Born To Win Podcast - With Ronald L. Dart podcast

51:55

The holy days in Israel were prophetic, illustrating God's plan through annual cycles that reflected his work and intentions. Although the people of Old Testament times might not have fully grasped their significance, these holy days carry profound meaning for Christians today. One of these, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost and was a time to thank God for the bounty received. It required the firstfruits of the harvest to be offered to God before the harvest could be enjoyed. This act symbolized the beginning of a seven-week period of work, culminating in Pentecost. Although we may have distanced ourselves from these agricultural roots, Pentecost remains a festival of thanksgiving for the harvest. The seven weeks leading up to Pentecost represent the Messiah's work—from his acceptance by God as the first of the firstfruits until his return and the establishment of his kingdom. This period was marked by labor, punctuated by rest, symbolized by the seven Sabbaths leading up to Pentecost. In this prophetic scheme, these weeks highlight the long period of Christ's work gathering his firstfruits, culminating in his return. Join us as we delve deeper into these profound truths and explore their significance for Christians today.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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About Speaking in Tongues 28:13

5 days ago28:13

28:13

What did the First Christians believe about speaking in tongues? It is always risky assuming we know what people think, but we have a pretty impressive body of writing by these folks, and from those writings, we can get an idea of what their experiences were and what they thought about them. Just to clarify: When I speak of the First Christians , I am talking about those Christians who were alive and active when the various books of the New Testament were being written. That puts them all in the first century, and mostly before the fall of Jerusalem. I am not arguing a case for what 21st-century Christians should practice. That is an issue that churches will decide for themselves. But if we do differ from what the First Christians believed and practices, reason suggests that we should frankly acknowledge the difference and offer a reason for it. The logical place to start is with the first instance of speaking in tongues recorded in the Bible. But to put that in perspective, consider something Jesus said: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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Christian Holidays #10 28:03

8 days ago28:03

28:03

Imagine yourself sitting in a room with 120 of the first disciples of Jesus. You have been through an emotional roller coaster the last two months, from a triumphant entry into Jerusalem of the Messiah, to his ignominious torture and death, to his resurrection. And you all saw him alive; some of you even saw him ascend into heaven. You are expectant, but you really have no idea what is coming. It is Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Christ’s resurrection. You have all come together to observe the feast of Pentecost as you have all your lives. Suddenly, with no warning, the room is filled with a great roaring sound, something very much like fire shimmers across the ceiling of the room, and a little stream of that fire descends upon each of you sitting in the room. Each of you finds yourself with the ability to speak in a language you have never spoken before and bursting with a message about the wonderful works of God. It would be an unforgettable experience, wouldn’t it. Energizing, empowering. But the experience is not what this was about. The experience only lasted for a while and faded. And the disciples were left to ponder what the experience was all about and what it meant. It was clear enough right from the start that what was important was not so much the experience, but the meaning . What the disciples were coming to understand was that the Temple was a stage upon which a drama was played out. And that drama was the story of Christ.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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Christian Holidays #9 28:04

9 days ago28:04

28:04

Of all the Christian holidays, the one that surprises me the most is Pentecost. It surprises me that every Christian does not observe it. After all, it is the birthday of the New Testament church. It is the day the Holy Spirit fell on the church in power. You would think that if they are going to celebrate anything, they would have an important anniversary every year at Pentecost. On the other hand, it is a fact that more than half of all Christendom observes Pentecost. In England it is a national holiday, called Whitsunday, or White Sunday —because of the custom of wearing white for baptism, and the large numbers of baptisms on Pentecost. But most American churches remain blissfully unaware of Pentecost. It is a word they attach to a charismatic movement that includes speaking in tongues. They don't think of it as a day. And yet Pentecost is definitely a Christian holiday. There is a curious thing about Pentecost, though. The word Pentecost is a Greek word that means Fiftieth . The fiftieth what? Well, since it is the day of Pentecost it would seem to mean the Fiftieth day . But the fiftieth day from what? To tell you that story, I have to paint in a little background. The basic scripture that outlines all these holidays is the 23 rd chapter of Leviticus.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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Before Pentecost 45:35

