ONE of the marvelous facts in the spiritual life is the possibility of
communication with the invisible God. The eternal world can be heard
from. A cable has been laid joining earth and heaven and its name is prayer.
Upon this line flits the human cry, and back flashes the divine message
perfectly understood by the one to whom it is sent.
Before such a fact, the telephone wire of hundreds of miles and the
telegraph cable of a thousand leagues sink into nothing, for by this
remarkable medium God and man are put in connection, and tidings flash
from the invisible world, and eternity and time, in a sense, are linked
together.
Of course the natural mind fails to believe and receive this great truth, and
professes to be amused at the bare idea; but those who have heard and still
hear from God in this manner have their confidence in no wise shaken by
the unbelief of men, and continue to receive the blessed heart-thrilling
messages from the skies.
The result of these answered prayers is deliverance from sin,
transformation of character, usefulness and victory in life and heaven at
last. This fact should cause men to study it carefully, and especially note
certain points observed by a man who was signally successful in
supplication. In other words, the kind of person who gets in touch with
God and the invisible kingdom of glory.
Christ tells of a certain man, a Publican, who came upon the earth end of
the heavenly cable and sent a message, and obtained a response that not
only saved the individual himself, but filled the earth with his fame. Now
as there are many who are skeptical about the possibility of such a divine
interview, or whose souls have but barely entered upon the alphabet of
heavenly communion and spiritual experiences, it is not only well and wise
for them, but their duty to study this victor in prayer and see what things
are mentioned about him, and what practices he observed which may be
lacking in themselves, the performance and fulfillment of which will brings
the lacking knowledge and glory to their own souls.
One thing Christ said about the Publican was that “He went up into the
temple.”
It is true that God is accessible everywhere, but some places are peculiarly
favorable, for getting in touch with heaven. If there had been no need of the
temple, tabernacle, synagogue and church, God would not have provided
them, and that man is wise who places himself in the most favorable and
helpful surroundings while he seeks salvation.
The very fact that the Publican went up to the temple showed a certain
amount of faith in God to begin with, and in addition, that he recognized
and bowed to the appointments and ordinances of heaven. The spirit of
separatism from the church is certainly not taught here, while the
individual who laughs and scoffs at the church gets a withering rebuke in
this parable where the temple is seen to be a door of heaven to the seeking
soul. The house of God has proved the same to millions of souls since that
day.
A second thing said about the man is, that “He went up to pray.”
The Savior says that two men went up for that purpose, but one evidently
forgot his original intention, and instead of supplicating, fell to praising
himself. This individual was a Pharisee.
He is not the only person who seems to have misunderstood the character
of the church, and has forgotten that Christ said that His Father’s house
was one of prayer, and made it a social hall, a lounging place, a Chautauqua
auditorium, a Sunday rendezvous ground for friends and acquaintances; in
fact, anything but what it should be a gateway to the skies and a vestibule
of glory.
It has ever been a lovely sight to the writer to see multitudes of people
flocking to the churches, even though many went not with the best
motives. It is a good place to go, and a right thing to do, and blessings
innumerable and unspeakable have resulted from it to countless thousands
who even attended with little or no expectation of being blessed.
If, however, like the Publican, one goes up with the avowed purpose of
prayer, blessing is certain to come.
A third fact appearing about the spiritual victory was his humility.
This is made manifest in the man’s standing afar off, and in the casting
down of his head. Poor heartsick one, he little knew that he was in the
very best position to hear from heaven. Doubtless he did not know that
the Bible said, “God resisteth the proud,” and “the proud he knoweth afar
off.” Perhaps he had not even noticed the defeat of the boasting Pharisee in
the court above him. He did not stop to reason how disgusting and
shocking is the swagger and strut of any man in the presence of God; nor
consider that outside of grace, the human soul has every reason for
abasement in the dust and none for self-exaltation.
All these things were true, but the Publican doubtless never thought of
them, he only knew he was a soul-sick, miserable man wanting deliverance,
but feeling perfectly unworthy of anything at the hands of God. Hence the
pathetic attitude in the outer court of the temple.
We have marked scenes wonderfully like this one of Christ’s own drawing,
and have had the eyes to fill and the heart to melt at the sight. If the
spectacle of a heartbroken man with head bowed on his breast in some
remote shadowy corner of the church, should so move us, how very
tenderly will God regard such a drooping, grieving figure.
A fourth feature of life shows the man not only thoroughly humble, but
deeply convicted. The Bible says “he smote upon his breast.”
This alone plainly declares an inward, mental state of unrest and suffering.
The naturalness and eloquence of the act is such that it needs no enlarging
upon. Conviction had seized upon him, and the man was miserable.
When men get really convicted they will soon find God. The burden is so
great that they must obtain relief, and as none but a divine hand can give
this, that hand must be found. People with any spiritual knowledge worth
speaking of know this, and are sighing for the return of that mental and
spiritual distress which fell upon men not only under the preaching of the
apostles, but of the Wesleys and Whitefields, and still later under the
preachers who swept this land one and two generations back.
It is a blessed sight to see men smite their breasts, and fall down and
struggle in agony on the ground. This is much more impressive and
awe-inspiring; than the sight of a congregation of perfectly composed
looking people signing cards to the effect that under the circumstances and
considering all things they would like to be Christians.
