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  OINTMENT POURED FORTH
  by Miles J. Stanford
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Summary: Miles J. Stanford's sermon emphasizes the importance of
selfless love and sacrifice for the growth of the Body of Christ.

Topics: "Spiritual Maturity", "Selfless Leadership"
Scripture References: 2 Corinthians 4:12, Galatians 6:2, Philippians 2:3, Colossians 1:23, 1 John 4:11

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DESCRIPTION
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Miles J. Stanford preaches about the personal journey of maturity in the
Lord Jesus, emphasizing the transition from personal growth to
sacrificially serving His Body. He highlights the importance of
selflessness in leadership, drawing parallels to Moses' wilderness
experience before leading the people. The sermon challenges listeners to
choose the path of self-sacrifice for the benefit of others, emphasizing
the need to pour out oneself for the progress and well-being of the Body
of Christ. Stanford underscores the significance of embodying God's
patient grace and love in relationships within the Church, mirroring the
Father's care and leading towards spiritual unity.

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CONTENT
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"Death working in me works life in you" (2 Corinthians 4:12, Cony.).

At first the heart hunger for maturity in the Lord Jesus is personal,
subjective-and necessarily so. Later, when the path to maturity is known
and entered upon, this hunger is projected to His Body, and becomes
sacrificially objective.

"The great lack in servants is not having a sufficiently self-less walk,
because you cannot lead anyone beyond where you have been led yourself.
Moses was himself many years in the wilderness before he led the people.
I cannot ask anyone to leave anything that I have not left myself. It is
not the man who sees defects, but the man who removes them who is being
used of God."

"Will you choose the path of death that others may have life? Will you
choose to 'fill up the afflictions of Christ for His Bride's sake'? But
what does it mean? It means living, weeping, suffering, loving with
infinite patience, infinite tenderness, unwearying love for every member
of the Body of Christ. It means the whole being bound up, not in your
own progress, but in the progress of the Body of Christ. It means
sinking all the personal element into the service of God, wanting
neither credit, nor notice, nor recognition. It means an utter dropping
of yourself, and a handing over of yourself to God to be poured out for
His Body's sake, the Church."

"The unwearied care of our Father for us, His patient grace, His
gentleness, His leading us on from the world nearer, in spirit, to
Himself, indicate what should be the character of our love's activity
towards one another. Our joy in the Father's presence, as He Himself and
His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, are made manifest to our hearts, gives
us the character of the joy of true fellowship one with another."
-H.F.W.

"I, Paul. . . rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which
is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake,
which is the church" (Colossians 1:23, 24).

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/miles-j-stanford/ointment-poured-forth/
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