Philippians: The Joy of the Lord — Stephen Kaung

This is Monday evening, June the 18th, 1973 in Richmond, Virginia. Ministry is being given through Brother Stephen Kong. I don't know who wrote this chorus, but I brought it back from New Zealand. In 1970, I was invited to go to New Zealand to a conference.

I don't know these people. But they invited Brother Fonke to go there for that conference in 1969. And evidently, Brother Fonke introduced me to them. So they wrote me and asked me to visit them during that conference in October 1970.

Every year they had a conference in a big tent. And people will come and live in what we call trailers, they call caravans. And it's a conference for a week. Now the background of these people, most of them probably, or some of them, they came from apostolic faith.

I don't know if you are familiar with that. It was actually the result of the Welsh revival in 1905. You know, in Wales there was a great revival. And the revival came to New Zealand. And out of that revival came the apostolic faith church.

Two brothers in the flesh, but also in the Lord. One of them was a minister in the apostolic faith church, ten years or a number of years. And his work was going around in New Zealand, bringing a tent with him.

And he would hold evangelistic meetings. And he worked especially among young people. And after he had worked for about ten years, he began to feel that the Lord was leading him. To just trust the Lord and just be guided by the Lord in everything.

So he and his brother, they took a job, they were builders. They began to build houses to maintain their living. But they told me that serving the Lord was the priority. So they began to start a work in the southern tip of the northern island.

You know, New Zealand is composed of two islands, the North Island and the South Island. Now in the southern tip of the North Island, they began to start a work there. And the Lord began to work through these two brothers and a few others with them.

So every year they had such a conflict. And among them, of course, signs and wonders were routine, almost routine to them. And the year I was there in 1970, I don't know who wrote this chorus. But in a sense, this became the theme song of that.

Because this brother had such a heart for the Lord. And he sang this again and again during the conference time. He was very musical and so was his brother. Both of them were very musical. And as he led the audience singing this chorus, I could sense that he was just expressing what was in his heart.

Knowing the Lord Beyond Signs and Wonders

Show me thy way, O Lord. Reveal thyself to me. I've seen thy signs and wonders, but Lord, I would know thee. And you could see that when he sang that, and the whole atmosphere as he was leading the singing was to know the Lord.

He was not satisfied by just seeing signs and wonders, which they saw a lot, but they want to know the Lord himself. And that was the theme song of that conference. So I brought it back. Can we sing it once more?

Show me thy way. Thou does desire that we would know. And Lord, this is the prayer of our heart. We thank thee and praise thee for thy signs and wonders. But Lord, we know that these point us to thyself.

Lord, we can never be satisfied without thee. Thou must be everything to us. Unless thou be everything, Lord, all things, but Lord, thou art the only one who is eternal. Thou art the only reality. So Lord, with such a desire in our hearts, we come to thee Lord tonight.

Trusting thy Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of reality. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. We have been fellowshipping together during the past two sessions on the letter to the Philippines.

Philippians as Paul’s Intimate Letter of Christian Life

We mentioned at the very beginning that the letter to the Philippines has its unique character because of all the letters written by the Apostle Paul to the churches. This letter is the most intimate of all his writings.

It is a love letter. It is a heart-to-heart talk between Paul and the saints in Philippi. And there was such a love between them. There was no inhibition, no reservation, no fear, no misunderstanding.

But there was just a free flow of the innermost feelings of Paul the saint in Philippi. So I think everybody who reads the letter to the Philippines will love that letter. It does not deal too much with teaching or doctrine.

It does not deal very much with problems. It is not a corrective letter, nor an instructive letter. And yet there is such a sense of life, of love, of uplifting when you read this letter to the Philippines.

You know sometimes after you have read such a letter it is very difficult for you to explain it or to tell it. And yet somehow you feel warm in your heart. Now that is the kind of the letter to the Philippines.

In this letter Paul reveals he dares himself to the saints in Philippi. He tells them of the secret of his life. And the secret is for me to live his life. It is not Paul who is living. It is not Paul who is trying to live a Christian life.

It is not Paul who is trying to live like Christ. He has found that it is impossible. Even though he has such a strong will, he is such a man of genius. Of great ability. And yet he dares himself. He says it is impossible.

