Repentance: The Fruit Bearing Response of the Believer - October 5th, 2025

Just rise with me. And we're gonna read Jonah 3, 5 to 10. And this is the latter part of the uh chapter chapter on repentance. And we're gonna read verses 5 and onward. And the people of Nineveh believed in God, and they called a fast, put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. Then the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, laid aside his mantle from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes. And he cried out and said, In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and of his nobles, do not let man, animal herd, or flock, taste a thing. Do not let them eat, do not let them drink water. But both man and animal must be covered with sackcloth, and let men call on God with their strength, that each may turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands.

Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn away from his burning anger, so that we will not perish. Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. So God relented concerning the evil which he had spoken he would bring upon them, and he did not bring it upon them. Let's pray together. Father, we're gathered this morning because you sent your only begotten son to die in our stead, and truly now Christ is all our righteousness. And so we gather, not because we've merited anything good. We gather because all we offered up is our dependence, and all we offered up is our longing to be saved. And as a faithful God, you've saved us.

And so we pray that you would recalibrate and align our lives a little bit more close to your will for as long as we remain on this side of eternity. Help us to leave here smelling more like Christ and help us to truly be the aroma of Christ, both as a proclamation of warning to the people around us, as well as an invitation to come to know the God of the universe. So would you bear fruit through the preaching of your word? And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Please take your seats. So in January 2015, Becky and I spent a day in San Diego. Um, she was about five months pregnant at the time. And so for part of that afternoon, we were walking on the beach in La Jolla. Hopefully you can visualize this, La Jolla Cove.

And it was a beautiful day, and there was a nice spot along the coastline near the sea lions. And we wanted to take a picture. Um so we stopped a random older couple, and when we asked them to take a picture for us, and the ground was a little near some rocks. And so just before the gentleman took the picture, his wife smiled and said, Watch your step, be careful. And then she looked at Becky and added, especially you.

And at that point it was obvious to all, actually, because you cannot keep a pregnancy hidden forever. So soon enough, the life growing inside of a pregnant woman will manifest itself visibly on the outside as well. Over the years I've learned not to say anything, but I've developed a degree of intuition and guessing that a couple is expecting. I notice like a slight change in the diet. I notice that the wife starts avoiding certain food, stays away from kula, um, and anything that could affect the baby. There are slight changes in the mannerisms as well. The couple, especially the husband, gets shifty-eyed when there's a mention of events taking place a few months down the road. The couple looks at each other a lot more at different times, kind of knowingly, when travel plans or finances are mentioned.

And even the topic of conversation and questions asked by the couple take on a different tone. The couple's questions become very random and hypothetical, almost as if they're like asking for a friend. And sometimes, even the way the questions are asked, it's very slow, carefully spoken, deliberate and awkwardly aloof. And they want to know stuff without giving stuff away. So it's not an exact science, but oftentimes my intuition is right, and I guess correctly, but like I've said, I've learned not to say anything, because it's horrible if you actually get it wrong, right? And he's like, boop, right? So I've learned not to say anything and just wait for the couple to volunteer the information.

The woman, the moment a woman finds out that she's pregnant, everything changes. Though in that particular moment, it may look as if nothing has changed. And the change isn't immediately obvious. And though to the eye, nothing is changed, everything has changed. The new life growing inside of a woman's body changes her plans, it changes her priorities, it changes her disposition, it changes her online browsing, shopping habits, changes what she's concerned about. The baby changes everything. So again, it may not be fully apparent to everyone around her that great and life-altering changes have taken place, but soon enough it'll be obvious to everybody that there's a life growing inside of her.

She won't have to say anything about it. It cannot but become apparent. Everything is changed. And there are many parallels between a new life growing in a woman's body and the moment the Holy Spirit enters into a person to bring about salvation. So it's not immediately apparent, but a fundamental shift takes place in the mindset, in the heart, and in the posture of every new believer. Everything has changed, even if it may not be immediately obvious. But over time, it cannot but be evident and obvious to everyone. Sooner than later, actually, usually it's sooner than later, there is a complete reorientation of a person's life. Why? Because everything is changed. So this complete reorienting of a life is in many ways how the Bible describes the word repentance.

