Frank Fournier

Eden Valley SDA Church

The Patience of the Saints

We have another opportunity to look into God's Word.

And what a blessing we can have if the preacher knows what he's saying.

I'd like to invite you to turn with me to Revelation chapter 14.

We've been studying the last 8, 9 months this concept of righteousness by faith.

And it seems to me that the longer I study righteousness by faith, the less confident I am that I can do the topic justice.

The topic is so broad and so deep and so comprehensive that I've come to see that it is the foundation upon which everything is built.

And there's no way of surrounding this thing.

And I would like to surround this thing somehow.

I would like to be able to say I understand it.

I've also come to realize that understanding it is not an intellectual exercise, that it's an experience.

There's a God in heaven who looks down and he sees his people.

And instead of focusing on our faults, he focuses in on our need.

Jesus is willing to take our ruined lives and to give us His perfect life.

He's made the transaction already and it's for us to, by faith, receive all that he has done on our behalf.

He takes upon himself our sins, pays a whole penalty for it, and he gives us His perfect righteousness.

If we believe what Jesus says that He's done for us, then we may be pardoned.

We have the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Jesus has gone to the cross already for you and for me.

Somebody in Sabbath school this morning, of course, Tom in Sabbath school this morning talked about the lady caught in adultery And it you know it just occurred to me That Jesus says he that has no sin let him cast the first stone Well, he could have cast the stone.

As a matter of fact, he said, neither do I condemn thee.

He dumped on her lap the gift of salvation, and she had it if she wanted it.

Do you know that He does the same thing for all of us?

I don't know who you are, all of you, and in any case, I don't know what you've done.

Jesus comes to us and he says, I've gone to the cross for you, and my righteousness is yours.

And when God looks down from heaven, what does he see?

And we have the privilege this day of believing that we have the righteousness of Jesus Christ accounted to us, and we have the righteousness of Jesus Christ imparted to us, and we may as well act accordingly because it's true.

Now, in order to help us to believe that, and in order to help us to experience that, God of course has given us the Word of God so that we can read it, and we can believe it, and we can have the experience.

And in the Word of God, there's the 3 angels' messages, which I believe are special messages that if we would study them and if we would receive them and if we would appropriate them to ourselves, then of course We know as we study Revelation chapter 14 where the 3 angels' messages are that we can be perfected.

They seal God's people with a seal of the living God in their foreheads.

In other words, the character of God comes into them.

And after that, the 144, 000 go on to enlighten the whole world with God's character so that His name is vindicated and his government also is vindicated.

Well, after that, and this is what I've had you turn to, did I have you turn to Revelation 14?

Then, I believe in verse 12, there we see God pointing to his people after they have received his character, after they have believed what he has offering them, after they receive his faultlessness, how should I say it, says they're faultless before the throne of God, they receive all of that.

And then he is able, because it's been 6000 years, that he's been working on his people, trying to prepare them to be just like Jesus.

Finally, he finds the people that are just like Jesus.

Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

And I want you to notice in the verse, there are 3 qualities that he points out.

The correct translation would be patient endurance.

So, here are they that have patient endurance.

Apparently, there are some things before it's all over that we will have to endure.

Well, you don't have to look at the time of trouble.

There are probably a few things you have to endure today, right?

As a matter of fact, in Matthew 24, and it's around verse 11, 10, 11, 12, it says, he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.

So apparently there are things to endure.

And the other 2 qualities that are pointed out is that They keep the commandments of God and they have faith.

They have the very faith of Jesus Christ.

Now, I've always wondered, often wondered, why it is that God couples – well, there's 3 entities or 3 qualities there – that God puts in the same verse this thing called patience with the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ.

I would look at the commandments of God as way up there and the faith of Jesus Christ as way up there, and we can understand how wonderful that is.

And then he puts a little quality called patience in with that.

And so, if you notice the title for the message this morning, it says, The Patience of the Saints.

And so, I want to talk about that this morning.

I suppose we could have a Sabbath-like discussion over this issue.

Why does Jesus put patience in with commandment keeping and the faith of Jesus?

I think it would be really interesting if we could just, you know, sometimes I think I'm not going to preach.

I'm just going to ask a question and have you answer it.

Path to the Heart

Glenn Coon

ABC Prayer Crusade

10-Jesus the Magnet

At this hour, friends, as we study the 2 philosophies of winning men and women of Jesus Christ, I'd like you to notice that the Bible speaks of the magnetic power of soul winning.

You know, the medical doctors have told us that the better part of medicine is diagnosis.

If we can learn the ailment, then we know the kind of a medicine to apply.

James chapter 1, Verse 14 says, every man is tempted when he is drawn.

A man begins to smoke because he's drawn into it.

The young lad tells me, he said, you know the reason I began to smoke?

The other boys were smoking and they said, come on, have a cigarette.

And I didn't want to say no, I wanted to be accepted.