But at the same time he discovers the secret. For me to live is Christ. It is not I, Paul, who is living. It is Christ who lives in me. And that is the explanation of his whole life. And because he lives by the life of Christ, therefore his walk on earth is not by the mind of Christ.

The spirit of Christ. And it is the spirit of humility. Now tonight we would like again to go through this letter. Not the first chapter. Not the second chapter. But the whole book. You know, as you read the letter to the Philippines, you cannot help but notice a note that runs through the whole letter.

The Repeated Theme of Joy in Philippians

And thank God, quite a number of the choruses we sang had that note. As you read the letter to the Philippines, you find there is only one word. Or it is a similar word. Repeat it again, again, and again.

If you try to count this word and its similar word, you will find altogether 14 times. 14 times. It is the word joy. Or rejoice. So people who read this letter to the Philippines say it is the letter of joy.

The whole letter, no matter what it writes, it carries with it a note of joy. And this is especially impressive. Why? Because when you consider the situation of Paul, and you consider the situation of the church in Philippi, there does not seem to have much reason for such joy.

You look at Paul. He was a prisoner in Rome. Even though we said he was given certain liberty. He was allowed to live in his own rent apartment. And he was even allowed to receive visitors. And yet, he was confined to a certain area.

He was not allowed to move freely. But he was confined to a certain area. And a Roman God, Pictorian God, Imperial God, was always chained with him day and night. He didn't have any liberty and he didn't have any privacy.

He was waiting to be tried by Caesar. By Nero. And you know, when a prisoner was waiting to be tried by the Emperor, you never knew when he would try you. In other words, it's up to the Emperor. When the Emperor felt that he wanted to look into your case, then your case was to be tried.

And if he didn't mind to do that, you never knew for how many years you might be confined as a prisoner without getting a trial. And Paul was waiting there, waiting there for the trial. And he never knew when the trial would come.

And that was a real burden. And not only that, he never knew what would be the outcome of that trial, humanly speaking. It's up to the Emperor. It's up to Caesar. It's up to the time when he tried the case, what kind of mood he was in.

So you'll find everything was in suspense. And brothers and sisters, how we like to have everything settled. When things are in suspense, now that was, that is in itself a trial. We would rather see it go either one way or the other.

Either life or death. Either a cripple or sentence to death. Than to be hanged there in suspense. And that was what Paul was during that time. And we also mentioned that when he was in Rome, he was continuing in preaching the gospel of grace as God had revealed to him.

But it aroused the jealousy of those so-called Jewish Christians. Those Christians who believed in the Lord and yet they held on to Moses. So they began to preach Christ out of contention, out of strife, not out of love.

And these people added the burden upon the heart of Paul. Then the news came. The church that Paul loves so much. There was such a harmony between that church and Paul. And yet in that church they had a serious problem.

Two leading spiritual sisters acted very unspiritually. They were in rival one with another. Not because of truth. But because of the clash of personalities. And Paul could not go there and talk to them.

Because he was a prisoner. He was not free. And of course added to this will be the burden of all the churches. As Paul said in Corinth. Who is weak and he is not burned. So you think of the situation Paul was in under such a condition.

If he was not complaining. If he was not murmuring. If he was not rebelling against God and against man. Now that was good enough. If he was not groaning and moaning over his tragic condition. That was will be considered as quite victorious.

How could he under such a condition remain so joyously in the Lord? You know this was not just incidental. Because in the very beginning of the church in Philippi you remember. Paul was put in a jail in Philippi.

He was beaten. He was locked. He was put in the inner prison in a dungeon there. And yet at midnight you remember he and Silas they sang. They prayed and they praised God. That was the beginning of the history of the church in Philippi.

And now after 10 years. Approximately 10 years. He was again in prison in Rome. And there again in that prison when he was writing the letter to the church in Philippi. Again he was singing and praising and praying God in the Roman prison.

In other words this joy that Paul had was not incidental. It was something that characterized his life. For 10 years in his relationship with the church in Philippi. He began with joy and he concluded with joy.

And the situation was getting worse. Not getting better. On the other hand when Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians. He knew what the believers in Philippi needed. Because of the rivalry between these two sisters.

A shadow was cast over the whole church. Everybody was in grief. Nobody knew what to do. They were in sorrow. In grief. And you know this was a very dangerous situation. Because when a person was in sorrow and in grief.