Repentance is not a short-term decision made on a whim. It is a long-term ongoing redirection. Okay. So there's a Greek word that will be important for today's sermon. It is the word meta noeo. Repeat after me. Meta noeo. It's fun to say, right? Meta no e'o, right? So you gotta move your head. So it's a word that is made up of two roots. The root meta and the root no e-o. Okay. And meta is a preposition frequently used in the Greek, meaning either like with, amid, or after. And the word noe'o is a verb meaning to think, to perceive, and to understand. And so when they are combined and used together, this combination of roots literally means to be changed after being with. Or to think differently after.

It means a change of direction. And actually, the Greek word for repent is the word meta noeo. Okay, so to repent literally means to change direction or to have a paradigm shifting encounter. It means to alter or to pivot because of newfound information. Again, it means that everything has now changed.

And it's a change that cannot be hidden for too long. So soon enough, the redirection becomes very obvious to all. Now it's important to understand that the word meta noeo isn't, it's not a heavy word or like a word that means any emotion. It's a very neutral word. It just means a change of mind or a turn in the opposite direction. Now, Jonah's prophecy obviously was not written in the Greek, but in the Hebrew, but I figured it'd be easier for you to look at the Greek, because it is a language that's more familiar to all of us. The Hebrew words that some of them we actually read in the uh in Jonah chapter 3, relent, turn away, repent, generally all mean the same things to change direction. So to reorient.

And repentance is what we're going to be looking at today through the latter half of Jonah chapter 3. So I want to read the verses again for you. And the people of Nineveh believed in God and they called the fast, they put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. And then the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, laid aside his mantle from himself, covered himself with sackcloth, sat down on the ashes, and he cried out and said, In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles, do not let man, animal, herd, or flock taste a thing, do not let them eat, do not let them drink water. But both man and animal must be covered with sackcloth, and let men call on God with their strength, that each may turn from his evil way from the violence which is in his hands.

Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn away his burning anger, so that we will not perish. Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, so God relented, turn, concerning the evil which he had spoken he would bring upon them, and he did not bring it upon them. So this morning, we're gonna be looking at what repentance is and what it is not. Because in churches, there is a lot of false repentance or self-deception that is mistaken for repentance. So we're gonna look at what it is and what it is not. And the outline for the sermon today is as follows. First, we're gonna be looking at the fruit of repentance, the fruit of repentance. The Ninevehes were immediately reoriented and it showed.

Okay, we're gonna look at that. Faith is an internal posture that is outwardly expressed. Okay, an internal posture externally expressed. So for repentance to be repentance, a change first takes place on the inside. Repentance is an inside out change. And thirdly, we're gonna be looking at God's response to the repentance of the Ninevehites and the favor that he bestows upon that generation of Ninevites. And the word favor is going to feel like an understatement. But literally, the Greek word for grace, it actually means favor, right? It's gonna feel like, dude, you didn't capture the word right, because God didn't just not overthrow and not destroy the Ninevehes, he made them co-heirs with Christ, heirs of all things, to judge even angels, to judge the Pharisees.

So the fruit of repentance, the faith behind repent repentance, and then the favor from repentance, and you can also think of it uh easy way to remember is outside, inside, upside, okay? Outside, inside, upside. Upside usually means like potential or uh or big return, right? And that's how the thought flow of the text is organized. So first, there was visible fruit in the repentance of the Ninevehes. Verses 4 to 6. Then Jonah began to go into the city, one day's walk. He called out and said, Yet 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown. So I didn't read that before, right? There's a proclamation, and the people of Nineveh believed in God, and they called the fast, put on sackcloth. Alright. Now, the narrative tells us that the Ninevehes believed in God.

They responded to the warning. God struck their hearts with like a great fear. And that overwhelming fear and belief that God would deliver on his threats, it caused them to move to action. So the Ninevites were displaying on the outside the immediate changes that had taken place on the inside. They couldn't help it. So internal belief inevitably and often immediately results in external change. So what did they do? They called a fast.

