The Motivation of the True Believer

Acts 2:42 "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

I've spoken to this point before but I really feel the need to say it again as we start another year: The motivational aspect of discipling really shouldn't be that difficult. The process may be hard, because believers come with baggage that needs to be patiently worked through - but the desire should be already there.

When the early church was forming, people were being saved by the hundreds. It was necessary for the apostles to work with them. But - it was the new converts who "devoted themselves" to the teachings and to fellowship and to communion and to prayer. They didn't need to be manipulated, convinced, coddled, provoked - they went after it. Probably imperfectly, and that's where discipling comes in, but they still had an immediate, intense desire to get into these things.

This is one of my biggest problems in the church today: we shouldn't have to try "methods" to get people to want to read the Word or to come to church, or to fellowship or to pray. It's an inborn desire that comes upon salvation and the sealing of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13,14) because that's what He wants to do.

If you find that you have to work really hard to get someone to want to read the Bible, to fellowship with other believers or to pray - then you may be looking at someone who has never really been saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.