He was open to temptation. He is not victorious in the Lord. He will become an introvert. He begins to look within himself. And as a person begins to look within himself. You know temptation is at the door.

So Paul knew what they needed. They needed to be comforted with joy. If only they knew the joy of the Lord. Then they will rise above their situation. Instead of being under the situation. So Paul saw the need of joy with the saints in Philippi.

But did he write this letter with a note of joy as a policy? As a necessity? Trying to create an atmosphere? Trying to do something? Not at all. Because with Paul the joy in him was real. And only that which is real could be imparted to others.

It is no use to tell people to rejoice. If the joy of the Lord is not real in you. It is so real in Paul. He is not pretending. He is not manufacturing. He is not trying to do something. He's not concerning of something.

No. He is just sharing that joy that overflows in his life. And the overflowing of joy made the Philippian believers joyful. In the Lord. So it is a letter of joy. Brothers and sisters you know according to the Greek word.

There is a difference between joy and pleasure. Pleasure according to the word pleasure. Pleasure is generally speaking superficial and transitory. It is an emotional expression that comes out of a conscious pursuit of happiness.

In other words you are pursuing happiness. You are exerting your effort consciously seeking for happiness. And as you are seeking for happiness. There comes into you an emotional effect. And that emotional effect is called pleasure.

It is superficial and transitory. Why? Because it passes away very quickly. Now that's pleasure. The joy according to the Greek word is very different. Joy is deep. It is a sustained state. It is more than an emotional outburst.

It is a character. Joy always carries with it a sense of sheer. A sense of realization. It is in the spirit. The difference between pleasure and joy is heaven and earth. People of this world know pleasure.

They seek for happiness and they got pleasure. They seem to be happy for a short while and then it's gone. It is superficial. They may be laughing and yet it goes off very quickly. This is not joy. Joy is something that is deep.

That is sustained. That is in our spirit. It is a character within us. It has its root somewhere else. Not in the things that you seek for but it is rooted in God. And because of that you find oftentimes affliction, suffering seems to add joy to your life.

Instead of taking it away. It is different. Right of the situation Paul was in, there was joy within him. That these conditions could not take away. And he could rise above all these conditions and rejoice in the Lord.

He said, for me it is not earth's joy but for you it is heaven. Dear brothers and sisters, do we know this joy? This joy does not depend upon environment. It is not affected by circumstance. It rises above it because it is rooted.

The Joy of the Lord in Christ’s Suffering

Let's look beyond and look into Christ. If you read the life of Christ as we find in the full gospel. You'll find that the life of Christ is a perfect fulfillment of that word in Nehemiah 8. The joy of the Lord is your strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength. Now you'll find this perfectly fulfilled in the life of our Lord Jesus. Now who is our Lord Jesus while he was on earth? Isaiah 53 says, he is a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.

He is the Lord Jesus. He is a man of sorrow. He not only knows what sorrow is but he is a man of sorrow. In other words, his sorrows are deep. Very deep. Those come from two sources. One is he is such a person, a man of God.

Even though he is a man yet he is God and he has such a heart for mankind. In a sense, he carries with him, he bears upon his heart all the sorrows of this world. He is one who is full of sympathy. Brothers and sisters, a person who is full of sympathy.

A person who bears the sorrows of other people. A person who bears the pains of other people. How can he sin? Those sorrows that we bear seem to crush us. And if we try to bear other people's sorrows, you'll find that we are really burdened down, way down by the sorrows of other people.

If you have a bigger heart and you begin to bear the sorrows of the whole nation, the sorrows of the whole world, who can bear it? You cannot live. You will be completely crushed because the sorrows of this world are immeasurable.

And the Lord Jesus, while he walked on earth, he took upon himself all the sorrows of mankind, of this world. It's infinite. And then, secondly, his sorrows came all how people, all people in this world misunderstood him and are still misunderstanding him.

How he came with a heart of love and yet they hated him without a cause. Not only his folk did not understand him, even his disciples often misunderstood him. Now, brothers and sisters, think of it. The sorrows that he received from man were tremendous.

No wonder the prophet said, he is a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief. To him, grief and sorrow are not the only thing. He experienced it deeply in his own life. Now, this is our Lord Jesus. He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Now, if he is such a person, can he ever laugh? He should be crying and weeping all the time. Well, as a matter of fact, in the Bible, you'll never find Jesus laughed. Well, I do not say he never laughed, but the Bible does not recall that.

