking constantly calling if any man have an ear amen they have seminars on what they call a sensory adaptation you can actually hear a sound so many times that your ear adapts to it and while you hear you don't hear we have a large Grandfather's Clock and I keep it wh I'm the professional Winder it never runs down I see to it but that means that every quarter hour it Chimes and on every hour it rings the amount of hours sometimes it Chimes 12 and that's a long time but I have actually been in the room with it and never heard it parents have you ever said to your child are you listening do you hear me do you hear me they were hearing but they had sensory
adaptation they had heard the voice so many times that they were not actually hearing it there are some of you who sleep so sound and I am so envious of you because I am the lightest sleeper you can sleep through a tremendous bonging of an alarm clock and never know that it alarmed sensory adaptation our first church that we pastured our little parsonage was right along by the side of a railroad track and those trains in those days rumbled through thunderously but I got to where I could sleep through it sensory adaptation and when I was aake from it I couldn't sleep if Jesus is constantly knocking and constantly speaking whose fault is it if we don't hear have we heard it so long that our ear our soul has so adapted to the sound of his voice that we don't really hear anymore it's not a matter of whether he is speaking or not he is speaking the scripture said If any man hear my voice hear my voice I want to hear his voice I've heard it oh and as great a miracle as the healings that were performed here today by the mighty hand of God there are those in this meeting that need amen Direction there are those that would give anything in the world if they could hear the voice of the Lord and you can hear him he's constantly speaking I have heard the audible voice of the Lord more than just what I told you about this morning I have actually heard him call my name and I'm not going into details of that every major move in my life has been by an audable voice of the Lord praise God praise God hallelujah you have come too late to tell me after having 50 years of the baptism the holy ghost that the Lord doesn't speak today you see I was raised during the times when we sang such songs like and he walks with me and he talks with me hey yay I was raised on those kinds of songs and you're not going to tell me that I don't walk with him or you don't walk with him and then he doesn't talk I come to the garden alone while the de is still on the roses and the voice I hear falling on my ear hey friend he speaks and he walks with me and he walks with me and he talks with me hey friend he talks he not only wants but he talks and he tell hallah I am his hey stand just another moment with me I know my time is very limited but I was also raised in the
era of that old song you don't hear anymore Centric never busy always on the line you can talk to Jesus almost all when you get in trouble this Royal hey friend telephone to Glory you need direct tonight he is on the line right now pick it up on the first ring I can feel the mov on the build by God the Father God father free you don't even have a telephone bill my God you can talk to Jes roal s now God does not always speak audibly I know that there is the hearing that's beyond the defined honorable range Paul said I have not seen nor ear heard but but he's revealed it unto us by a spirit and then Paul described an experience saying he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words David said one time unless the Lord had been my help my soul had almost dwelt in silence Soul hearing that's a thing amen there are things to hear that the natural ear cannot hear amen praise God now our mental fixation says sound but the soul doesn't have to have the audible sound some of the most powerful words of God were silent in the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand and rode over against the pl plastic plaster of the wall of the king's palace and this is what happened the king's countenance changed his thoughts were troubled the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smoted one against the other then the woman taken in the act of sin but Jesus stooped and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not and when he wrote the second time making no sound being convicted of their own conscience they went out one by one the planets are orbiting the Sun is shining the world is rotating at 66,000 mph and you don't hear a sound be still and know that I am God that's what we need there's something truly impressive in silence in fact the confusion of noises in this noise red World causes more real lack of hearing than does the silence we need to cry out for own spiritual benefit be quiet be quiet be still as well as those who came for healing for your body I know there are those who came for direction this is the type of meeting where you come when you don't know which way to go and I'm sure that if if I had you to stand as brother Billy Cole did this afternoon those with healing needs have you to stand those who have need of hearing the voice of the Lord there would be equally as many amen praise God must we be at the mercies of the noise of this world the noise that drowns out the still Small Voice we today hear so much so many voices that we do not hear what we need to hear and we have sensory adaptation we hear but we don't hear our attention is so absorbed in and
