Ray Stedman Sermons

Topic:The Cure to Conflict I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Phil 4:2 In these few verses he turns the spotlight on the problem that has been dimly discernible all along in this letter. There were in the church at Philippi two lovely ladies who were quarreling with one …

Topic:Standing While Running Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! Phil 4:1 Paul begins this fourth chapter with what looks like a very mixed metaphor. The therefore refers back to what he has written about in chapter 3. There he is …

Topic:Another Alternative But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ… Phil 3:20 As members of the church of Jesus Christ, we have been sent by our Lord to form a colonial outpost from which we spread the influence of heaven. The church has often opted for one of two extremes. …

Topic:The Great Motive Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Phil 3:12 Paul says this is the great motive of his life. He is not referring to the resurrection, he is referring back to verse …

Topic:Knowing Him I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death Phil 3:10 Paul says he is quite ready to give up the usual status symbols of the Christian for the personal knowledge and friendship of Jesus Christ. This is not an academic subject. …

Topic:Adequate Living Consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… Phil 3:8a Have you ever made this evaluation in your own life? Have you ever really tried this? Just sit down, and list your assets, the things that are important to you, things you think you could not do without. The factors to …

Topic:Dangerous Confidence But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Phil 3:7 What was the ground of Paul’s confidence that he could achieve his mission? He could be confident in four things: his ancestry, his orthodoxy, his activity and his morality. But it is important to see how and when Paul changed his …

Topic:True Spirituality …who put no confidence in the flesh. Phil 3:3b The measure of true spirituality is in contrast to those who put confidence in some self-effort. Paul says, we put no confidence in the flesh. We are living in an age that continually strives to get us to put confidence in the flesh. We are taught from childhood that …

Topic:The Menace of External Religion Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. Phil 3:2 This is a warning about the menace of external religion. This seems like a rather abrupt change of subject, but there is a very vital connection with the previous verse. What is it that destroys rejoicing in the Lord? It’s dwelling …

Topic:Rejoice! Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! Phil 3:1a I suppose if you wanted to sum up Christianity in four words this would be the best possible phrase you could use: rejoice in the Lord. This is the mark of spiritual life, of a truly spiritual Christian. It is the distinctive sign of a victorious Christian. It …