Personification
True spiritual ministry requires growth in the Lord Jesus Christ and a deep personal experience of God's comfort and power.
Miles J. Stanford emphasizes the importance of sharing not just what we have, but who we are in Christ to minister to others spiritually. He highlights the necessity of experiencing God's comfort and power in our own lives before we can effectively help others. Stanford explains that true spiritual impact comes from not just knowing the message but being transformed by it through personal trials and ordeals. He encourages believers to allow God to work in them over time, humbly submitting to His process of spiritual growth and maturity.
Text
"God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Genesis 41:52).
To share what we have may minister temporarily to the physical; but to minister to the spiritual in an eternal way we must share what we are, and that calls for growth in the Lord Jesus Christ.
"We can only comfort others with the comfort wherewith we ourselves have been comforted of God. Others can only really be helped by what has been the power of life in the would-be helper.
"Information, by itself, however correct and orthodox, however strongly held in conviction and passed on in passion, will lack an essential and indispensable quality or value for spiritual constitution.
"Hence it has ever been God's way to raise up a vessel, personal or corporate, in which His message has been wrought by fiery ordeal. The messenger must not only have the message in him, but he must be in the message: not only in mind and feeling, but in experience and being." -T. A-S.
"We really can only come into the reality of things by being 'pressed out of measure' (2 Corinthians 1:8). So the Lord has to take much time to make our spiritual history. When at length our eyes are open, we cry, 'O, why did I not see it before!' But everything else had to prove insufficient before we could really be shown, and that takes time."
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6).
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Spiritual Growth
- The Power of Personal Experience
- The Process of Spiritual Growth
- We must be 'pressed out of measure' to come into the reality of things
- The Lord takes time to make our spiritual history
Key Quotes
“We can only comfort others with the comfort wherewith we ourselves have been comforted of God.” — Miles J. Stanford
“Information, by itself, however correct and orthodox, however strongly held in conviction and passed on in passion, will lack an essential and indispensable quality or value for spiritual constitution.” — Miles J. Stanford
“Hence it has ever been God's way to raise up a vessel, personal or corporate, in which His message has been wrought by fiery ordeal.” — Miles J. Stanford
Application Points
- To truly help others spiritually, you must first grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and experience His comfort and power for yourself.
- Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and He will exalt you in due time.
- Be patient and allow the Lord to make your spiritual history, even if it takes time.