Faithfulness In The Secret Place

Aaron Leatherdale - Rapper 
Follow Aaron on Twitter: aleatherdale
Website & personal blog: aaronleatherdale.org
Aaron grew up in Prince George, BC, Canada and moved to IHOP in May 2007. His passion and desire is to serve the Lord through prayer and fasting and to preach the love of Christ to the nations of the earth.


Faithfulness In The Secret Place
In Matthew chapter 5-7, commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out some basic principles of the Kingdom of God that, if followed, will cause our hearts to come alive.  The Sermon on the Mount is an invitation to sincere believers to experience God on the deepest level and store up eternal rewards.

These famous words of Jesus spoken around AD 30 are the pathway to happiness and the way to greatness in God.  The amazing thing about this portion of scripture is that the lifestyle presented is attainable and accessible to absolutely everyone.  Not just the rich or the talented or the exceptionally gifted can be great in God, but everyone.  Some have called the Sermon on the Mount “Christianity 101”.  Jesus created the human spirit, He knows how it works and He takes three chapters to explain the way of the Kingdom, the way we will be happy in God.  At the end of His discourse He states, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock”.  Do you want to be called a wise man by the Lord?  Then let’s look a little closer at the words of Jesus.

A couple of years ago my heart was struck with the revelation that the principles in the Sermon on the Mount have nothing to do with external works.  They have everything to do with the posture of our hearts – consistently saying yes to righteousness and no to wickedness.  In this great commentary on the Law of Moses, Jesus explains the inner workings of the human heart related to sin.  The basic sins that plague all of humanity including pride, anger and immorality must be avoided at all costs – not just acting out the actual sins but also the motivations and desires of the heart that are bent towards evil.

Jesus also gives us five positive disciplines to reach for.  They are all done “in secret”, not before man but before the eyes of God alone.  They include:

1. Prayer:  When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place.  Matt 6:6
2. Fasting:  When you fast…do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place.  Matt 6:17-18
3. Giving/Serving:  When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet…do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret.  Matt 6:2-4
4. Blessing your enemies:  Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.  Matt. 5:44

These kingdom values, though difficult to faithfully persevere in over decades, are actually quite simple and easy to understand.  A child could grasp them.  Many Christians think they must do grand works or accomplish amazing feats to be pleasing to God but the Sermon on the Mount emphasizes the issues of the heart.  Greatness in God is not based on circumstances, financial means, ministry gifting or natural accomplishments; it is based on what you do in the secret place.  Will you be faithful to the values that are burning on God’s heart behind closed doors when no one else sees?

The Sermon on the Mount says nothing about building a successful ministry, making millions of dollars or attaining to a certain status before man.  These things by themselves do not impress God.  Although obedience to the ministry and life assignments that the Lord gives us is very important, I do not believe it is what moves God’s heart.  What moves His heart is a man or woman who will faithfully live the values of the Sermon on the Mount year after year in secret, before God alone.

Most of my life I thought if I built a successful business and gave millions of dollars to the poor I would be great in God’s sight.  Or if I built a huge ministry that impacted multitudes then I could stand before God with confidence.  But over the last few years, the Lord has begun to strip all that away.  He showed me that he is not mainly concerned with ministry or money or positions, He is concerned with my inner life.  If I focus on the values of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said I would be “a wise man”.

There is a day coming when we will all stand before the Lord and He will evaluate our lives.  I don’t think the first question from His mouth will be, “Did you build a big ministry?” or “Did you make a lot of money?”  The first question might be something like, “Did you spend your life fighting to live the lifestyle of the Sermon on the Mount behind closed doors?”  That day will be the great equalizer.  There will be great men of the earth who stand before God and weep because they have no reward.  There will be pastors, Christian leaders and successful business people who stand before God.  Some will have a great reward, others will not. 

This gives hope to us all because no one is excluded from greatness in God.  The guy who no one sees or recognizes can receive a full reward on the Day of the Lord if he perseveres in the Sermon on the Mount values.  The guy who works at 7-11, unseen and overlooked by men, has the same opportunity as anyone to be a champion before the Lord - one of the great ones throughout history. 

© 2010 Aaron Leatherdale