COG Sermons
Ron Dart 1999 Sermons
| 9901 Filled With the Spirit Does your spiritual life need rejuvenation? The apostle Paul talks about being filled with the spirit. That seems to be a condition that results from choices we make. Dart inspires and instructs on how this can be done. It involves a conscious, disciplined, daily effort. "The way to be filled with the spirit is to spend a lot of time with God." It may be difficult, but you will be very glad you did it. The intellectual side of Bible study is important, but don't neglect the emotional aspects that are brought out by music, stories, and relationships. Don't let anything crowd God out. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" Nothing else is more important. No one can do this for us. Our relationship with God is personal. The church, and others, can help, but it is ultimately our choice. |
| 9905 The Sifting An in-depth look the book of Amos. There are 2 sides to God - - goodness and severity. Dart describes the horrors of the Israelites being taking captive and its parallel to the WWII Jew’s captivity and the future end-time fulfillment according to Amos. Some Israelites remained, were sifted. There was corruption in the Israel courts and there is in ours today. Dart says we should serve on a jury as a small means to stem that corruption. In Amos, God despised their holy days and their wealth, because their behavior and attitude was terrible. Dart discusses “the famine of the word” and “I won’t do anything unless I tell my servants the prophets.” Future parallels. |
| 9907 The Special Prosecutor Dart criticizes the Church of God's past in regards to educating the children. He explains how God's ways were effectively perpetuated by Abraham passing his beliefs to his children, who became Israel. God's plan was for all nations to be blessed by Israel. Today, teaching children is still critical. Children praised Jesus, came to Jesus, are valued by Jesus, and are set apart by Jesus. Timothy was taught as a child. Fathers, bring up children in the training and admonition of the Lord. Parents, you cannot leave it up to the church to do this. Churches, you cannot leave it up to the parents to do this. Dart shows the huge value of a systematic study and how CEM will help, for free. He also warns of the danger in not doing so. |
| 9909 Via Charity Dart talks about the spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12-14, how they are not concentrated, but distributed, thus requiring cooperation. Dart likens the body of Christ to a jigsaw puzzle - each piece is important. Why would God give a gift to an uncharitable (or unloving) person? How organizational authoritarianism and exclusivity work against God's intent of having the puzzle pieces work together. Dart says that the Worldwide Church of God was built wrongly and could not withstand the storm. What are we to do now? |
| 9911 One World Dart talks about early Israel's governmental structure, showing that it was never God's intent that Israel have any king other than God. There was no centralized government. "In those days, there was no king in Israel" was the way God wanted it. Israel came to the place where they looked for a governmental solution, rather than to the human heart, obedience to God, repentance, and character. They then experienced the curses of human governments. But God's intent remains unchanged, that they would have God as their king, which is, in fact, what will finally occur for good in the kingdom of God. Prophecy reflects history. Dart then looks at this world, U.S. foreign policy, how it fits with the global economy, Babylon the Great and the Beast. |
| 9915 Choose Liberty Are you free to speak in your church? Or are you intimidated? The New Testament Jewish synagogues restricted and controlled people. Does your church? Dart discusses Old Testament laws regarding liberty and notes that the Jubilee release was about more than land restoration. Freedom is precious and often people lay it down far too easily and there are men who are ready to take it. This very much applies to churches. Liberty vs license and the burdens of freedom. The real struggle for us is in balancing liberty and responsibility. God will rarely constrain us and wants us to have the freedom to choose; choosing the law of God will keep us free. Galatians 2 talks of bondage to a religious organization; the law of God is never bondage – it gives liberty. Only free men and women can grow. |
| 9917 A Culture of Death |
| 9920 That Empty Space |
| 9922 A Widow's Plea A good look at the Christian's obligation to the poor and the widow, whom God specifically promises to defend. Pleading for the widows is part of the process of our sins being cleansed. God demands fairness in every business deal. It seems God is more concerned with how we treat others than how we treat Him! Evidence His rejection of sacrifices from those who mistreat others. Dart goes over a large number of scriptures inspiring proper behavior toward widows and the poor. Are we so wrapped up in religious rituals that we neglect the needy? |
