Blessed with Heavens Best (The fruit of Righteousness) Part 3

Fruit of Righteousness Overview

In this third installment of the Blessed with Heaven’s Best series, the pastor continues an in-depth exploration of what it truly means to be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Drawing from foundational texts including Ephesians 1:3-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:17, and Hebrews 10:1-14, the message dismantles the performance-based mindset that keeps believers stranded in striving and self-condemnation. The pastor opens by revisiting the truth that God is love and that love motivated every act of creation and redemption. He then walks through the contrast between two kinds of righteousness: one earned by human effort, illustrated by Cain’s offering, and one received by faith, illustrated by Abel’s. Central to the message is the declaration that Jesus, by one sacrifice, sat down at the right hand of God, signaling that the work is finished. Believers are not working daily toward acceptance; they are already seated in heavenly places in Christ. The sermon closes with a powerful survey of what righteousness produces: relief from distress, strength, a clear pathway, divine defense, peace, and assured blessing. This message calls every listener to stop striving and start receiving the gift already given.

Fruit of Righteousness Outline

• 00:00 – Series Recap and the Foundation of God’s Love: The pastor reconnects the congregation to the overarching series, reminding listeners that God is love and that love was the motive behind both creation and redemption through Christ.
• 06:30 – Ephesians 1:3-6 and Being Blessed with Every Spiritual Blessing: The congregation reads aloud Ephesians 1:3-6, establishing that believers have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, not as a future hope but as a present reality.
• 13:00 – Two Kinds of Righteousness: Cain versus Abel: Using the offering of Cain and Abel as a vivid illustration, the pastor contrasts self-righteousness rooted in human effort with gift-righteousness received by faith and gratitude.
• 21:00 – Hebrews 10 and the Finished Work of Christ: A careful reading of Hebrews 10:1-4 and 11-14 shows that the law’s repeated sacrifices could never perfect the worshipper, but Jesus by one offering has perfected forever those being sanctified.
• 30:00 – Seated in Heavenly Places: Ephesians 2:1-7: The pastor unpacks Ephesians 2:1-7 to show that believers have been raised up and seated with Christ in heavenly places, a position of rest rather than religious toil.
• 38:30 – The Kingdom of God versus the Kingdom of Heaven: A theological distinction is drawn between these two phrases found throughout the New Testament, helping listeners understand the current administration of grace and what it means to live under it now.
• 44:00 – What the Fruit of Righteousness Produces: Using Psalm 4:1, Psalm 36:6, Psalm 85:13, Isaiah 54:14-17, Proverbs 11:8, and Isaiah 32:16-17, the pastor lists specific blessings that righteousness releases: comfort, strength, guidance, defense, deliverance, and peace.
• 52:00 – Closing Prayer and Declaration of Righteousness: The sermon concludes with a corporate prayer declaring healing, restoration, prosperity, and kingdom authority over the lives of every believer present, anchored in the righteousness of God received by faith.

Scripture References

Ephesians 1:3-6, Genesis 1:26, Psalm 8:6, Psalm 115:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:17, Romans 8:1, Hebrews 10:1-4, Hebrews 10:11-14, Hebrews 4:1, Ephesians 2:1-7, 1 John 4:17-19, Philippians 3:8-9, Romans 1:16-17, Psalm 4:1, Psalm 36:6, Psalm 85:13, Psalm 23:3, Isaiah 54:14-15, Isaiah 54:17, Proverbs 11:8, Isaiah 32:16-17, Mark 16, 2 Peter 1, John 17