12 days ago45:35

45:35

Many people have called Pentecost the birthday of the New Testament Church. It has also been called a lot of other things down through the years. It has been called a harvest festival. It’s been called a celebration of the resurrection. It’s a celebration of the Holy Spirit. It’s been called the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Firstfruits, and the name we generally use—the Feast of Pentecost, itself a curious little Greek word signifying that it is the fiftieth day. In the very beginning, though, Pentecost was a harvest festival. Let’s begin with the very earliest reference to the feast, found in the 23 rd chapter of Exodus. Hello everyone and welcome to the Christian Educational Ministries Weekend Bible Study . It is good to be with you and we thank you for being there and allowing us to make this weekly service possible. Over the past few weeks, we’ve followed Ron Dart in taking a closer look at the Passover, the resurrection of Christ, and the beginning of the countdown to the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost . As we find commanded in Leviticus 23: From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain…a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord . Leviticus 23:15–17 NIV This weekend concludes the sixth of those seven weeks, so tonight we’ll join Mr. Dart in examining this time of year and its accompanying harvest—both of grain and of men.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The God of Time 28:00

12 days ago28:00

28:00

As I understand my basic science, time can speed up or slow down depending on the speed at which an object travels. That is a little hard to grasp, but they say it has been scientifically demonstrated, so we will take that as a given. But my first proposition is that, fast or slow, time is a one-way street. There is no such thing as time travel, nor will there ever be. Now I have heard people speak of God existing outside of time, and they draw a mental picture of God sitting on a hill where he can see the entire timeline of man. He sees it like a road. We can’t see around the next bend, but God sees it all. But let me pose a problem to you. As I write this, I am sitting in Texas. Can God see me right now in, say, Mexico City? Of course not, because I am not in Mexico City, I am here . Have I limited God? No, the question is absurd and everyone knows it. Well, can God see me next year ? If we say no, are we limiting God? Can’t God travel in time? Can’t God see the future? Whether God can or not, we might discuss. But first, you may want to write this down: God does not do things merely because he can .…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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True Fellowship 28:06

13 days ago28:06

28:06

I got an email a few nights ago from a man in the military who is often away from home for extended periods. He enclosed a picture of himself, his wife, and his little child. He told me the three of them commonly listen to me in bed at night before going to sleep. More than that, he told me he took my sermons with him on his iPod and listened to them in a tent late at night—and that they were a comfort to him. I doubt if anyone can realize how much an email like that means to me, personally. Unlike some ministry programs, I don’t do mine in a church with a live congregation in front of me. I do these programs in a studio, usually with no one except Gary Gibbons across the glass from me. I know you are out there, though, and I can ride along with you on the way to work, I can sit with you while you have breakfast, I can chat with you over a cup of coffee. And, through all the days, I feel like I am talking with friends. But when I say that, I have to recognize an important truth. What has made you and I friends is the Bible, Jesus Christ, and his Father, and the Holy Spirit. It is here that we have found common ground. It is here that we find a spirit of brotherhood and friendship. I think the Apostle John must have felt the same way when he wrote his first letter. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:1–4 NIV Fellowship is a well-worn religious word, and like all overused words, it has lost some of its significance. The word in the Greek denotes more than sitting around after church, sharing coffee and snacks. The word denotes partnership . If we were partners in business, and the business goes broke, we are both losers. If it makes money, we both can get rich. But if we are partners, we share everything . It is a little frightening to think about this is relationship to our faith. But listen to what Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper……