On the contrary, you'll find the Bible say Jesus wept. Why? Because he's a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And yet, dear brothers and sisters, you do not find our Lord Jesus going around with a long face.

Oh, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. You know, if our Lord Jesus was like that, no child will ever get near to him. You know, children are very innocent and yet they are very intuitive. You are a man with long face.

The children, when they look at you, they'll go away. But in the case of our Lord Jesus, you'll find the children flock to him. Out of the bane, the praise is perfect. And our Lord took the children in his hands and prayed for them.

So you can see that our Lord Jesus never went around with a long face. No, never. He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It is true that the Bible does not record his laughing, but only his weeping.

And yet, our Lord Jesus is not one who wears a long face. He is very attractive. And one day, you'll remember, he even said to the people, John the Baptist came without eating and drinking, but a son of man does eat.

He was not an ascetic. No, not a hermit. But you'll find he's open. One day, the 70 disciples that he sent out came back. Oh, and they rejoiced. They came back to the Lord Jesus and they were rejoicing.

Because their mission was successful. They told the Lord and they rejoiced and said, Now Lord, in your name, we cast out the demons. Even the demons are subject to us. Oh, and they were so happy about it.

And you know what our Lord Jesus said? The Lord said, Do not rejoice because the demons are subject to you. There is something better. Rejoice because your names are recorded in heaven. Labored much in the cities of Colossus, Capernaum, Bethlehem.

And yet these people refused to receive it. After much labor in their midst, and yet these people rejected it. And when the Lord looked at these cities, he cried out, Oh, Colossians, oh, Capernaum, oh, Bethlehem.

If that which I have done in your midst were done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would be repenting. But you people, I've labored so much in your midst, and you're so stubborn, so hard-hearted. It is, it was broken-hearted, you know.

So far as our Lord was concerned, his heart was really broken when he was faced with such a situation. We may think he was weeping at that, but strange. Of his crying and weeping, suddenly he lifted his eyes to heaven, and he rejoiced in his spirit.

And said, Father, I thank you. Because you keep these things away from the wise and the prudent, but you reveal them to me. Father, I thank you because it is the pleasure, good pleasure of your will. No one knows the Son but the Father, and those to whom the Father revealed.

And no one knows the Father but the Son, and to whom the Son reveals the Father. Dear brothers and sisters, you see that? He was crying, and he was rejoicing. So far as the situation before him was concerned, it was heartbroken.

And yet when he turned to the Father, he rejoiced in his spirit. Now that is joy. That is joy. Joy is not just going around and laughing all the time. You do not know the sorrow, the grief, the pain in the heart of a clown.

A clown may be laughing and try to make people laugh. But if you examine his heart, he is crying. No joy. The joy is something that overcomes, that rises above the clouds, and there is always sunshine.

That is our Lord Jesus. The joy of our Lord Jesus is in the Father, and in the Father's will. As long as he sees the Father, as long as he knows he is doing the Father's will, there is joy. That is his joy.

Christ’s Joy Shared With His Disciples

And dear brothers and sisters, the last night he was with his disciples in that upper room. You know, the whole atmosphere was rather gloomy and dark, because the Lord was telling his disciples, one among you will betray me.

And everybody knew something was going to happen, even though they did not know too well, and yet they said the Lord was leading them. And they were in grief. The whole atmosphere was hanging heavily.

And you know, during the Last Supper, after the Last Supper, our Lord Jesus was pouring out his heart to his own. And if you read John chapter 14, chapter 15, chapter 16, what do you find there? You find again and again the note of joy.

As a refrain, the Lord said, I tell you these things beforehand, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be for me. Now you are in grief, but I am coming to you. And when you shall see me, then you will be filled with joy.

Even though you have not asked anything of the Father in my name, but now if you ask in my name, my Father will hear you, and your joy will be filled. The joy that I give to you, nobody can take away.

Brothers and sisters, think of that. Our Lord Jesus was to be betrayed. Our Lord Jesus was going to the cross. And yet, the joy within him was so full, that he was able to share it with his disciples.

Now that is the joy of the Lord. There is another chorus we often sing, and it is, in thy presence there is fullness of joy. At thy right hand are pleasures forevermore. That is Psalm 16. Brothers and sisters, have you ever thought about this?

