COG Sermons
Ron Dart 1988 Sermons
| 8815 A Closet Never Cleaned Out Are you troubled by negative thoughts? Everything you perceive stays in your heart forever. Dart discusses the conscious and subconscious mind and it’s incredible capabilities, dreams, visualization, the purpose of animal sacrifices. We can’t purge anything from our mind. This is what we are. We can fool ourselves to justify bad behavior, even to the point we think its true. This is what the Bible means when it talks about the heart. Persistent prayer can rearrange the closet, change the heart. How to get a pure heart in spite of all the garbage we have put into our mind. |
| 8837 Identity or Idolatry A very powerful sermon against those who accept the evils in society. Given two days before Trumpets, Dart addresses why Sabbath-breaking and idol-worshipping seemed to be the greatest sins, especially in light of the horrific evils that have been done by men. Dart uses the example of Ezekiel and the captivity to illustrate this and parallel it with today. The problem is the evils that the abandonment of these lead to. Abortion, for example. And, it is not that all of society engages in such a sin as much as that it becomes acceptable behavior in that society. Those who corrupt the worship of God are worse off than those who don’t worship God at all. “God’s Sabbaths, His Holy Days, are the introductory level of coming to know who God is. It’s where it starts.” “The starting place is the Sabbath.” |
| 8852 Islam in History and Prophecy Dart starts off discussing the bombing of the PanAm 103 flight and how the media was reluctant to attribute it to Islamic terrorism. It exposed an ignorance of Islam & its people, thus this sermon. Dart tracks Islam's history back to Genesis. When was this prophecy of one great nation fulfilled? Dart discusses Mohammed's history and the development of Islam and its "5 pillars", plus their very effective evangelistic technique. They conquered great swaths of territory, but were consequently conquered by the Mongols. Dart shows how they will fit into end time prophecy. |
| 88-02-06 Less Than Your Love People tend to think in terms of paying back debts and reconciling obligations. Can we possibly pay back God for all He has done? How then, can we be reconciled to God? Dart answers these questions while exploring many ways people erroneously think that debt can be paid. Can it be paid by obedience to the law? What about the law of faith? Is faith the way to pay it back? Dart gives a profound answer. |
| 88-02-13 God's Rest Dart reviews the sometimes radical changes made by the Jews who moved from Judaism to Christianity. Discussed are 3 terms from Hebrews 3 & 4 – “today”, “unbelief”, and “rest”, each of which is repeated to drive home the point. “Today” connotes an immediacy, a window of opportunity, for example, Israel’s failure to enter into the promised land. “Unbelief” is deliberate, not out of ignorance, and is what Israel suffered in this case. Why the Israelites lacked “belief”. What would God have to show me that I might never doubt again? “Rest” was represented by the entering into the promised land and relates directly to the Sabbath, which commemorates 2 events: 1) creation and, 2) deliverance, which was to be fulfilled upon entrance to the promised land. Also: Retaining your first love, your early confidence. Faith involves more than awareness – it requires a decision, a choice, an action. Don’t be a willing disbeliever. |
| 88-04-30 The God of the Old Testament No one has seen God, yet the God in the Old Testament was seen. How is this explained? How can one be God and be with God? Who was the Creator? When did Jesus come into existence? Who was the God of Moses? Of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Who was Israel's God during the Exodus and all the Old Testament? Who thundered the law from Mount Sinai? Who created the Sabbath, clean and unclean meats? Who was Melchizidek? The Old Testament God was harsh and Jesus is gentle? Who wrote the Ten Commandments on stone? Who destroyed Sodom? Ron Dart asks and answers all of these questions. |
| 88-05-07 God's Standards God does have standards that men are to live by. What are those standards and who is authorized to tell us what those standards are? How important are those standards to the Christian? What about repentance, justification, baptism, obedience, the law? Dart harshly criticizes those who use their own authority to teach contrary to the Bible. |
| 88-05-22 Pentecost Dart begins with Jesus’ appearances after His resurrection and His ascension to heaven some 40 days later. Dart puts the listener in the place of the apostles and their astonishment at that time. A look at the “power” that Jesus told the disciples they would receive. It might be better rendered energy, strength. Why? To do. To accomplish. The power to communicate “the wonderful works of God”. Explanation of “spoke in tongues” in Acts 2, which is “the second most important event in the history of the church”. It is the day when we went to work and were given tools to do so. “Why has God given power to you? And, more importantly, what are you doing with it?” |
| 88-07-09 A Secure Person Secure: Free from fear, care, doubt, or anxiety. Not troubled, worried, or apprehensive. Offense-proof -- like a child. A secure person really can't be offended. Dart: "If you are offended, it is your fault." Although those who causes offenses are warned, Jesus actually caused offense at times. What can you do about people who seem intent on offending? Those who cause division? A secure person is immune. Examples from Paul's experiences. Where do you set your affections? Good advice on offense avoidance from Colossians 3. |
| 88-07-16 Learning Thru Suffering If anyone can give an uplifting sermon on suffering, it is Ron Dart-- Why did Christ have to suffer? Discussion of the stake (cross) and it's use as a form of torture. "A Christ who does not suffer cannot be a savior." We, too, may very well suffer for Christ, as we were crucified (tortured) with Him. Overcoming the flesh involves pain and torture; we must suffer with Him to be an heir as He is. What does it mean to learn how to suffer? Even Jesus learned obedience through the process of suffering -- can we learn without it? It isn't necessarily that we've done anything wrong. Christ left us an example that we should suffer, even while doing right, and after we have suffered, we will be made perfect and settled. |
