me in your Bibles back to Ephesians chapter 3 and Paul last in verse 14 wants us to look back and at this time of the year I think it's wonderful to look back and to contemplate the mercies of the Lord in so many ways that he has maintained a witness, he has been faithful to us in the most extraordinary ways.

And before we come to the Lord's Supper, and the Lord's Supper is looking back, we look back to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, we look back to the blood that was shed before the foundation of the world and we look forward, we proclaim, we are declaring his death until he come again and so we as the children of God are looking back and when we look back, if we want to look back and look back with faith and with some growing in grace, we look back a long way. Don't have to look back into our lives. We look back all the way into the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. We look back as far as we can possibly look back.

Before I turn to this prayer, I want us to see there's a wonderful verse in Jeremiah chapter 6 that I just love so much. And he says, He says, Thus saith the Lord, Jeremiah 6.16, Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways. Before us are many ways, and in this world there are many ways. You stand. So you stand. You're not running around. You stand. And when God's people stand, they stand in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they're standing waiting for him to reveal. And then see. How do we see? In His light we see light. We only see clearly when we see Him clearly. And then ask. God's children ask. If God sets you to asking, ask. Open your mouth wide. He says ask. and ask for the old paths where is the good way and walk there in the old paths that word old path means that which is vanishing in the distance you look as far back you look back beyond this world beyond this creation you look back to the covenant of god The Trinity of God and us in the Lord Jesus Christ as gifts of His Father. That's where we look back to. That's the whole part. And you walk in that. You walk in light of that. And you shall find rest for your souls. If you want to rest your soul, that's what you do. You look back a long, long way.

And the response of people should cause us to be terrified that that is the response of those people to that very simple and clear instruction.

So Paul is looking back in the beginning of chapter three, he looks back, he says, for this cause, he's looking back to all of the purposes of God that he has spoken about, the purpose of God, sorry, that he has spoken about and all the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ in his covenant engagement and his union with his people. And then for this cause, and then he goes on, he speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ and the fellowship of the mystery and the manifold wisdom of God, all these unsearchable riches. He looks at all of them and he prays. What a great thing to do, isn't it? To look at the glory of God, to look at the blessings of God and pray. pray if God sets us to be asking.

Listen to what we'll read on what he says here. For this cause, for this cause, because of God's eternal purpose, because of the manifold wisdom of God, because of the fellowship of the mystery, because of the unsearchable riches of Christ, because of the preaching of the gospel by the power of God when he makes his ministers, For this cause, when I have seen all these things, when I have seen my tribulations for you, which is your glory, God will test and try his faithful ones. There must be heresies, there must be divisions among you, 1 Corinthians 11, that those who are approved of God will be made manifest. For all of this cause, the trials and the glories, all of it, I bow my knees under the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

If you still have your Bibles open in Jeremiah, turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 23. I want to see what this name is. What is the name? Jeremiah 23 verse 6, in his days, in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ, Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is the name whereby he shall be called, what's his name? The Lord our righteousness.

So turn over in your Bibles to Jeremiah 33. Jeremiah 33 is that glorious. passage that continues from Jeremiah 31 and speaks about the eternal, infinite love of God Almighty and the covenant engagements in the Lord Jesus Christ, that his people will know him because their sins are forgiven and I'll remember their sin no more. But he says, in those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name wherewith she shall be called. What's her name? His name's the Lord Our Righteousness. What's her name? The Lord Our Righteousness. That's the name.

In that great high priestly prayer in Numbers chapter six, the high priest came out having taken what represented the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on the mercy seat. And he came out and he said, the Lord bless thee. and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. It's a Trinitarian blessing, isn't it? and give thee peace, and they shall put my name, number 627, upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

Yes, the whole family has one name. The whole family has one name. All of them have one name. The Lord, our righteousness. It's the robe that all of the family wear in heaven. It's the robe that all of the family wear at the wedding banquet in heaven, don't they? That robe, the very righteousness of the saints is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the whole family in heaven on earth is named, that's that family that we read about in chapter two of Ephesians.

That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory. We've looked at the riches of Christ, the riches of his grace, the riches of his wisdom, the riches of his purpose, the riches that are applied to the hearts of his people. According to the riches of his glory, be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man. That's where we're strengthened. Where is all of the strengthening work of God in the inner man? It's called the Hidden Man of the Heart. It's the partaker of the Divine Nature. It is, as Colossians says, it is nothing other than the mystery which has been hidden, this is Colossians 2.26, hidden from ages, from generations, but is now manifest to his saints, whom God would make known, which is the riches of his glory, of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

I would like to talk and we won't have time today but Lord willing I might bring a message on it next week. But when God saves a sinner He puts a new creation in Adam's old flesh. And it's the new creation that believes God. It's the new creation that relies upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the new creation that loves his word. It's the new creation, it's Christ in you, the hope of glory. It's called the inner man, the inner man. It's in us, it's Christ in you. It's the hidden man of the heart. It's hidden from this world, and it's hidden from us so much of the time.

We have, all of God's saved children, have two natures. We think in religion, religion is working over and over again to get this flesh to look more religious and to be more righteous and to walk more holy and to be more faithful. God's work is a different work altogether. God's work is in the inner man of the heart. It's in the inner man.

The old nature, There are some changes, but the old nature remains exactly the same. And if you're honest about your thoughts, you know. You know what you are. Adam remains as sinful and as disbelieving and as troublesome and tiresome as he ever was. And only those who have the inner man know what the old man is.