In thy presence is fullness of joy. And the word in thy presence literally means, thy countenance is fullness of joy. Thy countenance, thy faith is fullness of joy. And at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.

You see the two words? Joy and pleasure. Joy is related to the countenance of God. Pleasures are related to his right hand. In other words, what is our countenance? Our countenance reveals what is within us.

Now suppose today, you are not too happy, something is bothering you, you are burdened. Unconsciously, it comes out in your countenance. People can just look at you and know what is in your heart, if you are not pretending.

You know, when you are alone. You know, so you find that joy is always related to the countenance of God. In other words, joy is related to God, what he is. If you know who he is and what he is, then you have joy.

Joy is not related to things. Joy is not related to your environment. Joy is only related to God. If you know him, if you know who he is and what he is, if you know his will and you are related to his will, then joy is your portion.

What is pleasure? Pleasure is connected with his right hand. And right hand in the scripture always speaks of the act of God. You use your right hand to do something. In other words, suppose you have a need and you pray.

And God uses his right hand to do something for you. And you are very happy. That's pleasure. Does it last long? After a while you forgot what God had done for you. You know, because it is pleasure. It is not joy.

Joy is knowing the nature. Joy is related to God's nature. And pleasure is only connected with God's act. So here you find our Lord Jesus in his life. Oh our Lord Jesus. He knows joy. He knows the joy of the Lord.

Because he knows the Father. And he is doing the Father's will. So in spite of everything, his joy always remains. It never changes. And he is able to impart his joy to his disciples. This is the case with Paul.

We find so far as pleasure is concerned, he doesn't seem to have much. He was not relieved. He was still in prison. He was still burdened with all these pressures. And yet dear brothers and sisters, he knew the Lord.

Knew he was doing the Lord's will. And because of that, there was a deep joy within him. That nothing could take away. And he was so joyous in the Lord that he was able to even share it with the believers in Pentecost.

Now this is, you know, oftentimes we do not see the difference. Oftentimes we mix up joy and pleasure. But joy is in the Spirit. Something and nothing can take it away. So in this letter to the Philippines, you'll find it is, it runs from the beginning to the end, a note of joy.

And when the joy of the Lord is there, if you lose that joy, you lose your strength. You begin to be discouraged. You sink into despair. But if the joy of the Lord is there, on you go. You know, in Hebrews chapter 12, our Lord Jesus, it says, look away from everything unto Jesus, the author and completer of our faith.

Who for the joy that is set before him endured the cross, despised the shame until he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Joy. It is because the joy of the Lord was with him. He was able to endure everything.

Joy Through Fellowship and Service

To do the Father's will. That is his joy. And there he arrived at the right hand of the throne of God. Now let's look into the letter to the Philippines. We'll notice the joy or rejoicing we find in this letter.

And probably we can learn something out of it. The first mentioning of the word joy is in verse 4, chapter 1, verse 4. Constantly in my every supplication, making the supplication for you all with joy, because of your fellowship with the gospel from the first day until now.

Here you'll find Paul says, I can pray for you all with joy. I wonder how many times are you able to pray for someone with joy? Probably for most people whom you'll pray for, you'll pray with gloom. Why?

Because you see in their lives something is wrong. Something there that hinders, opposes God for real. So when you pray for them, you'll pray with groanings, with deep groanings within you. Oh that God may get through this life.

But here Paul, he was able to pray for the saints in Philippi with joy. Brothers and sisters, sometimes you have a taste of that. Sometimes when you mention someone before the Lord, you really feel joyful in your heart as you mention them before the Lord.

You can pray God for them. And here Paul says, I supplicate for you all with joy. Why? Because of your fellowship with the gospel. You know the church in Philippi had fellowship with Paul in the gospel from the very first day until the day Paul was in the prison in Rome, 10 years.

From the very beginning they stood with Paul in the gospel. They might not be traveling around with Paul, but they were supporting Paul in their prayer. They were one with Paul in the gospel. Even though Paul was in Rome as a prisoner, they sent a prophet there with their gifts and with their prayer.

They stood with Paul. Brothers and sisters, I wonder, aside from the Lord, that which can give us joy on earth, is fellowship. To me, I think it is very real. Aside from the Lord, from whom we receive the joy of the Lord in us, I think there is nothing that makes us joyful than to have fellowship with brothers and sisters.