| 88-08-13 Did Jesus Know? In the context of the movie "The Last Temptation of Christ", Dart explores the early years of Jesus' life, mostly in Luke 1 & 2. Dart strongly refutes that Jesus did not know who He was. People studied: Zechariah, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Simeon, Anna, and, of course, Mary. Also, Jesus' baptism, His 12-year-old Passover, and his first miracle. Yes, Jesus was tempted, but Dart shows that temptation is not toying with the idea or fantasizing about it. Rather, temptation must be nipped in the bud, or else it turns into something much worse. Yes, Jesus was tempted with things that He wanted, but He wanted to receive them God's way, not Satan's. |
| 88-08-27 Did Jesus Know? II Picking up from his previous sermon, Did Jesus Know? part 1, Dart starts with the beginning of Jesus' ministry and, with excellent Biblical narrative, illustrates how Jesus knew exactly who He was, what His purpose was, where He was going, and why. The message is filled with thought-provoking insight on the early years. |
| 8839 Trumpets and the Return of Christ Over 30 years ago, Ron Dart talked about driverless cars. Did he foresee the future? No, he was referring to the idea that those raptured would leave their cars driverless. Leaving that idea aside, Dart speaks about the time to get ready. To watch, to be vigilant. What if I try to live a good Christian life and don't watch? Jesus wants people to have a sense of the time of the end. We are told to be awake and alert, so there must be some sort of activity that we are to be engaged in. But it needs to be sustainable. Jesus talks about what it means to be ready, why it is that He wants us to be alert, what it is He wants us to watch for, and what we ought to be doing. Matthew 25 is a critical part of the end-time Olivet Prophecy. "They that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut." |
| 88-10-01 God's Sabbaths Is violating the sabbath worse than murder? The sabbath was given that we would know God. Part of knowing someone is knowing what they do and the annual sabbath holy days show us what God is doing. As Israel introduced idols and compromised the Sabbath, they lost sight of who God was and what His standards were. This ultimately led to all sorts of evils, including child sacrifice. Dart shows the Bible lesson that people can so lose track of God, that they can kill their own children and think it pleases God. The sabbath is there to remind us of who God is, what He is doing, and what He stands for. This includes the annual sabbaths. People lose track of God not abruptly, but with a subtle corruption and it seems the first thing corrupted is often the sabbath. We in the United States have forgotten God’s sabbaths, His laws, His statutes, and we have aborted 22 million babies (as of 1988) and hardly batted an eye. Israel suffered sever punishment for this and it all starts with forgetting His sabbaths. |
| 88-11-12 Christ In The World Why did God go to Sodom? Has He come to earth other times, too? Have we encountered angels unaware? Has Jesus come many times and experienced the world in the flesh? Is that what Isaiah 53 is about? Is it possible that when we feed the hungry and clothe the naked that this is more than metaphorical? Many questions, and Dart gives an intriguing sermon on Jesus coming in the flesh and experiencing the world and the possibility that He as been doing this multiple times since the creation of man. Dart teaches that Jesus was and is far more involved in the world (and the redemption thereof) than we might think, including suffering and experiencing it. He isn’t just sitting in heaven watching events. Also, we know that He does live in us when we suffer, when we strive to overcome, when we sin. |
| 1988 An Apprentice in Humility Story of Dart first going to Ambassador College in 1958. Humility has 2 handmaidens: failure and correction. How and why Jesus corrected and chastised the disciples. Jesus not only humbled them when they fell short, he threw cold water on their successes. As Jesus was humble, they were His apprentices – they weren’t to exalt themselves, esteem themselves better than others, or order others around. A critical part our training is to learn humility, which is the willingness to serve others; minister means servant. The greatest challenge is to humble oneself as a little child. There is no greater exercise in humility than forgiving from the heart. Why it was necessary for Peter to be humiliated. While this might sound like a downer of a sermon, it is actually quite inspirational. |
| 1988 Elements of Deceit Dart describes the tactics of a con man and how Satan is the ultimate con man. With both Jesus and Eve, he used the truth to deceive. The Pharisees used the law improperly by using it to exalt themselves over others. The truth can be used to deceive. The law of God can be used to deceive. Miracles can be used to deceive. What we want makes us vulnerable to deceit. “If we want to be free of deception, you are going to have to pay careful attention to your wants.” So, what do you do about your wants? Can the elect be deceived? |
| 1988 Frozen Images An examination of Job’s friends, their beliefs, assumptions, how they saw themselves as theologians, and the flaws in their theology. Did Job deserve his suffering? Did the man born blind in John 9? Does anyone? The book of Job is not about doctrine, theology, or history. It is a poetic drama and must be read that way. |
| 1988 Prophecy or Apocalypse Apocalyptic literature speaks about what and how. Prophetic literature emphasizes who and why. Dart looks at Isaiah's prophecies with an emphasis on the why. What is wrong with you, and what do you need to do to put it right? Repent. If not, destruction will come upon you. Leadership is critical. There are many parallels between Judah and the United States. Prophecy is a pattern that can be overlaid to today. The past is the key to the future. The 'when' of prophecy is dependent on the 'why'. To prophesy is to warn of the future, so that people can repent. |
| 1988 What We Know About the Passover Why so many questions? Dart avoids the disputable issues and concentrates on what we do know for sure. In spite of the disagreements, there are many parts of Passover that are certain. What do we know? Why the bread? What does “weak and sick” have to do with discerning the body? Unworthily means not properly. All iniquities were laid on Jesus, including the sin-sickness connection with suffering. The clear tie between healing and forgiveness of sins. Did Jesus really keep the Passover at the Last Supper? |
