In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of behaving as though there is no tragedy in one's life, even when facing heartbreak. He uses the example of a man who continues to anoint his face and carry on with his job, despite his broken heart. The speaker then delves into the question of why God loves the world and the answer lies in the parable of the treasure hidden in the field. The sermon concludes with the idea that God's motive in all His dealings with us is to discipline and purify us.

This is your ministry, not ours. We are prepared to speak or not to speak, to hear more or not to hear more, just according to your own desire. If it is thy mind, we spend a little more time here in thy presence for the Holy Spirit to pursue his work with us. By thy word we ask for the renewing of our spirit and of our minds, a fresh quickening, a breath of new life, a very real experience of the anointing, the anointed lips, the anointed ear, the Lord be Lord in everything, working to his own end, his own glory and pleasure. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. We continue with the Lord's enablement in our fresh or spiritual understanding in that vast realm of the unsearchable riches of Christ. We have pointed out how varied is the context of that word riches and we have made a very fierce attack upon one word of riches of his grace and the word is the victor still and we are the casualties. It has beaten us and stands over our impotence and we know already that it is unsearchable. Now I leave it to Brother Tom, if he feels led to make the next attack upon that word, I am passing on. Crippled though I may be. And I bring you to the second of the relationship of this word, the unsearchable riches of Christ, which is again found in the letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, in verse 18, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. The riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Earlier in the chapter the apostle has referred to our inheritance in him. Now he is speaking of his inheritance in the saints. Through this letter, again and again, the focus is upon what the Lord has to say. Unto the glory of his, unto the praise of his glory, the riches of his glory. Christ loved the church, gave himself for it, that he might present it to himself, a glorious church. I believe, dear friends, that here we reach the heart and root and core and heart of everything. In the whole Bible, from start to finish, the aspect is always himself. His, him, himself. That's the governing aspect of the whole Bible. The apostle, as you know, sums it all up in that wonderful revelation. Now unto him be the glory. In the church, by Christ Jesus, unto all ages forever and ever. You can't get beyond that, the end. Unto him, unto him. Yesterday we were allowing Solomon to be our interpreter and we shall continue to do so in this other aspect. We have reminded ourselves of the excellence of Solomon, the glory, the majesty, the wealth, the wisdom that God gave to him in his sovereign fore view of his son, Jesus Christ. But we also pointed out that Solomon, not someone in himself, but that he took up the whole life of his father David and was really the full expression of what was in David's heart as the great domination, interest and concern of his life. I think we might just look at one or two fragments. First thing we just look at Psalm 132. Psalm 132. Lord, remember for David all his affliction, how he swore unto the Lord and vowed unto the mighty one of Jacob. Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed. I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids until I find out a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the mighty one of Jacob. Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah. We found it in the field of the wood. We will go into his tabernacle. We will worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place. Thou and the ark of thy strength let thy priests reclose with righteousness and let thy saints shout for joy for thy servant David's saints are not away the face of thine anointing. So on. And then just let us look at a fragment, a big fragment, you have to reduce it, in the first book of Kings, chapter 3, 1 Kings 3, verse 4. The king went up to Gibeon to sacrifice there. For that was the great high place. A thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer unto upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night. And God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great kindness. According as he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee. And thou hast kept for him this great kindness that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day. 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 thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this thy great people? And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing and hast not asked for thyself underlines long life neither hast thou asked riches for thyself riches underlines for thyself nor hast asked the life of thine enemy but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment. Behold, I have done according to thy word. Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart so that there hath been none like thee before thee neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee and I have given also that which thou hast not asked both riches and honor so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thine is. We must leave it there. Solomon came into the inheritance of his father. That is what is stated precisely there. And Solomon acknowledged that it was so. He inherited his father's lifelong all dominating ambition and to find a place for the Lord. For the Lord. You notice that the Lord gave him all the wisdom that he had that renowned wisdom. And God gave him all the rest the riches and the honor and the kingdom because Solomon turned outward from himself and said for the Lord. For the Lord. That is a principle throughout the word of God which we shall note as we go on. For the Lord. For the Lord in the Lord's people. In the Lord's people. This people is the Lord's people. The Lord's interest is in this people. The Lord's portion is his people. The Lord's inheritance is his people. I could stop there. I think our brother has well covered that ground. Put in for instance this. That we can have as we think a very great concern for the Lord and his interest and his public without realizing that that