Everybody fast, right? And the text tells us that it even applied that fast to their animals. They were that scared. So no person or animal was allowed to taste, eat, or drink anything. Because they were very serious about showing God that they were very serious. Alright. The Ninevites put on sackcloth. And that was kind of the raising of a white flag, I think militarily. Okay. They were saying, we surrender. And it was also a symbol of regret and mourning. So these guys were so scared that they put sack cloth on every animal and all their livestock as well. They put sackcloth on their chickens. They put sackcloth on their dogs. They put sackcloth on their cats. In addition to their horses, sheep, camel, donkeys, cows.

That's why in the text, if you read it, especially verse 7 and 8, it distinguishes between animal, herd, flock, livestock, it distinguishes it. They're serious. It's really funny to think about, right? Imagine if in a children's Bible you see a little chicken walking around like and it has like a little outfit on. So verses 8 to 10, it tells us that the change wasn't just in their change of clothing or in their diet. It actually says they turned from their evil way. And that turning from their evil way is mentioned twice in these verses. You guys see it? So their repentance was genuine. They repented of their evil way.

And a decision not to eat, right? Their repentance, their change of direction was made law visible to one another to all people and to God. They bore fruit in keeping with their repentance. The inside change will inevitably bring forth changes to the outside. So here's an important thought. Belief in God will always look like belief in God. Amen. Belief in God will look like belief in God. Okay? Now, human beings are easily manipulated. And there's always we're social creatures, so there's social pressure to conform to what is expected. So it is possible for external change to take place in a person without any internal change. You guys understand that, right? That's called hypocrisy. Jesus called that kind of a change, the one that's only on the surface, a whitewashing of tombs, cleaning only the outside of the cup.

So as it says in Joel chapter 3, hypocrisy is only the changing of the garment and not a ripping of the heart. Okay, and that's why Joel 3, there's a warning, right? Rend your hearts, not your garments. So here's an important question. How do we know from this text that the repentance of the Nineveh was genuine? Because it is possible for me to change certain things on the outside and to put on an external show. The Bible calls it worldly sorrow, and the Bible also describes repentance as godly sorrow. In the beginning, they look the same for a time. Strong emotional expressions and external behavior modification can be super sincere and still not be repentance. You guys, did you guys follow this?

In the lives of sinful people, there can be visible demonstrations of regret, shame, remorse, with loud wailing, and that still may not be considered as repentance. So if you had an emotional experience or a spiritual encounter, here's an important question. How do you discern whether that was just your hormones? Delusion, demonic activity, or actually the Holy Spirit. Do you understand why it's an important question? If you have some kind of a spiritual encounter, is it your hormones, delusion, demonic activity, or holy spirit? That's a very important thing to discern. Would you agree with that? Okay? So it's very important to discern whether the external change we see in somebody or in ourselves is truly repentance or just modified behavior following someone's expectation or my ideal.

Okay. The scriptures give us a bunch of examples of external remorse that were not repentance and therefore rejected by God. And I'm going to go through a couple of them with you. For example, dismay toward consequence by itself is not repentance. Okay? Just think of a person in a courtroom, they get their, they get their verdict and they're like weeping, right? You know that that's not repentance. Feeling unhappy about a punishment is not repentance. Cain, what does he do? He was the first murderer recorded in the scriptures. He basically told God, that's not fair. Why are you doing this to me, God? So in Genesis chapter 4, 13 to 14, what is Cain say? My punishment is too great to bear. Behold, you have driven me this day from the face of the ground, and from your face, I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant, and I'll be a wanderer on the earth, and it will be that whoever finds me will kill me.

And then when God says, no one's gonna kill you, then Cain goes along his happy way. Okay? Cain committed history's first murder, he murdered his brother out of jealousy. He lamented the fact that God was punishing him too excessively. Dismay toward a consequence is not necessarily repentance. You guys follow? Neither are tears. Tears of regret is not repentance. Hebrews 12, 16 to 17, I'm not gonna read this for you, but just follow with your eyes, it tells us of Esau's tears. He had regret, he had bitter tears, but the text says he remained sexually immoral and godless. Do you guys see that with your eyes? He was an impulsive man. He was an unrepentant man, he could not repent. And therefore Esau was rejected.

