Dr. David Jeremiah - The Joy of Encouragement: Unlock the Power of Building Others Up

T HE J OY OF E NCOURAGEMENT
published by Multnomah Books

Published in association with the literary agency of
Yates and Yates
1100 Town & Country Rd., Suite 1300, Orange, CA 92868

1997 by David P. Jeremiah/Trustee of the David P. Jeremiah Family Trust

eISBN: 978-0-307-83130-9

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: The New King James Version ( NKJV ) 1984 by Thomas Nelson.

Scripture references marked TLB are from The Living Bible, 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill. Used by permission.
Scripture references marked Amplified are from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament, 1962, 1964, by the Zondervan Publishing House, or The Amplified Bible, New Testament, 1954, 1958 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

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To the lay-shepherds of the
Twenty-Twenty Small Group Network
at the Shadow Mountain Community Church.
You have provided encouragement
for others and in the process
have greatly encouraged my own heart.

I didnt skimp or trim in any way.
Every truth and encouragement
that could have made a difference to you, you got.
I taught you out in public
and I taught you in your home

A CTS 20:20, T HE M ESSAGE E UGENE P ETERSON

First, I owe a debt of gratitude to the members and friends of the Shadow Mountain Community Church. When I first taught the principles in this book to them, they encouraged me to put everything in writing. I am honored that John Van Diest wanted this to be one of the first books released by his new Vision House Publishing Company. Even though he was engulfed in getting his new venture up and running, he still took a personal interest in my book. That interest has continued with this new edition from Questar publishers, the family to which Vision House now belongs.

Sealy Yates is my friend and advisor, and hes the one who really put all the pieces together for the project.

Glenda Parker, who administrates my office, helped care for a myriad details that could have kept me from this assignment.

Finally, I express deep appreciation to my wife, Donna. Her encouragement keeps me going. More than anyone in the world, she believes in me and often tells me so!

Love is the one
ingredient of which
our world never tires
and of which there is
never an abundance.
The world will never
outgrow its
need for love.

C. N EIL S TRAIT

D o you hear it? Listen carefully. Now do you hear it? No? Okay, then turn on your televisionany channel will do. Now do you hear it? Still no? Well, its there all right, but you might have missed it. Go to your front door and open it wide. Listen to the sounds in the streets. Did you hear it? Believe me, it is there!

This time close your door, turn off the television, and listen to the sounds in your own home. Do you hear it? To be certain, listen to your own heart. You hear that? Of course you do. Its unmistakable, coming through loud and clear: I WANT TO BE LOVED. But wait, theres more. Listen closer: AND I WANT TO LOVE.

If you tune in to this world of made-in-the-image-of-God people, you will hear a cry to be loved and to love. These are two of mans most basic desires. We are shaped by those who love us or refuse to love us, and by those whom we love or refuse to love. Love is crucial! This is no news to GodHe created us for love. And Jesus said our love for God and for our neighbor is the fulfillment of all the law of God.

The world cries out for genuine love, love which heals, unites, Love is essential to our emotional, physical, mental, and social well-being.

In his best-selling book, Games People Play, Dr. Eric Berne discussed the tremendous human need for encouragement, by word and by touch, to keep their spinal cords from shrivelingto keep them alive, eager, and confident. His book highlights the variety of games people devise to win this sort of healing attention.