is all bound up with his people. That if we are going really to serve the interest of the Lord we shall find it in this one and in that one. In his people. That is where his inheritance is. Let us leave that for the moment. The greatness of the Lord's people immediately looms into view. What they are to the Lord. Israel in Isis' light Solomon we shall see but the church. What the church What the body of Christ What the aggregate of the born again one is to the Lord. Perhaps we have to get a new apprehension of this. What believers really are to the Lord. And ourselves of course included. And here we are truly held with a word. Can't get on till we've been confronted with this word. Unsearchable riches of Christ in his people. Unsearchable riches of Christ in you. In me. You fall. When you face that. Unsearchable. Oh yes. We've been pulled down before this at once. In me. In her. In him. In that group. Therefore Christ has invested his unsearchable riches to make it possible. Can that be true? Is it possible? Is it thinkable? If we know only a little the truth about ourselves. Can it be possibly true that he has such wealth invested in us? That he has his inheritance in us? Unsearchable. Yes. Yes. Beyond. Beyond our grasping of understanding. This will exhaust every superlative. Unmeasurable. Inconceivable. Inexpressible. Incomprehensible. Immeasurable. And what other words can you add? All in this. Unsearchable riches of Christ are his inheritance in the thing. That word does fellow to the ground of the world. That's beyond me. Beyond my comprehension. That it should be true that I should be even though the smallest fragment of the whole nevertheless a fragment of his inheritance containing his inheritance. Of course we prepared the way for this didn't we by considering the riches of his grace. Grace is the way to it. Has to be. This could not be otherwise. But grace is not an end. It never was intended to be an end. Through grace it is to glory. The glory is in the church by Christ Jesus unto all ages forever and ever. God portions in his people. Now Israel of course is the grand Old Testament example of this. The historic example of this. God said and here again we are out of our boundless understanding. God said of Israel I have chosen you from among all the peoples of the earth. God he let you. Can you ever explain that? No you never will. God selected me. And the Lord forgave me if I'm wrong even in an implication. But when we have read our Old Testament and into our New Testament about this people Israel what they were capable of and we won't dwell upon it to analyze and what in the end they did and God knew it all from the beginning. Knew them their nature their constitution their disposition their proclivity just all that was possible in them and how they would act patiently it would always seem to the limit. Sometimes it would seem to breaking point. He would say to Moses stand aside and let me destroy it and make of you another. God knew what what a drain they would be upon him and his resources of patience and forbearance and longsuffering. He gave them deliverance I say unsearchable unfathomable. You would never have done that if you'd had a little bit of knowledge but would you have chosen yourself if you'd had a little bit of knowledge? I venture to say dear friends that the pathway of the true Christian life is the pathway of such a scope of exposure and uncovering that more and more we cry God did not if ever I get this glory it will be the greatest miracle that ever God wrought. God's selectiveness you cannot explain it but there it is and when he has selected his love his love I have loved thee said he to his wife with an everlasting love you are graven upon the palms of mine his love unfathomable inexplicable his self-committal to that he had committed himself to them his honour his name his glory his interest in the earth committed himself committed himself here him of England through the prophets as they weep bitter tears and they are the tears of God over Israel this great heart-broken cry of God coming out through the prophets to take up many of their affronts because of this people strong love and God's disappointed love to take up one prophet like Hosea and the story or Ezekiel the tragedy in his life his young wife taken suddenly overnight from him his life and his heart left distant in the midst of the people for what the Lord said to him in the morning anoint your face as at other times and go forth just as though nothing had happened on with the mockery go out behave just as though there was no tragedy in your life at all and he went forth as at other times with his face anointed but his heart broken but he didn't let it be seen as at other times he got on with his job and his men around him this is canon this is a Greek God not every recognized principle of good behavior and conduct what a man despicable man his wife lying dead there waiting barely awake he laid his face to the sky and he comes out of the nunnery and then the word of the Lord to his niece she comes to him I love you I love you like a husband to a wife with all my heart and you were everything to me and you've gone from me you've deprived me of my right my expectations and disappointed all my hope that you go on as though nothing had happened you just go on it doesn't come home to your heart the parable you see the tragedy of the life to show how deep God's love was and how painful God's heart was when that love was turned withdrawn I say the prophets are full of that brokenhearted pride of God over this people this people they cried, they wept for Jerusalem Jesus came lived there amongst them moved amongst them reached out both hands to them all day long as I stretched forth my hand he was doing it at last with no response but that of enmity he paused Jesus standing by on a place above the city looked over the city and wept oh Jerusalem Jerusalem how oft would I have gathered thee as a hen gather a brood under her wing but you would not weeping with love here for this people you pass the pole how Paul said he shed bitter tears for his people this way I should wish that I myself were a curse for my people as well say why this were they so lovable God knows no more than you me why because he had vested interest for his own satisfaction it was hot was for him that he desired in this people his inheritance him yes you say why such love to them but more why such love to me and today perhaps more than ever why such love