| 9925 Dead to the Law |
| 9927 The Law Applied Should we try to implement Biblical culture in our lives today? Or should we strive to implement Biblical principles and laws into our culture? Dart says the latter and shows why and how. "The law of God is the truth, and the truth doesn't change." Does the application of the law change according to culture? Culture is not the law of God, it is the response to the law of God. Dart discusses many of the laws of God and how they apply today. The law is a gift and helps us to understand life and God. Dart emphasizes the great importance of the laws of God, and regular Bible reading. |
| 9929 The Center of Worship A guideline for coming together to worship God -- a God-centered church. The main meaning of ecclesia (church) is assembly. If we don't assemble, there is no church. Why is an assembly necessary? Fellowship, service, edification, and worship. Where the assembly is, Jesus will be. You can't have fellowship alone. Jesus often pricked people's hearts. If a service is so comfortable, will the unbeliever ever be overcome with awe and confess that indeed God is with us? Will the people be built up? The sermon has a long tradition, and Dart gives advice, instruction, and help for the teacher of God. |
| 9933 Mixing the Metaphor |
| 9935 The Second Stage of Laodicea A powerful sermon that will shake any Church of God member to his/her core. Dart proposes that God has spewed out the entire church, as was prophesied for the church at Laodicea. He looks at the history of the Worldwide Church of God, zealousness, Laodicean traits, and suggests that this spewing out culminated in 1995. This being the case, Dart gives sound Biblical advice as to what we can and should do about it. |
| 9937 Feast of Trumpets Trumpets is a memorial of what? There is little historical symbolism; likely the symbolism is future. With that, Dart takes a long, fascinating look at all the trumpets and seals in the book of Revelation. The times of plenty will not last. We do not know when tough times will come, but are told to be ready now, never let down, so that when the Lord knocks, you can open the door. That preparation is not physical, but spiritual. “If your hope is in this world, your hope is on very shaky ground and you need to be planting it on higher ground, on the Rock.” |
| 9941 Understanding Evil 1 |
| 9942 Understanding Evil 2 Where do angels come from? What is their purpose? How do they compare to Jesus? To man? Was Satan's rebellion motivated by jealousy? Vanity was his downfall. Causes and methods of demon possession, which does exist, yet people are capable of great evil without any help from the devil. Human beings will cause you a lot more hurt than Satan will ever get around to. What does Satan look like? What is he trying to do? Satan is a deceiver. Would you then expect most of what you read about the spirit world to be clear and concise? Dart gives a brief disproof of "original sin". Satan's given name is only in the Bible once. Dart enters into a fascinating study on how it isn't sin that sows the seeds of evil, but unrepentant sin, as illustrated by King Saul. When you have any doubts about evil, return to the Bible. |
| 9944 Understanding the Law Are Christians to observe the law of God? Was it abolished at the cross? Did it end when the temple was destroyed? Was it just the ceremonial law that was abolished? Did Jesus fulfill the law, allowing it to pass? The Bible answers these questions very clearly. Where, when, and why was the law established? What about the Old Covenant? What about the laws that were “added”? Laws that aren’t currently in play? God’s law were not passed, they were revealed. If a law can be abolished, was it ever needed in the first place? The law becomes a tremendous advantage to him who keeps it, as it is based on the way things are. It brings wisdom, and gives meaning to knowledge. |
| 9947 In The Freedom of Space Thanksgiving sermon. Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning” is compared to Israel’s exodus. As Frankl had to re-learn liberty and how to experience pleasure, the Israelites had to learn how to rest; how God’s chastisement led them to learn self-discipline which was necessary to live free, which is what God wants. Dart explains how the law of God (even tithing) is liberating, and does not result in bondage. |