I didn't want to be turned off so I started smoking.

It wasn't that I liked the taste of tobacco.

A man told me, he said, you know why I started drinking?

It wasn't that I liked the taste of liquor in any of its form.

The fellas come on, let's have a drink, they said.

Just today, someone was telling me why men actually peddle dope.

He said it's 1 of the most closely knitted fellowships in the world.

The drug users, they long for fellowship.

They want somebody to sympathize with them, to see as they see, to accept them.

It is because under the power of temptation, the evil 1 says, you'll be happier in the companionship of this other person than with your own mate.

Perhaps their mate has been a repelling magnet Perhaps the mate has nagged a little belittled a little you see a nagging mate a belittling mate a shaming mate is Repelling magnet The Bible says people are drawn into their various vices with this magnetic power of the evil 1.

They're drawn because they want fellowship.

Now friends, since this is why people do these things, not because they want to be cussed, but because they want to find some answers and the longing of the human heart is for fellowship.

How shall we Christians meet these situations?

In John the sixth chapter and the 44th verse, we read Christ, the great physician's answer.

He says, no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him.

He's the greatest magnet in the universe.

The devil with all of his power has less power than Christ.

So when we connect up with this tremendous magnetic love of Jesus Christ, we draw a person.

Christ in us draws a person right away from that little magnetic power.

The magnetic field of evil is not as strong as the magnetic field of Jesus Christ.

So when we give ourselves to the power of the love of Jesus Christ, then this is fulfilled.

It says, I have drawn you with the cards of love.

And in Jeremiah 31, 3 says, I've loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you.

What is this tremendous divine magnetic field?

It's loving kindness, reaching out with big arms of love to the poor sinner that has been captured by the other magnet and encompassing him Leads him to the Lord Jesus Christ Aren't you glad my friend for such a wonderful Savior's death Let me give you an illustration of how people can be a drawing magnet to their mates and their children and others.

You see, there are many individuals who don't realize that if we would first, in our marriages for instance, if we would first ask the Lord to give us such a likeness to Jesus that we would be winsome, wholesome, courteous, kind-hearted Christians, then our mates, or those with whom we come in contact would prize our fellowship.

But you take a wife who's losing her husband, for instance.

If she's nagging, if she's weeping, If she's saying you don't spend enough time at home, the result is that this is not a drawing magnet at all.

But if she really wants to capture him, let her look up in the face of the great magnet, God, who is love, and say, Lord, saturate me with the winsomeness of Jesus, the wholesomeness of my Savior, the beauty of the Lord.

Help me to dramatize the love, the kindness, the downright humble kindness of Jesus so that my mate will realize that he's losing something if he loses me.

And I've often said to a lady auto man, I've said, look, you're losing your mate.

And say, Lord, now for 6 weeks, let's say, 2 months, whatever period of time, not too long a period, Lord, help me to go all out in humble kindness so that my mate will capture a picture of me as an individual that he will not want to lose.

Then, then there's another phase to love.

In Hebrews, the 12th chapter and the 6th verse, the Lord says, whom the Lord loves he chasteneth.

There are thousands of Christians who have never equated discipline with love.

We're holding a series of meetings some time ago in a little church and I was talking about the love of the Lord and many of the leaders, it was the only church I've ever preached in, where people were turning me off.

The more I talked about love, the more they're turning me off.

And I thought, why in the world are they turning me off?

Finally they invited me over their home and they said, we can't understand this love business.

He doesn't say, I hate you because I'm whipping you.

He permits them to reap that which they've sown.

When a man sows, When he sows a whole field of briars, the Lord permits him to reap briars.

A whole field of thistles, The Lord permits him to reap thistles.

God doesn't go ahead of him and pull up the briars and pull up the thistles because a man needs to know that whatever he sows, he's gonna reap as part of his own harvest.

So I said, brethren, I said, The Lord whips people.

He is permitting men actually to whip themselves.

9-Jesus Loves

The Bible says we love him because he first loved us.

For many years I didn't understand exactly, perhaps in a special psychological way at least, the love of Jesus as being humble of.

And then I read in Philippians 2, chapter 5, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who was in the form of God.

It wasn't robbery that he should be equal with God, but he made himself of no reputation.

Some time ago a man and his wife came to me and told me about a friend of theirs and I said you you should love him.

I said how about going up to him and placing your arms around him?

They thought they had love but they didn't have humble love.

They didn't have the love that Jesus had that made himself of no reputation.

So love, to be real love, is humble love.

Love does not tower over another in the holier-than-thou attitude.

Love does what the Bible says for love to do.

Philippians 2, 3, esteeming other better than ourselves.

In Jeremiah 31, verse 3, it says, I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you loving kindness.

You might be interested to notice what Webster's dictionary has to say about the word kind.

I was literally astonished when I first read the definition of the word kind.

