Intrinsic Motivation; Acts 17-19

May the mumbling commence!

The Christian life goes beyond repentance.  The baptism of John was one of repentance – turning away from old sinful ways to the Lord.  That turning away and toward is all good and well, but the baptism of Jesus is deeper.  One can turn from evil and do good for extrinsic reasons – so that they might impress other people for example…

The baptism of Jesus calls for a deeper change – one that is of our very essence, spiritual.  The drive to do good for show can be transformed into the drive to be godly.  Instead of being extrinsically motivated, we become intrinsically motivated.  This transformation happens through the indwelling of the  Holy Spirit of God.  And that transformation is an ongoing process…  It takes a lifetime – literally!

Read from the beginning of Acts chapter nineteen:

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." 

So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"

"John's baptism," they replied. 

Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus."  On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.  When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.  There were about twelve men in all. 

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.  But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.  This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. (Verses 1-10)

Receiving the Spirit of the Lord means speaking boldly and eloquently.  It means gathering around you seekers so that you may expose them to the Word of the Lord – Jesus Christ.  Jesus had twelve disciples, and Paul baptized twelve of the men of Corinth in the name of Jesus.  These men would be the locus of the movement of the Spirit in their community.

Yes, Paul did stay for two years.  But he did leave.  So these twelve men would be essential to the spiritual growth of the church in Corinth.

And deeper change takes time – a lifetime I called it earlier.  Paul started the process in his two years in Corinth.  Yes, the process of deep spiritual change had only just begun as Paul left.  Spiritual change does not operate on our time schedules.  Remember: We follow the Holy Spirit of God.  The Holy Spirit doesn’t follow us…

I pray daily for deep spiritual change.  I am on the lifelong process of transforming myself into a person who does good things out of the good stored in my heart, in my spirit.  Will you join me on the journey?  We’ll never be the same.  And there’s no going back.  Amen!  Let it be so!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out