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Tree #2 28:05

14 days ago28:05

28:05

The Apostle John is in vision, and he’s nearing the end of an incredible experience . Step by step, he has seen the sequence of visions that make up what we call the Book of Revelation. I would think that he is pretty well wrung out by the time he gets to the end of all this. It must have been some experience. What he has seen are the last days, and late in the 20th chapter he summarizes it all. He says: And the sea gave up the dead who were in it; and death and hades delivered up the dead who were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:13–15 KJ2000 You know, it sound like a kind of clean-up operation. All those who were written in the Book of Life are saved, they’re all caught away from the earth, and down here everything is burnt up . Simon Peter made a reference to this time in his second letter. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conduct and godliness, Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 2 Peter 3:10–12 KJ2000 Kind of scary, isn’t it? The heavens are on fire and the elements are melting. It sounds like that time when the sun, in its dying throes, will become a giant ball—a great red giant—that reaches out nearly to the earth. Surely, what is described here will happen when that day comes. It sounds like that would be the lake of fire that John described. Peter concluded: Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness. 2 Peter 3:13 KJ2000 Well, that’s what Peter said would be coming, so what more did John say he saw ? Navigation << The Tree #1…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Tree #1 27:36

15 days ago27:36

27:36

There’s an odd thing about the Bible that’s easy to overlook: It begins and it ends with a tree . Everybody knows that in the Garden of Eden there was the Tree of Life. What’s easy to overlook is that, in the very last chapter of Revelation, God says, Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Now, as you know, the Tree of Life was in the Garden of Eden, and it hasn’t been seen since Adam and Eve were evicted. But you also need to understand that the Garden of Eden was not everywhere. It was a little world of its own within the larger world of the planet. In fact, the Garden of Eden did not even encompass all of Eden, but was eastward in Eden . God created Man out of the dust of the ground and put him into this small world—a world of their own. There are a few things we can say about this world. We know there were animals there, but we know none of them were dangerous. We know they had all the food that anyone could desire to eat. There was work to do, because Adam was told to dress and keep the garden. We know the climate was mild, because there was no need for clothes. From what comes later we know there were no thorns or briers. We can infer there were no weeds or noxious plants. We can also infer that there was no pain, no disease, and we know that there was the potential for living forever. It was an altogether perfect world—all upside, no downside. But there was a gateway out of this world, and that gateway was a tree. Navigation The Tree #2 >>…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Epistle to the Galatians #5 36:55

16 days ago36:55

36:55

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, self-control: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:22–25 KJ2000 Referenced articles: Why Do We Use the Hebrew Calendar? The Hebrew Calendar (chapter from The Thread )…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Next Pope 30:00

16 days ago30:00

30:00

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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To Honor God 28:15

19 days ago28:15

28:15

Once upon a time, there was a people who had returned to their homeland after a generation in exile. They had been tasked by God with repairing the Temple and restoring worship. It wasn’t that God dwelt in houses made with hands; the Temple was symbolic, a center of worship, a reminder of who God is—really—and of what is really important about life. But life wasn’t working very well for them. They were in the middle of an economic failure—a position not unlike where we often find ourselves. They had been told by the prophets, from Isaiah to Jeremiah to Ezekiel, why they were going into exile before it actually happened; so they just might listen to a prophet this time. Well, God sent one. Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin? Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: Give careful thought to your ways: You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a bag with holes in it. This is what the Lord Almighty says: Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored , says the Lord . You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why? declares the Lord Almighty. Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Haggai 1:3–9 NIV Ouch! Do you suppose there is a lesson in here that might speak to where we are today? That theme, You earn wages, only to put them in a bag with holes in it , sure sounds familiar. Too many times we have run smack up against economic failure, and we have no idea how bad it will be or how long it will last. And if we think our government has a clue what to do about it, we are dreaming. But maybe we could learn from Haggai the prophet, to give careful thought to our ways.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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Standing at the Edge 28:13