To see the genuinely convicted man today, one has to attend a full
salvation meeting where men preach with the Holy Ghost sent down from
heaven. Some of us are very familiar with the sight of men and women
rushing up the aisles, falling down at the altar, beating their breasts, and
filling the air with cries which pierce every heart. And we also know that
when people get this far they are exceedingly close to salvation.
A fifth feature in the case was the man’s confession. He called himself a
sinner.
It is to be remembered that the individual who went up to the temple with
the Publican spent quite a while in complimenting himself. He was very
thankful that he was not like other people, etc., etc. The record is that he
went down as he came, empty, and doubtless much emptier and worse in
heart.
The condition of hearing from heaven and having God speak to the soul is
an honest admission or confession of what we are in the moral world.
Herein is the explanation of many an unanswered prayer, and the greater,
less, or utter failure of certain meetings held in churches and tents. The
preachers and people tried to fool God. They presented the wrong ticket
at the gate. They appeared at the door with non de plumes and aliases.
They were not what they seemed. They tried to make God a partner to
deceit and hypocrisy. They tried in this condition to press through a door
over which hung such words and sentences as, “Nothing that maketh a lie
can enter in,” “They that do his commandments may enter in through the
gates.”
We all know that the worst of characters can be saved and all — and to
come into the kingdom of grace. But the condition is that all sin must be
left at the door. One may appear at the threshold as a liar, thief, fraud and
hypocrite, but to cross it, all lying, theft, deception and dissimulation
must be left on the earthward side of the door. Confession of sin and
separation from it is indispensable to entrance. Honesty with God is
absolutely imperative.
To insist on admission into grace, the possession of the divine favor, and
walking with God in the ostensible light of a character which we do not
possess, is to make God smile on fraudulency and take liars and impostors
as companions.
If we want the word “Son!” to ring over the heavenly cable to our
delighted souls we must first send the cry along the wire — “Sinner!” If
we want God to come down in power on the meeting, we must uncover
hearts and lives and tell the Almighty what kind of a crowd is calling upon
Him. He insists upon truth. He demands that we call ourselves, and the
things we have done by their true names, and then He will come. He will
not have fellowship with deceit of and kind. A falsehood is the same to
Him, whether it is covered by a broadcloth coat, silk dress, jeans garment
or the rags of a beggar. We must be true, we must uncover, we must
confess.
A sixth fact in the Publican’s case was that he asked only for mercy. His
brief, but heart thrilling cry was, “God be merciful.”
The man out of and away from God might as well learn the force of this
truth. It is the only cry for a sinner to make. If men pleaded for justice the
whole world would be damned. In all our wrongdoing we are without
excuse. We have sinned in the face of knowledge, privilege, providence and
grace. So the man who wants to hear from God in his pardon and
adoption, or in his restoration to divine favor, must come with the single
plea, “Be merciful.” This, of course, brings the victim on the cross into
sight, for Calvary, dreadful as it is on the heavenward side, is mercy on the
earthward side. Christ is the mercy of God to this world, and we can only
come to God through Him.
A seventh feature of the case was the strictly personal nature of the
prayer, “God be merciful to me.”
To draw the mind in from all others, to turn the attention from many
disturbing and distressing things without, and fix it on the peril and
present spiritual necessity of the soul is a victory in itself and means a
speedy answer from heaven. We find many not only shut out from pardon,
but from the blessing of perfect love, because they allow the spiritual
condition of friends and family to divert their gaze from their own need.
It is not selfish to say, God be merciful to me, God save me, God sanctify
me. It is the quickest way to bless others, the nearest road to the salvation
of the family.
The eighth feature in reward to the spiritual victory was that the man used
his voice.
We have been a close student for quite a number of years of people who
are seeking salvation, and find a most remarkable difference as to clear and
immediate results between those who bow in gloomy silence at the altar,
and those who cry aloud to God for mercy. Whether the calling intensifies
the desires of the soul, strengthens faith, and builds a wall between the
man and the old life, we do not stop to answer; we only know that such a
method pursued by the seeker meets with an amazingly swift response
from God, who has already stated in his Word, “Open thy mouth wide
and I will fill it,” “Call upon me and I will deliver thee.”
In looking back upon the Bible conditions necessary to obtain the
heavenly answer, and the life interview between man and God, we see no
mention of dress, position, accomplishment, learning, influence, culture,
grace, dignity or any of the things so magnified by men. One needs not to
be a gentleman by birth, a graduate of a college, or possess fine standing in
church or state. But if any man will put himself in the way of truth and
duty, will honor God’s house and divinely instituted means of grace; if he
will call on the Lord humbly, earnestly, continuously, with his eyes fixed
on that unspeakable. mercy of God, Jesus Christ, Heaven will catch the
cry, the King will receive it, the skies will bend and smile, while the
celestial cable will flash the message of pardon or purity back to earth, and
another miracle of grace be beheld in our midst.
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Beverly Carradine, a Methodist minister, was a leading evangelized for the holiness movement. He was a productive author, writing primarily on the subject of sanctification.
Carradine wrote 26 books which primarily advanced his religious beliefs. Several of his books were centered on the concept of sanctification. He also wrote about his opposition to the Louisiana lottery making an analogy between it and slavery.