So the text explicitly says that this regret, do you guys see the word regret? Literally was not repentance. So as with Cain, dismay toward consequences, not repentance. As with Esau, a stream of tears in great regret. I'm so sorry. That is not repentance. In addition to these, great shame, shock, absolute disgust over one's own actions. I hate myself. That is not necessarily repentance. Acknowledgement of sin. Remorse. And even making something right will still condemn a person who remains in his sin. And you see this in the confession and the actions of one Judas Iscariot. Then when Judas, Matthew 27, three to four, who had betrayed him, saw that he had been condemned.

What did he feel? Remorse. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. That's called restitution. You can make good and still be condemned. And he confessed, saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? See to that yourself. So Judas felt remorse. He acknowledged his sin. He even made restitution by paying back the thirty pieces of silver. And I am absolutely positive that he was sincere. This confession, I have sinned. I don't think it was just lip service. Had Judas Iscariot truly repented, I believe with all my heart that God would have forgiven him. Because there are people who've done worse.

Humanly.

Judas did not repent. What did he do? He went out, hung himself, and as a fulfillment of Psalm 69, 25, he was eternally condemned. Do I have your attention? Dismay of consequence, dismay toward consequence, world uh tears of regret, acknowledgement of sin, remorse, shame. You can have all of those things and still not be repentant. So though a repentant person may exhibit all of those things, those things in and of themselves, without any change in heart posture, is what the apostle Paul calls worldly sorrow. You guys follow? 2 Corinthians 7 10 reads, Godly sorrow produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world brings about death. Worldly sorrow, worldly regret, worldly remorse still brings about death, both a death physical and eternal.

So here's a warning. Do not be too quickly deceived by tears. Either by the tears of someone else or even your own. And a lot of times we want to believe someone's repentance. God wants the heart. And repentance begins in the heart. So the fruit of a sinner's repentance on the inside will always accompany external change. The word is what? Meta noeo. And that change, whose source is God, that change always starts with faith coupled with repentant response. Okay. Repentance is always proven with time. So real repentance does not begin with regret.

Real repentance begins with faith. Amen. It begins with the belief that God is holy. But that this holy God is mighty to save, that his loving kindness is from everlasting, that as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love toward those who fear him. So repentance begins with a faith that knows who God is and understands that though he is holy, holy, holy, he is mighty to save, and he desires to save. And that's what it says in Hebrews 11, 6. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. For he who draws near to God must believe that he is. That's so awkward. Some translators add the words in italics that he exists or something. But the literal Greek just says, believe that he is.

Okay. So the gospel always begins there. That a holy God is.

That he alone is judge, because he alone is creator. He alone is sovereign. So faith is an understanding that Yahweh alone is God. And that's his name, I am, right? The second element is that this God who is a generous rewarder of those who seek him. And you can't seek him if you're not repentant. So those who understand and have faith know that there is no reward without repentance. Because there is no seeking without a turning away from sin. So without this faith, it's impossible to please God. Does that make it is that clear, right? That's going to bring us to our second point. The faith that behind that is behind repentance.

Meta no eo. The conversion, that change, the conversion of a soul whose source is God always begins with the faith that is coupled with repentance. Always. Always. And we see this in the Ninevites. And I'm going to highlight some of the wording in the passage here, alright. Yet 40 days, Nineveh will be overthrown. Pause. Romans 10, 17 says that faith comes from hearing, the word of God. That's the starting point. Repentance is impossible without first God's breathed out word. Make sense? Okay, verse 5. And then the people of Nineveh believed in God. Hearing produces belief or hatred, right? Hearing produces belief. And they called a fast and put on sackcloth. What do we see there? Belief was evidenced and proven through their repentance and seen in their action.

They were not commanded to put on sackcloth, as far as we know. They were not commanded to pray. That was just an automatic, terrified response. It moved them. Okay? Verse 9. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn away from his burning anger, so that we will not perish. So there is a terror with a sustaining belief that perhaps this God is telling us this warning because he's being kind and giving us a chance. Let us put our trust in the loving kindness of this God. Perhaps, who knows, we may be rewarded. He is a rewarder of those who seek him. Hebrews 11 6. And verse 10, it says, What? And then they turned from their evil way. Salvation, faith, repentance. All of that begins and ends with God.