20 days ago28:13

28:13

After some recent reading, I now think we are standing closer to the Abyss than I thought we were, and that the tipping point is not what I thought it was. Let me explain. I have long been aware of the closing verses of the Old Testament (you may know them): Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord : And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Malachi 4:5–6 KJV For some reason, most of commentators I’ve heard focus on the coming of Elijah (and more than one prophecy nut has claimed to be a reincarnation of that prophet). But the last verse is where I am today: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. I’ve heard various explanations of this, but none of them seemed to draw out the truly shocking statement that is there. And I’ve come to understand something that was slower to come to me than it should have been: God does not have to lift a finger or press a button; the curse follows on our own action. Yes, I know God says through the prophet, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse , but the act of God comes before we have passed the point of no return. In other words, the curse that God sends is an intervention to prevent the continuing slide into oblivion. Now that is a sobering thought as we find ourselves standing at the edge and staring into the Abyss. What does our future look like, short of divine intervention? For I cannot see a way we can turn this around ourselves. We are too far down the slippery slope to hell. Malachi’s solution was that we should remember the law of Moses. How much chance do we have of that ever happening? So, let’s follow the idea of this curse to see where it leads……

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #47 26:52

21 days ago26:52

26:52

4 [Jesus], being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, you have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power. 8 But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Who also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. Acts 1:1–11 KJ2000…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #46 27:30

22 days ago27:30

27:30

The whole Christian world believes in the resurrection of Jesus. They believe it because of the testimony of the witnesses. But did you know that no one saw Jesus rise from the tomb? Oh, they saw him alive afterward, so they knew that he was risen, but no one actually witnessed the event. They knew there was an earthquake that opened the tomb, but they could only assume that Jesus rose at that moment. There is another interesting fact about the resurrection of Jesus that you don’t seem to hear about that often. You would have to be a serious student of the Bible to even notice the distinction, but when the Bible says that the women came to the tomb early on the first day of the week, the expression first day of the week —as normal as it is to us—was a rather unusual expression at that time. What do I mean by that? Well, normally, if you are going to talk about Sunday, you would have said. on the day after the Sabbath . But not one of the gospel writers do. They all use the expression, on the first day of the weeks —notice the plural. This was the first day of the seven weeks leading up to Pentecost. It was a singular day of the year , not of the week , and there is an often-overlooked significance about this day which sheds light on the work and ministry of Jesus.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #45 27:38

23 days ago27:38

27:38

And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming in from the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, who also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts which never nursed. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things with a green tree, what shall be done with the dry? And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his clothing, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he is Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And one of the malefactors who were hanged railed at him, saying, If you are Christ, save yourself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, seeing you are in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man has done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, Today shall you be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the curtain of the temple was torn in the middle. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the spirit. Luke 23:26–46 KJ2000…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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About the Bible 28:07

26 days ago28:07

28:07

What did the First Christians believe about the Bible? It is an interesting question for several reasons, not least because the Bible, as we know it, had yet to exist . The components of what we call the New Testament were being written in the years between about AD 55 and 70. To the First Christians, these were written testimonies and letters of the apostles. However, the First Christians were not without a Bible. But they referred to it by a different name. I won’t bore you with the details right now, but the collection the First Christians called The Holy Scriptures was what we call the Old Testament. For the First Christians, the Scriptures were authoritative. We should think a little further about what that means. When we speak of the authority of Scripture , we are using a shorthand phrase for something a little more complicated that I’d like to talk about.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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Choosing a Pope 28:15

