Sustainable Growth | Philippians 4:21-23

Opening Remarks:

We’ve come to the end of this incredible letter from Paul to the church at Philippi.

The high points of this book are as quotable as any book of the Bible:

Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Philippians 2:10–11 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Some great truths, to be sure. But then we come to today’s text. Which isn’t nearly as quotable.

READ Vs. 21-23

Might just seem like a formality

But as I’ve studied these verses this week, they are more than just a signing-off from Paul.

Paul gives them instructions that could prove to be invaluable to their future as a church.

He uses these closing remarks as a way to remind them that the Kingdom of God was bigger than Philippi. It was expanding.

And growth is great, but growth also means change.

So Paul gives them some mindsets that could help them enjoy sustainable growth as a church family.

PRAY

INTRODUCTION

Expanding family requires changes

Toyota Corolla, after 2 we decided to step up in size

Humbled myself and bought a minivan

Family continued to expand, so after a few years we bought a second Minivan

The kids kept getting bigger, so we realized we needed something bigger and bought our first Suburban

When you experience growth, you have to adjust in order to accommodate it

Other things grew too, like our food budget

Kids little, $20 at McDonalds, now $20 is barely enough for two people

As they’ve grown up, we’ve had to make adjustments to all the budgets:

Groceries

Clothing

Car Insurance

Hotel Rooms

When you experience growth, you adjust to accommodate it

And the same thing happens in a church family.

When there’s growth, your mindsets have to shift to accommodate it. You approach things differently.

More little ones means more help and a greater need for organization

In a day of livestream and graphics and media, you have to consider how you present things

As we bring in more on the bus, we have to leave earlier and consider vehicles that can accommodate more

We’re taking more to camp each year, which presents new challenges

New people joining and getting baptized, so we need more to take them through Continue

We’ll eventually need to consider how to accommodate new adult SS classes

It’s all part of growth. You adjust to keep it sustainable.

The church at Philippi existed during a time of growth in the Kingdom of God.

The Gospel was expanding. Churches were being planted and new converts were being won all over the known the world.

And Paul’s instruction is a glimpse into that era of growth.

His comments are a glimpse into the kind of mindsets we need if we’re going to Accommodate Sustainable Growth:

I. Treat everyone like they matter - Vs. 21-22a

Paul is thinking about “Every Saint” in Philippi

This is not a general address to the whole group. He says, “Every saint.”

Which means that, to Paul, every believer in Philippi mattered.

From the doctor to the laborer.

From the politician to the slave.

From the youngest to the oldest.

From mature Christians to baby Christians.

From one race to the other.

From one social standing to the next.

By making a point to single out every saint, Paul is making sure the church at Philippi doesn’t lose sight of the fact that, in God’s economy, everybody matters.

Every Saint means every believer

The word saint refers to one who has been sacredly set apart in Jesus Christ. Someone who has been genuinely saved.

It doesn’t matter how spiritual they are. How rich. How talented. How old. How popular. Wherever they are on their Christian journey - every saint matters.

“Salute every saint” means that every believer should be honored.

We live in a culture that honors those with the most power or the most money or talent, but Paul’s message is if someone knows the Lord, they deserve to be recognized.

There is no caste system in a NT church. If you know Christ, you’re an important part of the family.

Why? Because you are in Christ Jesus.

Every Soul Matters

We have a greeting time every service. Some people wonder why we do that. Because of verses like Phil. 4:21.

By the way, don’t be too hard on our greeting time. Greeting time in France was way worse!

When we have those greeting times, don’t just seek out the familiar faces. Don’t just look for the ones who you know or those who have influence.

Find the saint no one is talking to and let them know they matter in Christ, and they matter to you. Salute them. Esteem them. Greet them.

The church is not just some large faceless number. It’s made up of individuals.

And God values each individual. He died for each person. Each saints matters to God. And each one should matter to us.

That was Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 12. Gentiles and Jews all come together in one body and some are like ears and others are like feet, but every member matters.

1 Corinthians 12:21–23 “And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour…”

1 Corinthians 12:24–25 “…God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.”

Every member matters. And Paul wanted the church at Philippi to remember that.