And here's a very terrifying thought. God is not a God who looks at the outward appearance. Amen. He looks at the heart. You could put your praise face on, but he's not looking at your hands or your closed eyes. He's looking at your heart. Man looks at the outside because that's all we can see. I don't know what's in your heart. Exactly. God looks at the heart. Now, the Ninevites, obviously, they did not have enough time to prove that they turned away from their evil ways. How could they prove that they will never again flay people alive? How can someone prove, okay, from now on I will never be violent? I will no longer rape and pillage. Time will tell, but in an in that initial moment, repentance cannot be proven in the eyes of man.

But repentance is always made visible to God because God is looking at the heart. And in Jonah chapter 3, verse 10, what did he see? They turned from their evil way.

Make sense?

He's looking at the ultrasound of their faith. Because he can see the workings of the heart.

Yahweh said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. God sees not as man sees, man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart. We learned last week that repentance is never manufactured from the sinner. No sinner can turn to God on his own. So if you are like, dude, I'm a sinner, praise God. He's working. In his pride, in his ignorance, in his corruption, no human being will ever seek God. That's what it says Romans 3.11. Nobody seeks God. There's none who seeks God. None. And it's always a kindness of God that initiates repentance. And so if you look through Jonah, in his kindness, God delivered a warning-laden gospel to the wicked Ninevites through his prophet Jonah.

And then everyone, it says, all inclusive, from the greatest of them to the least of them to the from the king to the peasant, they responded in repentance. Now that's crazy. Almost unbelievable, right? The external displays of repentance are just fruits of the heart. And the beginning point of every repentance is always the word of God. And that is why we preach. Amen.

Because how are you going to save someone else's soul by manipulating them? By guilt tripping them? Because remember, you can guilt trip them into having worldly sorrow. By conforming. Oh, come to church. Only like if you come to church, you'll be blessed. That is not the gospel. Come to Christ and love his church for whom he died. That's the gospel. Or part of it, right?

The good news has always been proclaimed from the mouth of man to the ear of man. The gospel has always been verbalized. So faith first comes from hearing. And that response is the movement of the heart in repentance. Now, faith and repentance are all that's required for salvation and reconciliation with God. Praise God. Amen. What are the two things that are required for salvation? Faith. Repentance. You literally can come just as you are. But if you come just as you are, genuinely, he's not going to leave you alone. He will change you up. Okay? We are not saved by works. Salvation is not a result of works. You could put on sackcloth. You can starve your dog. Not gonna work. Now salvation is evidenced by works.

That's not legalism. Pastor Vodibacum, who just passed away, he says this. The gospel does not require obedience. Because if that did, none of us would obey. The gospel produces obedience. So have you been saved? Have you been converted? You know what's super obvious, but that has been lost in our day, is that the salvation of a saint cannot be hidden. Can a pregnant woman try to hide her baby? Not forever. Salvation cannot but be proven. Every tree will be known by the fruit it bears. Faith is not produced by works, faith is proven by works. Amen. And that was the message that was proclaimed by the prophets before the arrival of Jesus, a fruit bearing repentance. So everybody's been preaching repentance.

That did not stop with the presence of the Holy Spirit. So Matthew 3, 8 to 9, John the Baptist says, bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Because you could deceive yourself into thinking that you were repentant, where maybe you were only afraid of hell. Maybe you weren't repentant, even though you lamented the fact that you committed that sin. So bear fruit in keeping with repentance. The apostle Peter's first recorded sermon was pretty successful. It says that the people were cut to the heart. The same Jews who yelled, crucify him, crucify him to Jesus about Jesus, they turned and they repented. They were cut to the heart. 3,000 men. That's a big revival, right? And this is what he says.

See the natural response. What do we do? I repent. Now what? Sackloth? Right? What do I do? What do I need to sell? What do I need to stop? What do I need to do? Repent. Each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now the order, this verse isn't talking about order, okay? That you repent first and then the Holy Spirit comes, because theologically that's an impossibility. The Holy Spirit has to come first. But we just can't tell who's coming first, right? The first thing the gospel both requires and produces is repentance, always. The Holy Spirit of God begins the work, and then the Holy Spirit is evidenced in a person's life through his ongoing repentance.

