The Acts of Disciples
They Make Disciples – Part III

Scripture Reading: Acts 18:11-23

Key Verse: Acts 18:23
After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

The reason we see the Apostle Paul going back to places where people had already accepted Jesus is because he was following Jesus’s command to make disciples of all nations, not to simply get converts.

Our Key Verse ends with why Paul returned to places He had already been: because he was “strengthening all the disciples”. Paul was all about making disciples and growing them to be strong.

We have been looking at Jesus’s last words to his followers, called the Great Commission:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

We have studied the first two of the last commands that Jesus gave in the Great Commission. The third last command is to teach those new believers to obey everything that Jesus taught.

This is the central reason for having weekly gatherings of believers, so believers can study the teachings of Jesus. Abandoning Sunday morning services is to give up an opportunity to worship with other believers and become stronger in your faith.

The Apostle Peter understood that much of his ministry was reminding Christ-followers of Jesus’s teaching:

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Peter 1:12-15; I added underlining for emphasis)

It is not just pastors and teachers that remind people of Jesus’s teaching. Every Christ-follower should know God’s Word well enough to help their family and friends remember Jesus teachings.

We must not simply be “hearers” of God’s Word, we must be “doers” as well (James 1:22-25).

Father, thank You for preserving the Bible over the millennium. Help me to cherish it, reading and studying it for my own benefit. Help me to remind others of Your Truth, when given that opportunity. In Jesus’s Name I pray, amen.