Key Takeaways

• God declared believers righteous through the finished work of Jesus Christ, and that righteousness is a gift to be received by faith, not a status to be earned through effort or performance.
• Because Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins and then sat down at the right hand of God, the work is complete, and believers are called to enter a position of rest rather than religious striving.
• Self-condemnation does not reflect God’s verdict over your life; Romans 8:1 declares there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, and God’s view of you is the one that stands.
• The fruit of righteousness includes practical, tangible results in daily life: relief from distress, supernatural strength, a clear life path, divine protection from enemies, deliverance from trouble, and deep lasting peace.
• There are two kinds of righteousness illustrated throughout Scripture: the righteousness of Cain, which says look what I have done for God, and the righteousness of Abel, which says thank you for what God has done for me.
• Believers are already seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, meaning their standing before God is not determined by the imperfection of their growth but by the perfection of Christ’s offering on their behalf.
• Receiving the abundance of God’s grace and the gift of his righteousness causes believers to rule and reign in this life, not by force or striving, but by faith and the authority already granted through Christ.

Fruit of Righteousness Notes

The Exchange That Changes Everything

At the heart of this sermon is 2 Corinthians 5:21, the great exchange where Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin so that believers might become the righteousness of God in him. The pastor emphasizes that this transaction is not aspirational but completed. When a person gives their life to Jesus Christ, they do not begin a journey toward righteousness; they receive righteousness as an immediate gift. This shifts the entire framework of the Christian life from one of performance and earning to one of receiving and abiding. The question is never whether God has made you righteous but whether you have chosen to believe and receive what has already been accomplished.

Cain and Abel as a Living Illustration

Few illustrations in this sermon land as clearly as the contrast between Cain and Abel. Cain brought the fruit of his own labor to God, essentially saying look at what I have produced. Abel brought a lamb and said thank you for what you have done for me. The pastor uses this to show that nothing has changed about the human tendency to approach God on the basis of personal achievement. Religion consistently produces a Cain mentality: pray more, do more, give more, and maybe God will respond. The gospel produces an Abel mentality: God has already acted, and the only appropriate response is gratitude and trust.

Rest Is the Work of the New Covenant

Quoting Hebrews 4, the pastor makes a striking point: the only labor asked of New Covenant believers is to enter into rest. This is not passivity but a deliberate act of faith that says God has this situation under his care. Every priest under the old system stood daily and offered sacrifices repeatedly because the work was never finished. Jesus sat down because the work was finished once and for all. When believers position themselves in that same rest, they are not neglecting their responsibilities; they are operating from the only place of genuine fruitfulness available to them.

What Righteousness Actually Produces

The final portion of the sermon is a scripture-driven survey of the practical fruit that righteousness releases into a believer’s life. From Psalm 4:1, righteousness brings relief from distress. From Psalm 36:6, it brings strength as solid and immovable as great mountains. From Psalm 85:13, it marks a clear pathway forward. From Isaiah 54:14-17, it establishes divine protection so that every weapon formed against the righteous will not prosper. From Proverbs 11:8, the righteous are delivered from trouble. From Isaiah 32:17, the work of righteousness produces quietness and confident assurance. These are not rewards for perfect behavior but the natural outflow of believing who God has declared you to be.

Ruling and Reigning Is Your Inheritance

The sermon consistently returns to the language of dominion. In Genesis 1:26, God gave Adam dominion over all the works of his hands. That dominion was lost through the fall but fully recovered through the New Creation in Christ. Ephesians 2 declares that believers have been raised up and seated together with Christ in heavenly places. Romans 5:17 promises that those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will rule and reign as kings in this life. The pastor’s pastoral point is simple: stop living beneath a position that God has already elevated you into. Dominion is not something to claim in the future; it is an inheritance to walk in today.

The Gospel Is a Now Reality

One of the most repeated pastoral warnings in this message is against the enemy’s tactic of keeping believers anchored either to past failure or to a future hope that never arrives. The pastor draws from Hebrews 11:1 to remind listeners that faith is a now reality. The blessings of the gospel are not stored up for a later date; they have been given. Healing, prosperity, peace, joy, and restoration are available now to every believer who will receive the gift of righteousness and stop waiting for God to do something he has already done. This is the good news of the gospel, and it is the inheritance of every person who has confessed Jesus Christ as Lord.

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