If they were going to continue growing as a church family, every member needed to be saluted. Esteemed.

If our growth as a church is going to continue to be sustainable, every member should be treated as valuable and important.

How To Support Sustainable Growth As A Church Family

II. Welcome others like you’ve been welcomed

Vs. 21-22

Let’s read it a little differently.

Vs. 21b - The brethren which are with me greet You.

Vs. 22a - All the saints salute You.

So, you salute every saint in Christ Jesus.

So treat everyone like they matter because they’re in Christ.

But not just because they’re in Christ. But because YOU have been welcomed with open arms into the family of God.

He says, “The brethren which are with me greet you.”

Brethren is a family word.

One word that I’m ready to retire is “Bro.”

I know the young generation among us use it, and there are certain contexts in which it’s okay.

If it’s a term of endearment or you’re addressing someone with fondness, that’s fine.

But guys, your sister is not your “Bro.”

And the girls in the youth group aren’t your “Bro.”

And the people older than you aren’t your “Bro.”

I’m definitely over the use of the word “Bro” as a filler word that means anything and everything and nothing at all.

But the word “Brethren” I can get behind.

Let’s be a biblical youth group and start using “Brethren” instead of “Bro.”

“Brethren, did you see that game last night?”

“Brethren, check out my fit.”

Paul says, “You’ve been welcomed into the family.”

The family greets you. The family values you.

All the saints esteem you. So esteem every saint.

If you’ve been welcomed with open arms into the family, open your arms to everyone else.

We have the same Father and we’ve been born into the same family through Jesus Christ.

It’s amazing what a church family can look like.

All walks of life. All backgrounds. Languages.

Paul says, “You’re in Philippi. I’m in Rome. These brethren and saints here you’ve never even met. But they value you and welcome you. Do the same for the next guy or girl or slave or free-man or rich or poor person that walks through your doos.”

Truth is, there should be no one that comes in Eastside that doesn’t feel welcome.

Why? Because it’s right. Because they have value. But also, because you were welcomed in God’s family.

Listen, no family is perfect, and we know that.

We’re all in one phase or another.

But families welcome each other and families give each other room to grow where they are.

A church is a family that welcomes each other and gives each other room at the same time.

They share life together and care about each and don’t write each other off at the first mistake.

If families do that, so should this family.

Sustainable Growth As A Church Family

Means valuing everyone

And welcoming others like you’ve been welcomed

Next Truth: Sustainable Growth As A Church Family means

III. Accepting the changes that come with growth

Vs. 22 - Caesar’s household

That’s interesting. Caesar was the emperor of the Roman Empire. Specifically, the emperor when Paul wrote Philippians was the infamously wicked ruler named Nero. The same guy who had his own mother killed. Then he had his wife killed so he could marry another man’s wife. He also murdered most of his top officials and those in the Roman senate. Not to mention the horrible things he did to Christians.

But Paul is adding to what he wrote in chapter 1 that his imprisonment or bonds had helped the furtherance of the gospel and that Christ was manifest in all the palace. There were believers in the palace. Maybe some of them were already saved before he got there, but according to chapter 1, people that worked in Nero’s own palace, maybe even members of his own family, were being saved by the Gospel witness of Paul as a prisoner.

The Gospel was working in the most pagan places in all the world.

People were coming to Christ that the Philippians never thought would be reached with the Gospel.

There’s two conclusions about this:

#1 - It should give you hope that no matter where you work or who you’re around and no matter the wickedness you face, the Gospel has power anywhere. Just be faithful and give it when you can. It has power.

#2 - The Gospel is going to reach people that we won’t expect. And when it does, we better open our arms to those who come in.

It’s a good thing for a comfortable church to have new converts come in who may not fit our status quo.

As we pursue our theme to Tell and Bring and Win, as a church, there may be some folks that come in that we didn’t expect to be reached. And that’s a good thing for us.

When someone comes in and they check the boxes, that’s easy for us.

But I wonder how open we’re going to be when someone comes in with more tattoos than we’re comfortable with, fresh out of prison, or just overcoming an addiction. Someone who doesn’t check all the boxes.