Christ, Paul, I mean, until he met the Lord Jesus Christ, he just had one nature, and he thought that he was outfully righteous and obedient to God Almighty, and all of a sudden, he met the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was saved. And Ananias preached the gospel to him, and all of a sudden, he speaks those words of Romans 7. He's being honest. It's the inner man. And this is his prayer. This prayer that God may grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man.

And this is what the inner man is. Listen to verse 17. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. The inner man believes. The inman believes, trusts and relies upon the Lord Jesus Christ that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints. Don't you love this? What is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge.

It means that it exceeds knowledge, it excels knowledge, it goes beyond our knowledge. that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. We can know about that and we can read about that and we can believe it. Do we understand it? I rejoice in what's being said there. I'm so thankful that there are unsearchable riches and the love is beyond the depths. We can't plumb it.

How broad is the love of God for his people? how long is it he's loved you with an everlasting love he's loved you everlastingly therefore with loving kindness has he drawn you to him how long is it it's eternal it has no beginning and it has no end and the depth it reaches down to the depths of the pit of sin and takes his people and brings them to know the love of God. And it takes us all the way down, takes us all the way from the pits of this world to the very heights of heaven, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

If you're still in Colossians, listen to what the Lord God speaks about his son. For in him, dwelleth all the fullness, Colossians 2.9, all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, verse 10, and you are complete in Him. Not that you will be complete in Him at some time in the future when you get yourself better and better and better. You are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power. We're filled with all the fullness of God. You have Christ in you. You have all the riches, the unsearchable riches of Christ. You have the fellowship of the mystery. You have this grace given. You have revelation revealed. You have Christ revealed to you through the preaching of the gospel by the blessed Holy Spirit. We have all the fullness of God. What a wonderful thing to pray for.

He's not praying wishfully thinking. He's praying on the basis of the character and the promises of God Almighty in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a good prayer, isn't it? It's a great prayer to pray. What a prayer for us to pray this year.

Now unto him that is able, We sing that at the end of each of our services. Now unto him that is able. Can he do it? Can he do it? He just speaks a word and a universe comes into existence. He speaks to the wind and the waves and they obey him. He speaks to the demons and they have to bow and beg at his feet. He speaks to diseases and it's gone. He speaks to death and it's gone. What power in our God

But listen to what he's able to do. He's able to do exceedingly, abundantly above. It's almost like Paul had run out of superlatives, hadn't he? He was trying to sort of get to the edge of language to try and express how wonderful it was. Abundantly above all we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. We don't ask. You have not because you ask not.

What a great way, what a great reminder of the promises and the character of God for us to look forward to into this year. Those men brought that man who was paralyzed with the palsy and they opened the roof up. What'd they want? They wanted him to be healed. And the Lord said to him, Son, your sins are forgiven you exceedingly abundantly above all they ask or think.

The thief on the cross said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. What did he say? Today you're going to be with me in paradise. David said, I want to build a house for God. I'm living in this fancy house here in Jerusalem. I want to build a house for God. Nathan thought it was a really good idea until the Lord dealt with him. And then the Lord comes to David and said, I'm not building a house for you. and it's the house of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm gonna build an eternal house for you. Your son's gonna reign and rule on the throne of his kingdom forever. I'm building the house, David. You think you can honor me with your stones and things, and David did in many, many ways, but he received abundantly, exceedingly abundantly, or above all that we ask or think.

The prodigal just wanted to come home, didn't he? He just wanted to come home. He said, I'll just be a servant. And the father ran to him and he says, put on the best robe, the robe of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. You put a ring on his finger, that sign of the eternal covenant. You put new shoes on him and you prepare a feast for him. exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

May the Lord make us askers this year. May we ask for each other. May we ask for his glory to be revealed. May we ask according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end. Amen means truly, truly. I agree with that.

So Ephesians 3 has been wonderful with cause to look back and for this cause we bow. We bow to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a Father, what a Father to send his Son. What a Father that gave us to his Son. What a Father. that this son should bear in his body all of the sins of all of his people and wash them whiter than snow in the blood of his precious son. Riches of glory to know the love of Christ. What a prayer as we begin this next year. I pray the Lord might allow us to go back again and again and read these glorious words and Wouldn't it be wonderful if he was able to apply that to our hearts? Wouldn't it be more amazing if we, in thankfulness before it happened, looked expectantly for him to do it?

George Muller was a famous man who ran an orphanage in England. He fed hundreds and hundreds of orphans just by prayer and faith. He didn't ask anyone for anything, ever. Whenever they had a need for all of these hundreds of orphans, George would get them all together and they'd just pray. And as they prayed, they'd give thanks to God before they got anything. He's worthy of thanks before he gives us things.

May we come like Paul does and be praying people to bow our knees unto the Father. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that we have this time. that you have set aside in our lives for us to contemplate the things of eternity, the things of your glory, to contemplate the unsearchable riches of Christ. Oh Heavenly Father, we pray that once again You would cause His blood to be precious to us. You would cause His life of perfect obedience and submission to You to be precious to us, Heavenly Father, that we might gaze upon Your Son.

With thankfulness and for this cause, Heavenly Father, pray and pray and pray to you who are able. We thank you again, Heavenly Father, that not a drop of that blood was ever shed in vain, and your dear and precious Son has in his ascension glory given gifts to men Heavenly Father, may the gift of faith, the gift of repentance, the gift of love for you be ours in abundance.

And help us, Heavenly Father, as we come to You, to just live in light of the fact that You can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we think or we ask. We just praise You that there are unsearchable riches, extraordinary glory in You, and we just glimpse it. Father, let us walk by your grace with simple childlike faith in your dear and precious Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. May we eat and drink in faith and thereby eat and drink worthily, our Father. For we pray in Christ's precious name. Amen.