So we cannot preach a gospel without first proclaiming the necessity of a metanoa no eo of the heart. Amen. The apostle Paul, testifying to King Agrippa, he summarized the entire gospel ministry that he had been engaging in in the following way. King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but I kept declaring, both to those of Damascus first, also at Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea. So the Jews first, and then even to the Gentiles, what did he present for the whole of his ministry? Repent, turn to God, practicing deeds appropriate to repentance. So Paul is saying, prove it. Not earn it, prove it. So the repentance on the inside will always be proven by the repentance that we are seeing on the outside.

Make sense? We can judge. But we have to be very careful. And there's a great upside to this. There's much favor that results from repentance. And that's gonna bring us to our third point: the favor that comes from repentance. And that's an exponentially great and a mysterious upside. Let's look at verse 10. Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. So God relented concerning the evil which he had spoken he would bring upon them, and he did not bring it upon them. Those are some powerful words. God saw, God relented. And that's where the narrative of Jonah chapter 3 ends. And it looks like just from the surface that the story of God's dealings with Nineveh ends with his mercy in Jonah's prophecy.

God relented. Great. That's good news. That's huge. But though God's dealings with the Ninevites in Jonah's prophecy ends there, the story ultimately does not end there. We see that it extends beyond that and actually ends with absolutely unmerited favor with grace. So here's an important question that I have to pause and ask. Where would you rank a Charles Spurgeon or a John Wesley or an apostle Paul? Ranking system, where would you rank him in heaven compared to the Ninevites? Oh, dude, Paul. Spurgeon, Wesley, he's a little Wesleyan theology, it's a little weird, so I'll rank them there. Ninevehes, they're naked in heaven because they got they got in nothing, right? Here's another question.

Where would you rank yourself in the kingdom of heaven compared to the Ninevites? Would you have more rewards than they do? I'm gonna help you out, all right? So you can discern and determine your ranking. Raise your hand if you've ever skinned or flayed anyone. Actually, do not raise your hand, because I don't want to know. Raise your hand. No, no, no, don't read your hand. If you've skinned or flayed a human being, have you ever done that? No? Good job. You got one point against the Ninevehes. Have you ever decapitated a toddler? How about cruelly cutting off all ten fingers and all ten toes of a general or a king? Have you ever raped, pillaged, or murdered? Well, the Ninevehites have done all these things.

So would you rank ahead of them in heaven? No. Because the mercy, the kindness, and the grace of God levels the playing field, he flattens it. There is no curve. No one has ever merited the kingdom of heaven by his works except for one man, the second Adam. Christ Jesus Himself. No one has merited salvation through his works. So the generation of Ninevehes who repented here in Jonah 3, they have become co-heirs with Christ. You guys follow? God has qualified them, just as he qualified us for citizenship in the kingdom of heaven by his grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And this is a great upside. Okay? The ROI, if you don't know what that is, that's a return on your investment.

The return on investment in repentance is astronomically exponential. Because Colossians 112 to 14 says he qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Who rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. If you feel uncomfortable because you're not worthy of this, join the club. Amen. The Ninevites share in the inheritance of the saints in light. They were rescued from the authority of darkness, transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God. They've become co-heirs with Christ. And do you know what happens when you become a co-heir with Christ? This is all spiritual talk.

So sometimes we don't think about the meaning of it. But here. Hebrews 1 2 says that Christ is the heir of all things. You guys see that? Everything. Okay. You know what it says in Romans 8 17? It says that the believing saints are glorified with Christ. We are co-heirs with Christ, who is the heir of all things. Ephesians 1 3 tells us that believers have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Here's some important words. Repeat after me. All right. Everything. Everything that belongs to Christ except the worthiness of worship is yours.

I'm uncomfortable because that sounds so silly. Welcome to the gospel. Like the New Testament saint, the once exceptionally wicked generation of Ninevites have become co-heirs with Christ. And when you become a co-heir with Christ, as a saint, you will rule.