When you find some brothers and sisters whom you could fellowship with, of one heart, of one mind, of one spirit, you can share together of the Lord, and you are one in the Lord. Brothers and sisters, it gives you such joy.

It's full of joy. But what is fellowship? When God's people come together and they begin to discuss this brother and that brother, that is not fellowship. Because the more you talk about it, the more you are sad.

Fellowship is sharing Christ. Sharing Christ. Oh, there is nothing more joyous on earth than when God's people come together and share Christ in one spirit. And Paul says, I pray for you with joy because of your fellowship.

Fellowship in the gospel. You are one with me in the preaching of the gospel. Now that's where joy is. And the second place is in verse... What is it then? At any rate, in every place, whether in pretext or in truth, Christ is announced.

And in this I rejoice. Yea, also I will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for me to salvation through your supplication and supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ. You know, Paul, a limited way.

He was still trying to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The pure grace of God. And then these Jewish believers began to preach Jesus Christ out of contention, trying to distort the truth of the gospel.

It grieved Paul. It grieved Paul. In other words, so far as truth is concerned, there could be no compromise. And yet, in spite... Paul rose above the situation and said, whether they preach Jesus Christ by pretext or by truth, in love or in jealousy, at least Jesus Christ is announced.

No matter what happens to me, Jesus Christ is announced. Not fully, not in perfection, but at least the name of Jesus Christ is uplifted. And if I, Paul, shall suffer, that doesn't matter. I rejoice. In other words, you'll find the reason why we do not rejoice, the reason why we do not have joy is because we care too much about ourselves.

He who cares much about himself is one who is always willing. If we can forget ourselves, and if we can only think of the Lord, brothers and sisters, we will rejoice. This is the reason why we are not joyful as we should.

Why? Because we think too much of ourselves. What will happen to me? And we lose our joy. But if we think of Christ, oh, if only Christ is announced, if only Christ is uplifted, I rejoice. Because he is the source of my joy.

He is the purpose of my life. And Paul can rejoice over that. Then the third time it's mentioned is in verse 25. You know, Paul was pressed. He said, for me to live is Christ and to die, gain. But if to live in flesh is my loss, this is for me worth the while.

And what I should choose, I cannot tell. I'm pressed by both. Having the desire for departure and being with Christ, for it is very much better. But remaining in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

And having confidence of this, I know that I shall remain and by along with you all for your progress and joy in faith. Here you'll find Paul was pressed. He didn't know whether he should go or whether he should stay.

If he should go, it was much better for him. Because he will be with the Lord. All these trials, all these pressures will be gone. But then he thought of the saints in Philippi. They still needed him.

And for their sake, he felt he should stay. In order that he might help them in the joy in faith. Brothers and sisters, do you see that? Where is our joy? Our joy is in the Lord. Our joy is in doing the will of God.

Where comes our joy? Our joy is when we are thinking of the joy of other people. You cannot rejoice if you always think of yourself. If you can think of other people, to make other people joyful, then your joy is full.

In our Chinese classics, there is a saying. I think it is Confucius who asked this question. He said to be happy alone or to be happy with other people, which is happier? If you are happy by yourself or you are happy with other people, which is happier?

And his answer is with other people. You know, there's two things. You cannot be happy by yourself. It's very limited. You have to share your happiness with others and then your happiness is full. So if we seek the joy of our brothers and sisters, oh, to see they are built up in faith.

They are progressing in the Lord. When you see these things, your joy is full. So no wonder later on Paul said, you are my joy, you are my crown. If you stand in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, that's joy.

Why is it that we don't have joy too much? It's because we are not helping other people. We are not building up other people in the Lord. Oh, when you see your brothers and sisters growing in the Lord.

And if the Lord should use you in a small way to help them. The joy that comes to you is more than when the Lord is doing something to you. It is joy, real joy. And then in chapter two, Paul says in verse one, If then there be any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and compassion, fulfill my joy that ye may think the same thing, having the same love, joy in soul, thinking one thing.

The joy will overflow. If we are one, one in heart, one in spirit, one in love, one in mind. Brothers and sisters, the joy is all the one. Because God's people are so divided, we are grieved. We are grieved.