“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” -Matthew 6:5-6

A phrase ought to be noticed and considered in the verses above: that those who pray in front of other people “have their reward.” That is to say, they are only praying to be seen of other people—that they may appear holy or devout. Yet their prayers themselves are empty, and go unheeded to God—they have already received the reward of their prayers, and they have already obtained the goal of their prayers right there on the spot: they simply wanted to be seen of men. No further action is necessary on God’s part.

Yet those who cry out to God in secret, with tears that only God can see, store up for themselves future blessings and answers to prayer. Those that genuinely cry out to God will see their prayers answered by God Himself. Such true prayer is not meant to be seen of men, and the Bible says that God will in turn openly reward and answer such requests in a divine fashion.

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” -Psalm 126:5-6

“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” -2 Corinthians 7:10

The apostle Paul describes here two kinds of sorrow: a godly sorrow that makes a person face up to their sins and faults, and brings them to a turning point where they are saved; and a sorrow of the world that only focuses on the wrongdoing, and gives no hope for release or freedom.

Two sorrows illustrated

These two sorrows are clearly illustrated in the lives of two of Jesus’ disciples: Peter, and Judas. Both men left Jesus, and in a way betrayed Him (though Judas’ betrayal was much worse).

• Peter denied Christ before men three times, and eventually fled while Jesus was being condemned and crucified.

• Judas led the scribes and Pharisees to Jesus’ secluded prayer spot, and had Him arrested—and He was eventually killed because of Judas’ betrayal.

So here are two men, and after their betrayal, they each had sorrow. Yet we can see the results of their sorrow in how their lives turned out.

The Bible says that following Peter’s backsliding, he “went out, and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). This is that godly sorrow that works repentance: for the result of his sorrow can be clearly seen on the day of Pentecost, when Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost, and preached perhaps the first ever Christian sermon—confirming not only his own salvation, but also adding unto the Lord about 3,000 other converts.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. . . . Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” -Acts 2:38-41

In the case of Judas, he also was made very sorry for his sins, and yet it was not the godly sorrow that had worked so mightily in Peter’s life, but it was the sorrow of the world—a devilish sorrow—that works only death, and hopelessness, and despair. “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. . .” (Matthew 27:3-4a).

Yet we see shortly thereafter the effects of Judas’ hopelessness:

“And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.” -Matthew 27:5

“And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” -Luke 14:18-20

In the above verses, we see a series of excuses given by the various people that were originally invited to a great feast. In Jesus’ parable, the feast represents the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and those that are invited would thereafter enter into eternal life.

So, we can see from the parable the various excuses that people might put forth for not believing the gospel and living a life that is consecrated for God. Jesus describes three such types of people:

• First, we have a person that has just bought a piece of land, and he wanted to go and see it. This represents those people who get caught up with material things, and the wealth of this world, and do not treasure the things of heaven. “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:20-21).

• Second, Jesus tells of a person who has bought five yoke of oxen, who wanted to go see how capable they were of doing work. This represents those that get caught up in busyness and work, and get distracted by lesser pursuits, and things inferior to the employment for the kingdom of God. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

• Third, there is the person who has just recently been married. This represents those that are distracted by pleasures and lusts and selfish desires, and do not see the eternal value of God’s heaven. “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).

A common thread

All of these excuses share a common thread, one that afflicts many people even today, and prevents them from believing the gospel, and going to heaven. The common thread between all distractions is simply that those who are invited to God’s heaven do not see the value in His invitation. This is the essence of a lack of faith.

Faith sees what is invisible. If this is true, then those who have faith in God have the ability to see the eternal promises of God, and to act accordingly. If we truly caught an inward glimpse of the goodness of God, and the glory of heaven, all other things in this world would seem empty and vain by comparison. If we truly had a strong faith in God’s words, we would not be so easily distracted or sidetracked with the cares of this world.

Suppose a fire alarm went off: if we truly believe that there is an impending fire, we would immediately move ourselves toward the exit of the building in haste. If we were thoroughly convinced of the urgency of the alarm, we would not be distracted by anything else that could possibly come across our path. Our hearts would be fixed upon the one true important thing that we must do. So too is it with heaven, when we hear the fire alarm of hell, and are convinced of the urgency of pressing instead into God’s kingdom in heaven.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. . . . Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. . . . By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” -Hebrews 11:1, 3, 8-10

“When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.” -Leviticus 4:14-15

An interesting thing is noted about the animal that was to be sacrificed for the sin offering for the people: the elders of the people were to lay their hands upon it while the animal was being killed.

We quickly gloss over such a detail, but to the people it may have been a much more dramatic and perhaps unsettling picture. In the animal’s death, it shows how God’s justice is being satisfied, and showed what the people themselves deserved at the hand of a just God.