by so many attractions tragic is the word for Eli the Lord calls Samuel three times before Eli the priest the man that was acquainted with all the rituals and all the customs in the temple worship three times before Eli the priest recognized what was happening after the third time he recognized that it was God that was speaking and it was the fourth time that God spoke and Samuel answered oh young ministers we who are older I want to tell you that the voice of the Lord is very definite Hallelujah and when Samuel said speak to Lord for thy servant heareth Thee the Lord said to Samuel behold I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone that heareth it shall tingle and the next morning Eli had to ask Samuel what is the thing that the Lord ha said unto thee but Eli's failure to hear started before Samuel was born Hannah was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore and as she prayed Eli marked her mouth he only saw her lips move but her voice was not heard Eli thought she was drunk no my Lord I am a woman of a sorrowful Spirit his sight failed before his hearing when he couldn't tell the difference between a Praying Woman and a drunk woman my God hey God doesn't always speak in an earthquake a wind or in a crackling fire Elijah sometimes it's a still Small Voice any man have an ear hu constantly knocking constantly calling you know this studyy has been one of the greatest Faith Builders to me that that I've ever encountered you know we know what faith is substance of things hoped for evidence of Things Not Seen we know that we must have faith got to have it he that cometh to God must believe that he is without fa it is impossible to please God we know what it is and we know that we have to have it how can we get it I've got to know if I come to God with any problem any need I must believe without faith it is impossible to please God I must find out how to get this faith and I found it amen there is one scripture that tells you how to get it so then Faith cometh by hearing so then F cometh by hearing maybe we're missing out on faith because we don't hear or we are hearing so many other sounds that we can't hear but Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God now I'm going to be quick to say that I know initially this is referring to the preaching of the word because the 14th verse ask how can they hear without a preacher but now let me proceed since you know that I know that preaching does produce Faith but if Faith cometh by hearing I must know every Avenue of hearing that I can get I believe I found it praise God I'm out on the sea some of you are with me and there's a storm my God we're headed for the Rocks nothing absolutely nothing we can do I remember hey somebody preached one time that Paul was in a ship cometh by hearing but not really the way you think it does I cannot just draw on a message that I heard months ago and say this is my source of Faith what I must get out of that message is
this what happened to Paul how could he be so confident where did you get that confidence Paul there stood by me this night an angel saying I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me now I'm not going to gain Faith by an incident that happened 2,000 years ago in a similar circumstance but where my faith comes is on this wise I have heard the message about Paul and the angel I somehow have got to believe that in my 20th century experience an angel can stand by me amen one can come to me amen and as that angel spoke to Paul and said fear not the voice of the Lord however can say to me because I drew Faith from the fact that he did it for Paul and he's no respector of persons it's possible that in my dilemma that God can speak to me and say fear not hallelujah hallelujah praise God are you listening to me do you hear me I want you to hear more than just me right now walking up and down these aisles in and out between these pews is the master of every situation young man you've come with a need you're at the crossroads in your life amen you need to hear the voice of God you've come too late to tell me amen too late many of you have heard that I played for the Stamps Quartet I taught in their schools I have to my credit to outstanding pupils amen [name redacted] [name redacted] and Mickey man yeah they took license from me and I was well on my way yeah thousand students enrolled in Dallas Texas the year I taught with LD huff stutler and Mrs Frank stamps and Harvey Shelton and fern weights couchman amen and [name redacted] [name redacted] was about 9 years of age he was one of my pupils I sat in Frank stamp's office and he outlined a career for me and you've heard me tell it I'm just I didn't intend to tell it again it again and then I traveled on with LD huffstutler to a place here in Louisiana Monroe Louisiana yeah that's when sister [name redacted] [name redacted] was a little girl and she came she didn't take from me but she came to the school yeah and I was setad for that career I wanted it more than anything amen I was popular I'd walk down that aisle and I'd hear the oo and the A's you know back then that style of playing was the end Style my daughter and my children that are here you know they're urging me make a record make a record make a record and the reason my daughter said she didn't intend for me to and and she didn't mean it like it sound but your play going out of style but I walked out of that studio room one evening after teaching all day long OCT cord 10th card OCT roll that 10th cord OCT yeah and as I walked out of that corner behind me the voice said Cleveland loud audible I turned I didn't see anybody I went back in that studio room and fell down to the side of that piano I'm telling you you've come to too late to tell me because that day when God said Cleveland I've tried to be sensitive ever since because I fell down by the side of that piano bench and I raised my
hands with tears rolling down my cheeks and I said God this is not what you want for me I turned away there's nothing wrong with a musical career thank God for the good musicians but it wasn't for me now if I I never play another note I do play but if I never play another note it was that day that God turned me around and now preaching preaching preaching prise God there is a place in the secret place of God that you can hear I'm not talking about something fantastic far-fetched way out I heard I believe God can speak to you or me in any time of need I believe he's speaking to you right now praise God home missionaries evangelists foreign missionaries acts the 18th chapter Paul went to Corinth then spake the Lord to Paul in the night be not afraid but speak and hold not thy peace for I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee for I have much people in this city and he continued there a year and six months my God what faith why could he continue there a year and six months because every man that came to him with a spear to thrust him through he knew God wasn't going to let it happen amen no man shall set on thee to hurt thee it