26 days ago28:15

28:15

There have been some truly great men who held the office of pope down through the centuries, and some men who were…well, not great. Some have been venal. Some have been violent. Some were put in office by imperial authority. Some were murdered in their beds. There have been times in history when schism found leaders and left the church with more than one pope, believe it or not. The word anti-pope is unfamiliar because there hasn’t been one for 500 years. What’s that? Well, an anti-pope is a claimant of the papacy in opposition to a pope elected according to canon law. To give you an idea of some of the ferment that existed in the past—in the 11 th century alone there were 5 anti-popes, and 8 of them in the 12 th century. That’s 13 anti-popes in 200 years. (Excommunications, naturally, flew back and forth.) It’s ironic that since the Protestant Reformation there have been no anti-popes—almost as though we flushed out all the dissidents and went forward. The Reformation, though, was a schism within the Roman Church, as was the split with the English Church under Henry VIII. But in the modern world, we have seen nothing like this. That does not mean we will never see anything like it again. It’s entirely possible that we could encounter the old word anti-pope on the evening news in the years to come. I’ve told you all this to help you understand something else that may well come to your attention in the next few weeks. For generations there have been those who referred to the Catholic Church as the great whore of Babylon [Revelation 17] and who believed that the last pope would be the Antichrist. Each new pope could be the last pope, and may fulfill many of the prophecies of the man of sin and Antichrist. He will, according to these would-be prophets, be the little horn of the prophecies of Daniel and one of the beasts of Revelation. Heavy stuff. But take any self-proclaimed prophet with a grain of salt. Where does all this come from? Some comes from an anti-Catholicism arising from conflicts in the dim past, and indeed there have been popes in the long history of the church that deserve condemnation. Catholics probably know that better than anyone. After the Renaissance popes provoked the Protestant Reformation (and they really did) the Catholic Church made some reforms of its own. Still, there are those who want to label the last pope as the man of sin. So, where did this idea of a man of sin for the last days come from? Well, we can thank the Apostle Paul for that. In one of his earliest letters, he spoke of the imminent return of Christ. Or at least it sure sounded imminent to his readers, within their lifetime. Well, this generated a flurry of concern, and Paul has to deal with it in his second letter: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 This is pretty strong; and as bad as some of the popes have been, none of them ever got close to this. Who, then, would do something like this?…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #44 27:58

27 days ago27:58

27:58

My heart goes out to Simon Peter. It is impossible to feel what Simon and the others felt on the night Jesus was arrested. They had followed this good and gentle man up and down the hills of Judea and Galilee for 3 1 ⁄ 2 long years. Not only did they love him like a brother, they were convinced of the rightness of his cause—their cause. When you have done nothing but good, when you have been nothing but kind, when you are absolutely convinced that your cause is just and your conduct righteous and blameless, it must come as a terrible shock to have your leader betrayed, arrested, and dragged away in chains. But that was not the worst of it. When Jesus was arrested, Simon Peter and all the rest of them had fled into the darkness in abject fear. There is no ease for the shame that comes on a man when he has run away. No one needs to convict him of cowardice, for his own heart is judge and jury. I suspect that it was that sense of shame that brought Peter back to follow Jesus and his captors back to the place of judgement. Peter was trying hard to recapture his courage. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the court of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. Then went out that other disciple, who was known unto the high priest, and spoke unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then said the girl that kept the door unto Peter, Are not you also one of this man’s disciples? He said, I am not. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself. John 18:15–18 KJ2000 These were some of the very people who had arrested Jesus. (Apparently they had not seen Peter in the garden.) It took a certain amount of courage to be in that place, trying to keep his hands from shaking with the cold and the fear. But it would have taken a lot more to have confessed Jesus, in that time and in that place. Peter stood and warmed himself by the enemies’ fire—and denied Jesus, outright.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #43 27:27

28 days ago27:27

27:27

Love is no defense against fear. Neither is faith. And if you are afraid, you are no different from any other man, not even those great pillars of faith that formed the foundation of the Christian church. It may shock you, but in this very human trait, you are not very different from Christ himself. After the last supper, Jesus completed a rather long discourse with his disciples and they were totally enthusiastic. They gave him rave reviews. They said: […] Lo, now speak you plainly, and speak no proverb. Now are we sure that you know all things, and need not that any man should ask you: but this we believe that you came forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? Behold, the hour comes, yea, is now come, that you shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:30–33 KJ2000 I know these men loved Jesus. I think they believed him as far as they were able. They just did not know what they yet had to face. Jesus knew. Then he paused to pray for them and, strangely enough, for us. Let’s see what he had to say, in John, chapter 17.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #42 27:58