In the elders’ placing their hands upon the bull, it was as if God wanted to show them that they were transferring their sin unto this animal—and shortly thereafter it was to be sacrificed.

This symbolism begs the question: what would happen if the people did not have a sacrifice to bear their sins?

Surely God was showing all the people that the just punishment of sin is death. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Today, we have another sacrifice, the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:13-14). In Him, in this one perfect and complete sacrifice, all the sins of mankind were laid upon Him, and He was killed in our place.

In a way, then, we have a way to heaven, in that, if we will humble ourselves and acknowledge our great sins, we may reach out to Jesus, and lay our hands upon this Lamb of God. We have a privilege of inestimable value, that we may reach out unto this sacrifice, and have Him carry the load of our sins.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” -Isaiah 53:5-6

“And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.” -Exodus 40:9

Notice the last five words of the verse above: “and it shall be holy.” These five simple words describe the outcome of God’s anointing—His spiritual presence—upon the tabernacle. The anointing oil in the Old Testament is used to represent God’s Spirit, and here we see that something is anointed with oil, and thereafter “it shall be holy.”

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, purity and holiness are related, by different. Holiness is nothing more than to be set apart for God’s service. Yet to serve God, it would also imply that one would also need to be pure, for oil does not mix with dirt.

Surely, if we are filled with the filth and pollutions of this world, (in our heart, and as our treasures), then God will not see it fit to anoint us with His oil. In the same way, God’s Spirit does not mix with the spirit of this world, nor with the flesh.

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” -Galatians 5:16-17

“And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” -Exodus 4:10-12

Here we see a reluctance of Moses, on account of his lack of natural ability. God had chosen him as a spokesman, and he felt inadequate because he was evidently a poor speaker.

And so, God allowed Moses’ brother Aaron to be the spokesman, while all of the miracles and wonders were still done through Moses. And throughout the book of Exodus, we may safely assume that every time it says that “Moses spoke unto” so-and-so, that it was actually Aaron doing the speaking, with Moses hearing the words from God, and communicating them to Aaron.

Yet a funny thing happened in the midst of Moses’ ministry among the Israelites: though he was initially very timid and not confident in his natural abilities, he eventually grew into the role that God had for him, and by the end of his life, Moses appeared to be every bit as talented a speaker as his brother Aaron.

Consider this happening among Moses’ lifetime: his brother Aaron—his faithful spokesman—died in the wilderness. “And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month” (Numbers 33:38).

Following this, Moses was well able to give quite a lengthy and perhaps skillful oration to all the nation of Israel; for it appears that virtually the entire book of Deuteronomy is simply a big speech that Moses delivered to his people before he died, as they were about to cross over the Jordan into the promised land. “And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel” (Deuteronomy 31:1).

God enables those whom He calls

So we see in this situation, that even though Moses doubted his own abilities—and to an extent, even God’s providential care to enable him to speak—he became competent to do God’s will as he walked in it, and was empowered as he followed and obeyed God.

And what if Moses had refused to lead God’s people out of Egypt? Would he have been given this ability to speak as he did? I believe he would’ve been just as poor a speaker as the day that God called him—the transformation, and the providence of God, is only seen in obedience. We are only benefited from God’s gifts as we follow the command to “go.” If we stay where we are, we neither walk in God’s will, nor are changed and empowered to perform His bidding.

“For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.” -Psalm 18:31-35

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” -James 1:5

Here’s the key and solution to foolishness: simply ask God for wisdom, and He will freely give to anyone that asks, if he asks in faith. But perhaps the biggest obstacle to obtaining wisdom is not in mustering up enough faith to ask of God, but rather, in seeing our need.

Notice one crucial word in the above verse: lack. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. . .” More often than not, we simply don’t see our own need, and we don’t see our ignorance.

James did not write, “if any of you would like wisdom. . .” And we usually think, “well, I have a fair degree of wisdom on my own, but it would be nice to have this supplemented with some of God’s wisdom as well. I can do very well enough in most endeavors on my own, but in certain circumstances, I find myself in need of just a bit more wisdom.”

I believe such prideful thoughts and requests will go unanswered by God.

We do not truly believe that we lack wisdom. We do not see our own folly clearly enough to make a heartfelt petition before God.

The example of Solomon

In examining this subject of wisdom, it would be helpful to look at the one who is most often thought to be the wisest man who ever lived: king Solomon.

Perhaps we think that he had natural ability and wisdom, and that God merely allowed it to flourish more fully, yet such notions couldn’t be further from the truth: Solomon was helpless, and though excellent in spirit, he was admittedly ignorant and unable to lead a nation—Solomon said as much in his very own words. And yet, it was this very humility, this very “lacking” of widsom, that made him so great.

Right along with James 1:5, Solomon gives us a by-the-book example of how to obtain wisdom: 1) acknowledge your dire need, and 2) ask in faith.

“And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” -1 Kings 3:7-9