| 9948 The Covenant Inside This is an outstanding and powerful message about the law of God in the life of the Christian. Everything we ever see, hear, or think about is inside our mind and isn't going away. How do we handle that? The law of God must be written on our minds and our hearts in order to rightly process this and every future thing that will enter our mind. The law of God is the framework for life. It must be internalized. Concerning our children: "They must be taught the law of God not as an external authority over their lives, but as an internal authority in their lives." This is the point of the New Covenant. The difference in the covenants is not only where the law is written (on our hearts instead of on tablets of stone), but where the control resides. In Israel, the God-sanctioned organization of men (Israel) had the authority to enforce the law. In the New Covenant, there is no such authority. Instead, it is up to the individual to rule himself under God. |
| 9951 Ephesian Unity The unity Paul speaks of is inclusive (“How do we include everybody?”), not exclusive (“What people do we need to kick out?”). In Ephesians 2, what was the “law of commandment”, “wall of separation”, their Biblical origin, and what was abolished by Jesus? How to work toward unity today. Roles of the leaders toward unity. Unity by coercion will not last; authoritarianism divides and is contrary to the Ephesian instruction. Every joint has its role – no exclusiveness. Growth of the body is achieved by including others! |
| 99CE Close Encounters |
| 99F01 The Celebration of Christ Given on the opening night of the Feast of Tabernacles. The word "praise" in Hebrew is closer to the word "celebrate" than it is to just offering words of praise. And what better time to celebrate than the Feast of Tabernacles? It is also the time of year that Jesus was born. The angels celebrated His birth. The shepherds celebrated His birth. Have we been so poisoned by the pagan Christmas that it prevents us from celebrating His birth? Have we let Satan rob us of the joy of the birth of our Savior? Dart supports the removal of creches from courthouse lawns; let's separate any hint of the birth of Christ from the wholly pagan Christmas. |
| 99F02 No Turning Back Given on the First day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Why do we keep the feast? What does it picture? What lessons? Dart relates the story of Israel in the wilderness and what was really behind the failure to enter into the promised land for 40 years. It was the people who were unable to be independent. He likened this to the people who were in the Worldwide Church of God. They were told what to do, what to think, and had their decisions made for them. They became timid people who wanted to be protected from false prophets, wolves, heresies, from having to do the work themselves. And, after being out of that, some wanted to go back. But they could not go back. A minority have the faith to go forward. It is time to move forward or die in the wilderness. It is the time to teach the next generation how to live as free men and free women, in the new church. |
| 99F07 Building the Next Church The “greater” church of God is built by Jesus and cannot fail. The “lesser” churches are built by men. How do we do that? 1) Found it on Jesus. 2) Embrace the children – they are valuable as they are and for the future. 3) Value each member. The individual is as important as the church. Dart does not address leaving a church, but rather the inevitable necessity of building one. He gives several concrete principles that should be considered when doing so. Included is excellent insight Dart has gained in his nearly 41 years in the Church of God. Given at the 1999 Feast of Tabernacles. |
| 99F10 The Eighth Day It has long been assumed that the Eighth Day symbolizes only the Great White Throne Judgment. However, many Bible symbols have multiple meanings and Dart explores an additional symbol here. Specifically, if the Feast of Tabernacles represents the temporary dwelling on earth of the 7000-year history of man (including the millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment period), the Eighth Day is what comes after that. One of Dart's very best sermons, this stunning oration draws together many 8th day parallels. What Dart teaches concerning the destiny of man exceeds in glory perhaps anything ever taught in the Church of God. Very, very inspiring and uplifting. |
| 99HAC Half a Calvinist Somewhat technical for the first half, but superb for the second half. |
| 99LAL Legalism and the Law |
| 99LLP The Last Letter of Paul |
| 99MOF Member of the Family |
| 99NG The Neglected Garden Excellent |
| 99OMB Once More Into the Breach Dart looks at the chilling prophecy of Ezekiel 22, its harsh criticism of the leaders, and suggests: "The only reason the leaders are the way they are is because it's the way the people want it." Who will stand in the gap? Abraham did. Moses did. Aaron. Dart relates it to today's political leaders. You really don't want "God to work it out" because He will do so punitively because you failed to take care of it. Dart concludes by emphasizing the importance of teaching our children God's ways. We may one day need them to stand in the breach for us. |
| 99PEN Pentecost 99 |
| 99SOF Set On Fire |
| 99TCP Toward a Christian Passover |
| 99WJC What Would Jesus Say? |
| 99WNR Why No Reconciliation? |
| 99120 Only 120 |
