devils were subject to
them, through His name. The Lord seemed to just correct them in this
one thing when He said, "Rejoice not that the devils are subject to
you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." There is
assurance for you. They had something to rejoice in now. God don't ask
us to rejoice over nothing, but He gives us some ground for our joy.
What would you think of a man or woman who seemed very happy to-day
and full of joy, and couldn't tell you what made them so? Suppose I
should meet a man on the street, and he was so full of joy that he
should get hold of both my hands and say, "Bless the Lord, I am so
full of joy!" "What makes you so full of joy?" "Well, I don't know."
"You don't know?" "No, I don't; but I am so joyful that I just want to
get out of the flesh." "What makes you feel so joyful?" "Well, I don't
know." Would we not think such a person unreasonable? But there are a
great many people who feel--who want to feel--that they are Christians
before they are Christians; they want the Christian's experience
before they become Christians; they want to have the joy of the Lord
before they receive Jesus Christ. But this is not the Gospel order. He
brings joy when He comes, and we can not have joy apart from Him;
there is no joy away from Him; He is the author of it, and we find our
joy in Him.

JOY IS UNSELFISH.

Now, there are three kinds of joy; there is the joy of one's own
salvation. I thought, when I first tasted that, it was the most
delicious joy I had ever known, and that I could never get beyond it.
But I found, afterward, there was something more joyful than that,
namely, the joy of the salvation of others. Oh, the privilege, the
blessed privilege, to be used of God to win a soul to Christ, and to
see a man or woman being led out of bondage by some act of ours toward
them. To think that God should condescend to allow us to be co-workers
with Him. It is the highest honor we can wear. It surpasses the joy of
our own salvation, this joy of seeing others saved. And then John
said, He had no greater joy than to see His disciples walking in the
truth. Every man who has been the means of leading souls to Christ
understands what that means. Young disciples, walk in the truth and
you will have joy all the while.

I think there is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is
caused by things which happen around me, and circumstances will mar
it, but joy flows right on through t