can happen again hey don't give up so easily let that ear hear what God's going to do for you before you up and leave so quickly he stayed a long time after that and nobody set on him to hurt him nobody could hurt him because Faith cometh by hearing and Paul heard Simeon aged was revealed unto him by the holy ghost that he should not see death not going to die I'm sure in his age condition there were days that he was sick unto death he thought if I'm not going to die this is pretty n unto it but he knew he wasn't going to die the day Dawn when the spirit directed him to the temple Mary and Joseph came in with that child and he went and took it out of their arms and he looked up and said letest thou thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word according hey he hadn't heard anybody preach but he had the word let us now thou servant depart in peace according to Thy word faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word by the word by the word problems needs back at home burdens I'd like to help you tonight like to find you maybe in the scripture you that are here a long ways from home you're here from everywhere John tells us about a certain nobleman his son was dying at the point of death he heard that Jesus was in a distant Place how can I go and leave my boy that's dying he's at the point of death he had to walk all night long to galile and when he got there he fell down before Jesus come down and my child dies go thy way thy son liveth remember he had journeyed up a whole night to get there no phones to call and see how he was no telegrams no fax machines the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken and he went his way and overnight journey and as he was now going down his servants met him and told him saying thy son
liveth then he inquired of them the hour when he began to amend and they said unto him yesterday that's the reason why I know it was an overnight Journey yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him so the father knew that it was at the same hour in the which Jesus said unto him in the which Jesus said unto him thy son liveth what problems have you left at home in this vast congregation I'm sure you came amen you came with many burdens there could be a still Small Voice to whisper in your ear right now everything's all right everything's all right and when you get home and they tell you that everything was all right and everything was fixed you could say well when when did it change it changed last night about 12 minutes till 8 amen and you will know that it was the time that God said unto you everything's all right I am sure that we are missing out on so many things that God wants to tell us and wants to show us but because we think that we hear but we don't hear we have not gotten down to the real place that we are sensitive to hear his voice The Voice speaks constantly If any man hear my voice is that not enough proof that he's speaking If any man hear my voice if If any man hear my voice he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith If any man hear my voice my God bethoven that noted pianist and composer in his lifetime became actually totally death death he couldn't hear us saying the thing totally death but he continued writing and composing and the only way he could do that was that he would take a stick and put it between his teeth clench his teeth on one end of that stick and put the other end on the sounding board of the piano and through that clinched stick between his teeth he could hear and continued to compose some of his greatest works after he lost his natural hearing I would be as content tonight to put a stick in between my teeth and put it hard against the battlements of glory and of Heaven because I'm desperate to he here here I don't believe we have to wander aimlessly I don't believe we have to go about in a maze and a fog there is a way there is a way Hallelujah there is a way there is a path praise God a path that the birds have not seen the vultures have not seen amen and if anybody can see path it's those birds up in the air that's looking down a bird's eye view they could see a path in the woods but the scripture said they haven't seen it a lion swept nor a fierce lion even those that wander in the jungles in between the trees have not come upon it that's the path that's the path that's the path that I'm looking for and I believe that in sensitiveness to the voice of the Lord I can find it if the fouls can't find it if the Lions and the lion SWS can't find it there is the
path and the songwriter said it there's a steal small voice saying to me close Closer Closer come closer to me you know whisper tone never leaves me alone Closer Closer amen it's there the purpose of this meeting tonight of every service throughout this day and oh what a day that's still small voice amen have you heard him or have you ruled it out closer come closer come closer closer never leaves me alone it stalks my trail every day every day many nights I cannot sleep because of it closer grow closer Come a Little Closer battling again the things of the flesh because we cannot do the things that the flesh begs us to do the voice says Closer Closer Closer come closer have an ear let him hear what the spirit say to the churches to them that have more will be given but to them that do not have that which they have will be taken away to them that here more will be given he whispers sweet peace to me he whisper when I am cast down it's spirit and soul yes Whispers sweet peace hallu Hallelujah sweet peace sweet peace he whispers peace in the storm and a further word I would say unto thee that that you have thought and planned to do is not my will you will Air exceedingly and you know who it is that I am speaking to if you do what you have thought to do it will wreck your entire life and touch the members of your own family you are in my hand now stay there and I will give you Direction you will not walk in the darkness of uncertainty I the Lord God will lead you give yourself to me right now right now and my voice will whisper in your ear that that I intend for your ear alone to hear he that hath an ear he that hath an ear he that hath an ear let him hear
Scripture references as spoken: Revelation 3:20; Psalm 94:17; Acts 18:9-11; John 4:49-53.