Now you're uncomfortable because you're like, that sounds so weird. The saints will rule. There are multiple passages that are in the New Testament that talk about the saints' rule. Okay? Daniel 7, 18 is at the bottom. 2 Timothy 2 12, Revelation 24 to 6. But I want to read for you Revelation 5, 9 to 10. You got to pay attention here, all right? They sang a new song saying, Worthy are you, Christ to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain and purchased God for God with your blood, people from Nineveh, Nigeria, Korea, United States, every tribe, tongue, people, nation, historical context, Old Testament, New Testament, future, there's no testament. Future.

And verse 10, you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and what will they do? Reign upon the earth. Let that sink in a little bit. If you see in your mind the worthiness of Jesus, King of kings, Lord of Lords, to reign on the earth, the redeemed saint will reign alongside of Christ. The redeemed saints will also judge the world. Every unbeliever.

Think of your identity. Okay? Think of what's going to happen. Verse 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the matters of this trivial life? I'm very uncomfortable preaching this. But I'm not preaching this from my own experience or my own authority. This is what the word of God says. What a disservice that is done to the amazing grace and the favor of God when the gospel message is limited to a saint, getting a wonderful spouse, a better job, a bigger house, a longer life, free from disease. Traversing this life with a horrible spouse with a difficult job, with no home, and a body that's constantly riddled with disease, are all momentary light affliction, 2 Corinthians 4, to all that is in store for us in Christ.

Does it sound to be too good to be true? Yes. It does sound too good, but how amazing is it that these are New Testament truths in John 17, 17 says, we are sanctified by the truth. What is truth? Thy word is truth. So may we never turn the extraordinariness of the gospel and turn it into something so ordinary where it's just wishful thinking for blessings for this life. The saints will inherit the earth. You see that in the Beatitudes, right? Blessed are the meek. Why? They will inherit the you see these promises. You just don't connect the dots. The saints will inherit, the saints will reign, the saints will judge eternally. And the inheritance that we get is not just those things, it's God Himself.

We get to see God Himself. We get a snapshot, okay, of the Ninevites' inheritance and their sovereign and judicial role from the mouth of Jesus.

The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and they will condemn it. Because they meto at the preaching of Jonah. And behold something greater than Jonah is here. And all of this in Jonah's prophecy is summarized simply with one of the greatest understatements we could ever read in the entire Bible. It's still true, but it's an understatement. The reward of the Ninephite's faith and repentance is summarized as this. God relented concerning the evil which he had spoken he would bring upon them, and he did not bring it upon them. Is that an understatement? I'm glad Jesus kind of adjusted the understanding. The Ninevites did not deserve any of this kindness. That's why grace is called unmerited favor.

They have no boast. For by grace they have been saved, and this not of themselves. It is the gift of God, so that no Ninevehite may boast. And here's their testimony described to us by the Apostle Paul.

And here's a most important but in all of the scriptures. But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us up with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Why? So that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. So here's an important eternally important question. Have you responded to God's truth with the meta, repentance in the whole of your very being? Or have you conformed to the church's expectations of what a Christian does? And are you bearing fruit in keeping with repentance?

If you have, then verse 7 means this for you, and I'm going to close with this. The best is yet to come. Amen. God hasn't only relented, he has seated you with Christ in the heavenly places. The best is yet to come. What a wonderful, glorious and absurdly generous God we serve. He who did not spare his own son. How and he not, along with him, generously give us all things. The best is yet to come.

No ear has heard. No mind has ever conceived of the glorious things that he has prepared for those who love him. The best is yet to come. All of that starts with where? Metnoe. May you realize that everything has changed. Everything has changed. And we're just waiting. And time will reveal it all. The best is yet to come. Let's pray together. Father, would you regularly amaze us and astound us with the proclamations of your truth? Help us not to be worldly, where even blessings of God are limited to this world. I pray that you would open our eyes to see the wonderful, wonderful truths that are contained in your law. Help us to see you, see your heart, and to long for your return when you usher in all of these wonderful blessings for all of the people who are longing for the second coming of Christ.

Preserve us.