It said it's like a horse that is submissive, teachable in a harness, or with 1 on the saddle.

So kindness is almost a shade of humble love.

It's a love that is so sweet, so understanding.

And she went on to tell me how she couldn't get along with her teenage boy.

And of course she pointed out his mistakes.

Holier-than-thou always point out the mistakes of others.

I wouldn't say they are a unique family, for they have many relatives.

Holier-than-thou knew the mistakes that other people make.

She knew the mistakes that her teenager made.

I said, what would you think, since you've come for counsel, what would you think of letting the mind of Jesus dwell in you?

That text, if you'd go back to the original, it means he reduced himself.

He didn't worry about anybody reducing him.

He didn't worry about anybody belittling him.

And I said, what would you think of going back to your teenager and saying something like this?

Will you forgive me for not being kind and sweet to you?

And you know, the lady almost went into shock.

She was like some others who said, if I should apologize to my teenager, my teenager would lose respect for me.

The teenager already knows the mistakes that you make.

He would be awfully happy to know that you know it.

Humble love is kind, but humble love is also courteous.

The word courteous is only found once in all of the New Testament.

Oh my friends, how courteous Christ was to the out and out sinner.

Don't you thank the Lord for such courtesy as he bestowed on the seeking soul.

You know, you and I can do the same everywhere we go.

I've walked into Baptist churches, for instance, and you know what I usually find in a Baptist church?

I find the same thing that I found in the church where I'm speaking today.

I found people came and they were extremely courteous.

As I walked into your sanctuary today, there were 2 or 3 people there And I have never met more courteous people than I met in this sanctuary.

And sometimes I say to people of my own church, I said, you know, you folks are just as happy and courteous as Baptists.

They walk up to you, they shake your hand.

And then with his left hand, he reached out and touched my elbow and gave it a pat.

I said, I must be in the seventh heaven of the Baptist church.

And we mustn't wait for somebody to be courteous to us.

When I was assistant to a pastor in Washington, D.C.

Many years ago, we went for a visit, to visit 1 of the members of his church family.

As he rang the doorbell and she came to the door, she said, Pastor, I'm mad at you.

And you could see a twinkle in her eyes, she wasn't really mad, but she wanted him to know that there were certain things that he needed to correct.

8-Jesus Quickens Faith

Friends, I'd like you to share with me the philosophy of soul winning under this study on faith.

There are 3 texts of Scripture I'd like to have you notice with me.

It says, This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

So there is the faith philosophy in winning souls to Christ.

The second text of Scripture is found in Romans 14 23, the last part of the verse.

It says, whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

And then the third text, and I've studied these texts through the years many, many times, the third text is Numbers 14 28.

As you have spoken in mine ears, so will I do.

Now putting the 3 texts of scripture together, we have this, as we speak faith in people, they long to live up to our confidence.

As we speak faith in God, He comes to our rescue.

On the contrary, if we think that we can help people to do right by shaming them and talking doubt, it's sin.

We're sinning against our own souls, we're sinning against them, we're sinning against the Lord.

We're to speak faith in the most hopeless, the most helpless individuals.

As we do it, it draws out, it brings out the best impulses and purposes of the soul.

If we speak doubt, this energizes the negatives of the human heart and soul.

So we're to use by the Holy Spirit to talk faith in men and women so they can realize the infinite possibilities that our Creator has invested us with, then these possibilities become obvious to some extent at least to the heart that we're praying for and working with.

The 1 is the way to inspire an individual to do right is to talk faith.

The other is the way to inspire an individual to do right is for me to talk about my doubts concerning his future.

Maybe he'll be in the chain gang unless he straightens up.

Maybe he'll be in jail unless he changes his ways.

He surely is on the road to hell the way he's walking now.

2 Corinthians 3.18 says, By beholding, we're changed in the same image.

If we can get an individual to behold in the Lord the infinite possibilities that our Creator and Redeemer has invested us with, and that he will give us the power to use these tremendous energies he's implanted in the soul, Then the soul reaches up and takes hold of infinite power.

Said, Lord, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

There was a little boy who started in school.

Maybe he was now in the second or third grade.

He was doing fairly well in his studies until he looked across the schoolroom and he saw a red-headed girl, her name was May.

Her hair was so beautiful, her countenance was so serene, her smile was so captivating.

Yes, he studied them in a superficial way, but his mind was on me.

And his studies Didn't turn out too well.

Back to Menu

All Teachings

The Patience of the Saints

43m

10-Jesus the Magnet

25m

9-Jesus Loves

27m

8-Jesus Quickens Faith

26m

7-Jesus Inspires Hope

27m

6-Witnessing for Jesus

27m

5-Jesus, Not Condemnation

26m

4-Jesus, The Argument

33m

3-Jesus Prepares You

27m

2-Enamored With Jesus

27m

1-Jesus Only

26m

10 - Jesus In Your Shoes

41m

Sound Doctrine