29 days ago27:58

27:58

Where is God? Where does he live? Can you point in the direction where one might find him? There are those who believe that God is in every blade of grass, every leaf of a tree. But they may believe in an amorphous God that is everywhere in general but nowhere specifically. They may believe in a God who puts in appearances from time to time, but usually is somewhere else—especially when you need Him. One of Jesus’ disciples may have been thinking in these terms when Jesus told him: He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will show myself to him. One of the disciples said, Lord, how is it that thou wilt show thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. John 14:21–23 We are not going to put in an appearance from time to time. We will live at your house . We’re going to move in. We will be at the table for every meal. When you are having a soak in the bathtub, we will sit nearby and we can have a talk. As humorous as that may sound, the relationship is actually closer than that. Jesus speaks of living, not merely with you, but in you. I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember that as often as I should. I really should not take Jesus to places he wouldn’t want me to go.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #41 28:05

4 weeks ago28:05

28:05

We all know that God loves the world. But I’m afraid that we think of it as God loving us as one big gaggle down here, without any particular love for the individual. But when I say that Jesus loved his disciples, I am going way beyond the idea of a collective love. Jesus had spent 3 1 ⁄ 2 years with these 12 men. They had laughed together, cried together, slept on the ground around a campfire together. They had faced hardship and fear together. They had eaten together and been hungry together. He had taken them places and showed them things they had never seen before—never even imagined before. He loved them so much that he was prepared to die for them. He loved all of them, individually, even Judas. Here we are at the Last Supper and Jesus tells them, I have really wanted to share this last Passover with you before I suffer. 21 […] Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. 25 He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. 29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. John 13:21–30 I don’t think event is very well-understood by many people. Why did it have to be so? Why would Jesus choose a man that he knew would betray him in the end?…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Third Sabbath 41:27

5 weeks ago41:27

41:27

Sheep, grain, bread, salt, seeds. In the Gospels, Jesus uses many metaphors when describing both the harvest that is before us and our own roles as workers, bringing in that harvest. Hello everyone, and welcome to the Christian Educational Ministries Weekend Bible Study . It is good to be with you and we thank you for being there and allowing us to make this weekly service possible. Over the past few weeks, we've followed Ron Dart in taking a closer look at the Passover, the resurrection of Christ, and the beginning of the countdown to the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost . As we find commanded in Leviticus 23: From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain […] a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord . Leviticus 23:15–17 NIV This weekend concludes the third of those seven weeks, so tonight we'll join Mr. Dart in examining this time of year and its accompanying harvest—both of grain and of men.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #40 27:27

5 weeks ago27:27

27:27

We have an incurable fascination with the future, don’t we. We want to know what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, why it is going to happen. Small wonder that when Jesus foretold the coming destruction of the temple, his disciples wanted to know. Enquiring minds always want to know. When will these things be, they asked, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Jesus’ answer has a lot of information about the end time, but I can summarize it in two points: It is not for you to know the time. Get on with life and the work you have been given to do. When you see Jerusalem being surrounded, flee into the mountains, but between now and then, he said, you have things to be doing. What are those things? As a Bible teacher for many years, I have often had occasion to look over the prophetic studies of a lot of students and teachers. Almost all of them have been consumed with questions of timing and events. They try to correlate the events and the number of days. There are prophecies that deal with 1,260 days, or 42 months, or 3 1 ⁄ 2 years. These are benchmarks that men try to connect with a time line. It is almost as if we assume that working out the details of these prophecies have some practical value. I think there is a practical value in knowing what the prophecies say, but I doubt seriously that there is much to be gained by attempts to predict the course of events. Not many stop to ask why God would bother to tell us the future at all. I can think of two important reasons.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #39 28:04

5 weeks ago28:04

28:04

The idea of the End of the World has a kind of morbid fascination for us. We are conditioned to think in terms of beginnings and ends of things, so it becomes not so much a question of whether , but of when . It is not a happy topic. I suppose it is a lot like a sore tooth—we have to keep exploring to see if it still hurts. I can’t pass up those old disaster movies that have us colliding with an asteroid or comet and facing up to the temporary nature of things. There have been some really huge meteor strikes in the past—the one that caused meteor crater in Arizona is one of the smaller ones. Now they believe that just such a collision accounts for the extinction of some species in the past and even the onset of the ice age. And they believe it can happen again. It is only a matter of time. I have heard this kind of collision called an extinction event. The question is whether or not man will be made extinct, either by such a collision or by our own devices. Jesus Christ spoke of such an event in what is called the Olivet Prophecy. According to Jesus, we are going to come face to face with extinction, but something will save us. 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Matthew 24:21–28…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #38 28:00