to this church as we know nor the tragedy of it the heartbreak of it the despair of it we are asking the biggest questions aren't we about the church ah what a thing is there any hope for this and yet it stands in the word of God and the word of God cannot be broken it endures forever it stands for eternity and will be fulfilled it stands to present to himself a glorious church not having part or wrinkle or any he has vested his eternal interest in this and he will have his deposit in spite of you and me in spite of all of it going to be that my my only fortress rock foundation so I know things the church as it is in Christianity as we know it everywhere for there are beloved delightful saints beautiful Christians many of them devoted to the Lord but when I come to the corporate aspect the church the collective well the heart sinks doesn't it I have to confess to you dear friends I have moved round this world from far east to far west touching the continent of Christians and I do not know of one group of Christians where there is not some kind of fight or division where it is not at least a battle to keep together and of course much worse than that I don't know where that ideal church is on this earth and yet the word says his inheritance in well you see that brings us to motive and motive is the solution to the whole that is purified sanctified illuminated motive is the core the heart the key to everything the motive whether it is for the Lord or for anyone else or anything else that is the criteria the deciding factor it is let that church up it is the motive and the holiness and purity of the motive you see that takes us right back to the beginning in the garden God created all things for himself and for his own pleasure and pronounced upon his word it is destiny committed it to the man of his creed and that evil one who had split the heavenly domain and drawn away a great company of angels who kept not their through personal ambition self-centered interest he kept into that scene where everything was for the Lord and insinuated this self-fulfillment principle of himself and the what it amounts to means don't have it in dependence upon God have it in yourself have it for yourself you can you can be as God you can be the centre of things a motive God or self just that that is the form and from that moment the poison the poison of the serpent the poison of that that evil thing called self self the enemy of all that is good and of God that was beaten so to speak into the very bloodstream of the human race and it has developed the present dimension and is the cause of all the world's troubles and aren't we blind isn't the world blind failing to see that as we get near the end things so intensify as to become the ultimate final supreme on both sides on the self side and on the unself side and that is what God is saying intensifying the purpose you see God is there, the motive the motive, the Lord for the Lord unto the Lord or unto my self so right back to the beginning there the three or results of the focus of the direction in regard from God this was the tragedy of that generation of Israel and Bani Israel oh what a tragedy after all those years of God's patience, long suffering for them all that God had done for them shown himself to be in their interest the greatest star on the earth not trusting him at all at that point they sent over the signs and the signs of course came back as the embodiment of the principle that was in the nation's health we were as God's office we in their always know you we'll lose everything if we do we shall be destroyed in other words how this thing will affect us, how our interest has to be set you see health food is dominating the situation there are only two men who took the other course they said it's the law it's the law that's the other direction eventually that violence God is usually on the side of minorities don't forget well the minorities are usually of this kind it is a minority that is holy for the Lord and not with some mixture of self Joshua and Caleb were preserved while the others perished in the wilderness on the basis of self food, oh I'd like to open up there on yesterday afternoon and a letter to the Hebrews which tells us quite plainly that it was their whole life that was the cause of the disaster at Tadesh Barnea but I elicit unsearchable riches indeed certainly beyond the clock, however here it is you see it's the motive and it was the motive of Tadesh Barnea it was the motive of Israel when Christ was crucified if we let this go on with them the Romans will take away will take away from us that's the spirit it came out jealousy, envy post instinct result two thousand years of Israel in the outer darkness weeping, wailing national peace, is that true in recent years the millions it's a dark story all because self was put in the place of the Lord well here it is this is the motive of the incarnation of God's Son you see when I consummated in the cross the motive behind is post emptying is coming down in man form the capacity of a bond slave coming obedient why? to empty himself to destroy the self principle in humanity yes the emptying is not finished in heaven all the time he is here he is emptying emptying Satan offers him the kingdoms of this world, no he empties himself all the way along he is emptying himself right up the cross he has come to destroy this awful thing selfless in humanity the incarnation is the incarnation of this very motive not unto myself he counted it not something to be held on to, to be equal with God, but not in my own interest just heard my new name my father it's the father, the father the father this is the constant language of the sound here in humiliation the father the cross I say is the confirmation of God the final emptying of the last of man's self interest into the judgment of which he had voluntarily entered the desolation of the cross is God's verdict upon the temple of man and of the devil let's turn this picture around John 3 16 oh you know it you could quote it, recite it but do you, do we know it God so loved so loved the world God so loved the world the empty true self of his dearest creation gave his only begotten son God so loved the world why why that's the governing question why, move on to Matthew 13 we begin to have the answer in parabolic form kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field which when a man found he sold all he had he bought that field to get that treasure and Jesus later said