In this case, Romans who worked for Nero.

In our case, someone from a different walk of life who we may not even know how to relate to.

I have no doubt that we can assimilate those who are most like us.

But I wonder if we can assimilate those who are nothing like us.

Who among us is going to say, “Every saint matters. I welcome them like I was welcomed.”

You see, this is where the growth stretches us.

Because growth introduces unexpected people into our little world.

And if we want to continue that growth, we better have the mind of Christ through Paul’s exhortation to say, “You matter. And I welcome you like I was welcomed.”

If not, be ready to see whatever growth we’ve enjoyed stop.

Growing stretches us. But the stretch is exactly what we need to see more growth.

Illustration: Influx of babies at Eastside. I love it. But when you have new babies, there are some challenges:

Babies are self-centered

Babies are high-maintenance

Babies need to be fed and taken care of

Babies have dirty diapers

Babies have to be dealt with when you’re tired

Babies will throw up on your new outfit

Babies become toddlers that cause wear and tear on a building and in classrooms

And sometimes we might feel like saying, “We can’t have that. It’s too much work. There’s too much damage. It requires too much attention. New babies are not worth it.”

But if there are no babies, there is no growth.

And if there’s no growth, there is no next generation.

And if there’s no next generation, is Eastside even around in 25 years?

We must step outside of our comfort zone.

We must embrace the growth even if it gets messy. Because without growth, things die. Cultures die. Organizations die. Churches die. Without growth.

So how do we accommodate it?

We value every person.

We welcome them like we were welcomed.

We welcome the changes that come with growth.

And last, but certainly not least, look at Vs. 23.

IV. Recognize that growth without grace is impossible.

Vs. 23

None of this joy and unity and sustainable growth in a church is possible if we try to do it without God’s grace.

Family is hard.

Raising babies is hard.

Welcoming new people that aren’t like us is hard.

Being patient and loving and kind and deferring is really hard.

Actually, all of that is impossible without God’s grace.

A church doesn’t make sense on paper.

All walks of life. All personality types. Different nationalities. Different backgrounds. Different perspectives.

The only bond we have is Christ Jesus. But that bond makes us family.

And if we will humble ourselves before each other and before God then He will supply the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to help sustain us.

We need His grace, and we need to show each other grace.

Without grace, growth stops. But with God’s grace, we might get to see Him grow our church family in a way that we look back and say, “Only God could have done that.”

CIT: Sustainable growth is accommodated by a church family that loves others, accepts changes, and depends on God’s grace to move forward.

We need love, flexibility and dependence if we’re going to sustainably grow.

Conclusion:

How committed are we to sustainable growth?

1. How much do we value others?

2. Do we welcome people like we were welcomed?

3. Are we willing to adjust to the changes that come with growth?

4. Are we determined to be humble so we have God’s grace in the process?

If we aren’t all that committed to these things, don’t be surprised if God looks at Eastside and says, “I wanted to give you great growth. I wanted to bring new people and let you have a big impact on your community and world. But you weren’t willing to do the necessary things for that growth to take place. So I took my blessings elsewhere.”

And in case you think that’s not how God works, read Revelation 2-3. He gave those churches opportunities, but because of their choices, God’s blessings were limited.

And sometimes we can have this mindset that “Our size is good enough. We don’t need more.”

We view more little ones as a bother.

Or getting to know new guests as a pain.

Or making adjustments to our schedules as annoying because we like it the way things were.

We may resist the changes that need to take place in leadership or in personnel in certain ministries just because growth sometimes requires that. Be okay when that happens. Sometimes it needs to happen.

Be willing to accommodate growth by changing roles, if necessary.

The point is, you can either contribute to Sustainable Growth or be a hindrance to it.

Here’s how we can all contribute to a season of sustainable growth:

Embrace every person. Let them know they matter.

Welcome others like you’d want to be welcomed.

If growth brings in changes or a person that doesn’t fit the mold, embrace it.

Depend on God’s grace and help to contribute to the growth instead of hinder it.

And maybe God will continue to allow us to grow spiritually, numerically, and influentially on a Kingdom level.