5 weeks ago28:00

28:00

How would you like to know—step-by-step—all the events leading up to the end of the world? Maybe you’d rather not know. We really have a morbid fascination with the end of the world, don’t we? We fantasize about how to escape it, how to prevent it. We make movies about blowing up asteroids and extinction-level events . It was chilling, several years ago, to actually watch as a comet slammed into a neighboring planet—piece by piece—and knowing that, if that ever happened here, it would be all over. The question of the end of the world was raised 2,000 years ago by the disciples of Jesus, and they got an answer from Jesus himself. Actually, it was only a couple of days before Jesus was crucified that there were standing among the magnificent buildings of the Temple and said, Master, look at the kinds of stones and what buildings they built here! Jesus replied, Do you see these things? I tell you the truth: there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. It’s hard to imagine the impact of that statement on Jesus’ disciples. The Temple was the center of their religious life—where men prayed, where sacrifices where made—even the plan of salvation, in a sense, was played out upon the stage of the Temple. The idea that this building— God’s building —would be destroyed? It seemed absolutely unthinkable—though they knew it had happened before. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world? Matthew 24:3 KJ2000…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #37 28:01

5 weeks ago28:01

28:01

Power corrupts. Absolute Power corrupts absolutely. It is one of the reasons why men have rejected absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings. But forget about absolute power for a moment and think about power—power in small amounts. It is a little spooky to realize how little power it takes to start the process of corruption. When Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, Rome was the absolute power, and Rome was corrupt. What was less obvious was that there was also power in the hands of religious leaders, and that power had done its work in all of the sects of the prevailing Judaism. But nowhere was it more apparent than among those who formed the religious establishment. Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. Matthew 23:1–3 There is nothing more frustrating than a double standard in religious leadership. What is it about power that causes that?…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Last Breakfast 31:51