and the field is the world God so loved the world because he has an investment in it a treasure do you want the explanation of that well of course the explanation is in this verse Christ loved the field and gave himself for it a treasure in the field a treasure in the field gave himself for it that he might present unto himself unto himself there it is and I must hasten cut this short by reminding you that this is the motive in all God's dealings with us to discipline and he does discipline us I'll have more to say about that in another one of these unsearchable messages later on that is his dealings with us are along the line of discipline you might call it hastening again it's the same thing what is all this about the way in which the Lord deals with us and handles us and empties us and disappoints us and all the rest the notion of God is that this selfhood shall be completely undercut he will find his inheritance you notice what God is doing he is undercutting our selfhood isn't he he is bringing us down, breaking us emptying us, weakening us destroying all our self-sufficiency self-confidence bringing us to an end of ourselves yes despair why? why? to really deal with this motive of self you know you know dear friends as well as I do that our plague the plague of our hearts is after us isn't it not if only I could get rid of myself you see that is the Buddhist answer to this great problem what does the Buddhist believe what is the basic principle of Buddhism self annihilation so if it doesn't work they go and burn themselves to death and to make a demonstration of themselves but nevertheless there is the loss this consciousness in humanity the real curse is selfish and if they are not conscious of it it is true all the same and God is dealing with this undercutting this bringing it to naught to get that which is your motive for himself now Lord I have nothing to live for but for you if you want to use me for yourself and your own ends alright if you don't Lord it is all the same bringing us right through like that but it is going to be utterly the Lord in the end and not anything that we get and how we have grown up to try to amuse the Lord for our own ends and to believe in him just for what he can do for us is this faith again no oh we have a long way to go none of us has attained neither are we already complete in this matter but God is doing this to bring us to the place where it is the Lord just the Lord just the Lord and dear friends we shall come we shall come into the riches like Solomon when we have truly as God knows it not in our ideas and imaginations or belief about ourselves but when the Lord knows that we have come to the place where now Lord everything in my life has got to be arranged for your satisfaction for your satisfaction you arrange all the things in my life for your pleasure, for your satisfaction and if we will allow him to do that and be great when he does we shall come into the riches it will be the joy of the Lord our strength the joy of the Lord, the Lord because he's got what he's and that will be our strength now I must cut it short there leave it with you it is after all only saying in another way what has been said to us this morning, the hub of it the hub of it is this sanctified purified blood purged motive in my life I say sanctified because you know it's possible for us to think that our motives are very pure David made a great mistake in this matter on notice when he sent and fetched the ark on the new Philistine cart to bring it up to Jerusalem the Lord knows other and David was thrown into consternation, was angry with the Lord, his motive was all right, he could have said Lord my motive was so pure my motive was so pure, I meant it so well for your glory, your satisfaction, ah yes but David, your motive was not illuminated, enlightened by my word, go back to the Bible, go back to your Bible and see about this thing David went back to Scripture and found out you can do a right thing in a wrong way a right thing in a wrong way because your motive was not illuminated well I read that purged motive, purged heart, blood wrinkled heart so that our motive is purified in fire and it's just what the Lord wants and not what we want the Lord's glory, the Lord's truth, well our New Testament is built upon this isn't it what's for the Lord what's for the Lord I was over the vineyard and at the season he spent his servants for the fruit his right his destiny and they slew the servants and he sent another they treated him the same and another at last he said I will send mine own my son, they will reverence him and they said this is the heir inheritance this is the heir, come let us kill him and the inhesitant shall do what will the Lord do with those which is built upon this principle whether it's for the Lord or for ourselves the vine and the branches the fruit it's not our fruit at all it's the Lord's fruit and here in this life Father glorify, glorify that you bear much fruit for the Lord he is fastening upon his right in the life of his people and so we can go on but I think you see that they've gathered around this all the folks and everything else and they come back the riches of his inheritance in the things will you hold your life in the light of that will you hold your local fellowship in the light of that not what a place you have not how it affects you good or bad but always always in your relationship in local company and your individual position let this govern we are here for the Lord not for ourselves does this really please the Lord is this situation of division of strife of bitterness does this really please the Lord can the Lord have glory in this if not then look here anything it costs me everything anything and everything to get this right proper is necessary but this is not for the pleasure of the Lord oh if we only put that attitude only that were the dominating thing in all there would be such wealth such glory and I believe such dominion as with Solomon over all the enemies round about the enemy will be to leave me when his own ground is taken from him which is the ground of self no Lord it is for thee keep alive what has been of thee in this much speaking this morning oh Lord we must commit it to thee too much for us but bring home to us those salient things that really do matter that are going to be the issues of this week things that are going to be found abiding living and governing to set thy seal upon those things in our hearts for thy name's sake