6 weeks ago31:51

31:51

It was just at the crack of dawn. First light of the new day was just starting to show over the top of the Golan Heights. Still too dark to see anything. The men in the boat fumbled around because they knew where their tackle was, they knew what the boat was like, they knew where everything was by hand, by touch. They had fished a lot at night, so they didn't have any problem with that. But on the shore, off to one side, they could see a little fire burning. They had fished all night long, and they were frustrated because they hadn't caught a thing. And, you know, fishing the way they fished was fairly hard work. And nighttime for them was the time—with daylight coming, hope for catching a lot of fish was beginning to diminish. But that little fire was burning over there. Someone was moving around the fire, and a voice came out across the sea there, about some hundred yards or so away where they were. "Boys, have you caught anything?" And one of them put his hand to his mouth and says, "No!" He said back, "You're fishing on the wrong side of the boat. Try the right side." Now, that must have in itself been a little bit of frustrating advice to those fellows out there because they'd been professional fishermen, off and on, all their lives. And there's just not a whole lot of difference between the right side of the boat and the left side of the boat. And one of them says, "There's no point in doing that." He says, "Well, you had a better idea?" He said, "No, I don't." So they threw the net out the right side of the boat. And before they got anything done at all, the net began to get very heavy. There was a lot of vibration coming up the lines, and they realized they had gotten themselves a load of fish. And about that time, John leaned over to Peter and said, "It's the Lord. It's the Lord." And Peter, who had been fishing naked all night (it must have been pretty warm), grabbed something and put it on him and jumped in the water. They were only 100 yards offshore, so they rowed their boat to shore, dragged the net behind them and up on shore, and they got counted over 160 fish they had in that net. But Jesus already had a fire going, had fish propped up against it, cooking away; and he'd taken bread and put it up, toasting the bread against the fire; and so they had breakfast already well underway. After breakfast, Jesus said to Peter (and the way I read the account, I think it was kind of privately when he said it, perhaps walking along the shore after breakfast as the sun was beginning to come up), "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these?" And Peter said, "Lord, you know I love you." And Jesus replied, "Feed my lambs." He walked a little further along, and he turned again and he said, "Simon, son of Jonas, do you truly love me?" And he said, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you." And Jesus fixed him with a glaze in his eyes and says, "Feed my sheep." And then finally he said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?" And Peter was grieved because he said it to him the third time, and I can understand why he might have been. And he said, "Lord, you know everything. You know I love you." And Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." Now, I can understand why Peter was grieved, but here's my question for you today (my first question of many): Why did Jesus call his love into question? Why was it questionable? Was it perhaps that he had denied the Lord three times? Most commentators who read this, most preachers who preach on it, make that comparison just like that. Peter denied Christ three times. Christ made him affirm his love back to Christ three times. There was reason for it. You know, to deny your best friend, your closest friend, is a betrayal. And Peter had in every sense betrayed Christ. His love certainly could be called into question, and so Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee did so. "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?" And now my next question for you: What if Jesus had asked you the same question three times? "Robert, do you love me? Feed my lambs." "James, do you love me? Feed my sheep." "Shirley, do you love me? Feed my lambs." Would it cross your mind to wonder why Jesus would need to ask you that question? Why? I mean, "Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?" Because you do have to understand, I hope, that there are more ways to betray somebody or to deny somebody than the way Peter did. There are other ways to do it, as well. I don't doubt for a moment that Peter loved Jesus. I mean, how could you not love a man like him after having spent this amount of time with him? When you read about Jesus, you see the character of the man, you see the charisma of the man, the love of the man. And you remember that Peter and all these guys had been up and down every road in Galilee and Judea with him. They'd camped out on the roadside at night. They'd eaten from the same pot so many times they couldn't even count them. They shared the same bread. They passed it around together. They actually slept next to each other on the ground. How, after all that period of time, would Peter not love Jesus? I don't think there's much of a question as to how that would be so. But we only know Jesus secondhand. We haven't had that chance. We haven't had that time. How could we possibly know Jesus like Peter did to love him as Peter loved him? But Jesus had to ask him anyway. So I suppose he would ask me, as well. "Ronald Dart, do you love me?" And it's a painful question. But it's a question I have to answer. And so do you. "Do you love me?"…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #36 27:27

6 weeks ago27:27

27:27

When you consider the mess the world is in right now, you might wonder if God has written us off as a bad investment. But if you read the Bible, you know that the world—at least man’s world—has been in a mess from the very beginning and yet God has taken an interest in it, and seems to be making sense out of it all. He has plan and is working the plan. The challenge for is for us to make sense of it and go along with his plan. God has not only taken an special interest in the world, but has acted in history and has related to people in the world—sometimes to a community of people. The most obvious illustration is the most-favored nation status that God afforded Israel during much of their existence as a people. God was Israel’s king, and they were his Kingdom. The first manifestation, as it were, of the Kingdom of God . It is odd, in a way, the confusion that surrounds the expression, The Kingdom of God . It simply refers to that entity which God rules. It is a Kingdom in the past where Israel is concerned. It is a future kingdom where the whole world is concerned. It is a present Kingdom where individuals are concerned who submit themselves to that Kingdom in a spiritual sense. But knowing all this makes it all the more earthshaking when we grasp what Jesus was trying to tell the people of his day. Take this allegory, for instance. Surrounding Jesus when he gave this parable were a number of Jewish leaders, along with Jesus’ disciples. Listen carefully, because allegories are not always what they seem to be. We’ll find it in Matthew, chapter 21.…

Born to Win Podcast - with Ronald L. Dart

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The Words of Jesus #35 28:04

6 weeks ago28:04