Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

To the best of my understanding, here in Luke 11, when thedisciples asked the Lord to teach them how to pray, this was toward the end ofHis first three years of ministry mostly in the region of Galilee. But youmight also remember in Matthew 6, on an earlier occasion at the beginning of Hisministry, as Jesus was giving one of His first recorded sermons, called the “Sermonon the Mount” or the “Beati...

James 5:16-18 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one foranother, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteousman avails much. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and heprayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by thespace of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gaverain, and the earth brought...

Today I want us to think about our greatest need. Whatwould you think is the greatest need that a human being has today? First, I remindyou that originally, we were not created with this need. When God created Adamand Eve, He created them in innocence! They were created without sin. They werein perfect harmony in their relationship with God and they enjoyed pure and unbrokenworship, fellowship and...

We can’t talk enough about the importance of prayer, the priorityof prayer, the power of prayer, the purpose of prayer, the place of prayer andthe pattern of prayer. Volumes of books have been written on the subject ofprayer. For sure, preaching or teaching about prayer is one of my favorite topics. This is what we have been looking at here in Luke 11:1-13. The greatest teacherthat ever lived is t...

  We are looking at the passage here in Luke 11:1-13 wherethe Lord is teaching His disciples to pray. They had just heard the Lordpraying and they were prompted to ask Him to teach them to pray. I believe oneof the places you will be encouraged to pray is in a prayer meeting when youhear someone else really pray. Many people say prayers but ever now and thenyou get in the presence of someone who p...

I’m convinced that one of the most important things we cando as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ is to pray! That is what we arereading and studying about here in Luke 11:1-13. The disciples heard Jesuspraying, they had seen John the Baptist teach his disciples to pray, and sothey asked Jesus a great question, “Lord, teach us to pray.” The Lord respondsby giving them the pattern of prayer o...

These first verses in Luke 11 should remind us of theimportance and necessity of prayer in our lives! What we normally call “TheLord’s Prayer” is actually “The Pattern for Prayer” that the Lord gave to His disciplesin answer to their question, “Lord, teach us to pray…”. As we havealready noted the first thing we learn from it is that our prayers are verymuch connected to our relationship with God....

If you asked most people what is the Lord’s prayer and whereyou can find it in the Bible, they would probably recite the above prayer and pointyou to Matthew 6:9-13 or to this passage in Luke 11:2-4. And in a sense, theywould be right. But if you asked someone else the same question, they might correctlyanswer and say it is found in John 17, where the entire chapter is the Lord’s HighPriestly pray...

Right after Jesus commends Mary for choosing to sit at Hisfeet to worship in Luke 10, in Luke 11:1-14 He teaches His disciples aboutprayer. God created us to worship Him and commune with Him. Worship isrecognizing Who God is and ascribing to Him His worth! It is acknowledging ourneed for Him as the only One Who can meet every need we have in our life! AndGod has given us the avenue of prayer to en...

Luke 10 ends with Jesus commending Mary of Bethany, the sisterof Martha and Lazarus, for “choosing that good part, which will not be takenaway from her”.  She had chosen to “sitat Jesus feet” over serving in the kitchen when Jesus was a guest in their house. We talked about as important as it is to serve the Lord as ambassadors and be “goodneighbors”, we must remember that at the heart of everythi...

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companionof fools will be destroyed.”   Today we are in between the chapters of Luke 10 and Luke11. I felt very impressed to take the time to tie them together with a personalspiritual discipline that has really helped me to take time to “sit at the feetof Jesus” on a daily basis over the many years of our ministry.   In my very first year as a fol...

Today we will finish our study in Luke 10. From thiswonderful chapter we have learned from the sending of the seventy (vv. 1-16),that we are to be ambassadors for Christ. We are His representatives, “standingin His stead, beseeching people to be reconciled to God through the blood ofHis cross” (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). From the story of “Good Samaritan” (vv.25-37), we are taught that as Christ foll...

But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."   Luke 10 begins with Jesus sending out the “seventy”. “Afterthese things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by twobefore His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go (v.1). Jesus calls and commissions them and gives them specific instructions. He...

Yesterday we talked about the “certain man” who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. The way that takes you away from the worship and presence of God is always down. It is a the “broad way” that Jesus told about in Matthew 7:13-14; "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and...

30 Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.   There are so many lessons for us to learn from the story that Jesus told to the lawyer here in Luke 10. Yesterday we talked about the number of times that the word “certain” is used in this brief stor...

Before we look at Luke 10, I would like to ask you for special prayer today as I will be on the road traveling from my home in Sneads Ferry NC down to Savannah GA. Tonight I’m speaking in a mission’s conference at Countryside Baptist Church for my pastor friend, Rick Flowers. Please pray for traveling mercies and for people to respond to my plea for prayer partners for the pastors in India. The Lo...

In Luke 10, Jesus sent out the “seventy” two by two to go and proclaim the message of the kingdom. Remember in Luke 9, Jesus sent out the “twelve” on their own for the first time to do the same. We believe that Jesus is now in His third year of earthly ministry primarily presenting Himself as the “Promised Messiah”, and the Son of God to the nation of Israel, but also as the Son of Man to the worl...

In Luke 10 we have one of the best lessons on the challenges that a true follower of Jesus Christ will face as he or she surrenders their life to Him in Christian ministry and service, to be obedient and do His will. For some reason, as I was waking up early this morning, I felt so unmotivated, tired and weary and absolutely did not want to get out of bed. Immediately a verse came to my mind from...

Luke 10:1 begins with, “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them….”. I believe these “seventy” can be representative of the Lord Jesus calling and ordaining all believers to share the “Good News” of Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of God, to the 8 billion plus souls in the world around us today (John 15:16). In the Bible, the number seven is the number of completion,...

In Luke 9 and Luke 10 Jesus sent two different groups on very similar missions. In Luke 9:1-2 He sent the twelve: “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” In Luke 10:1-9, He sent the seventy: “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and s...

Yesterday we noted that Luke is the only Gospel that records this appointing and sending of the “seventy also”. These men were not called "apostles," but they were still "sent with a commission" to represent the Lord. They were therefore truly ambassadors of the King. Not only were they sent by Him, but they were also sent before Him to prepare the way for His coming. Their cal...

As we begin this study in Luke 10, I want to encourage you to take the time to read the entire chapter. There are at least three scenes in Luke 10 that illustrate the threefold ministry of every Christian believer, and they answer the question, “What on earth am I here for?” Why didn’t the Lord just take us on to heaven as soon as we got saved? Since I am left here on earth in this world, what sho...

Since Saturday morning when I made my last Pastor’s Chat post, I have driven over 2,000 miles as we took Kimberly and Luke to the Boston’s Children Hospital. We can’t thank you enough for all your prayers as the Lord wonderfully blessed us with traveling mercies and a great visit with the doctor there. As we already posted, Kimberly was extremely excited with his evaluation and recommendations for...

Friends, I need to ask for special prayer today before we look at Luke 9. This morning, I will be driving to Roanoke to meet my daughter Kimberly and my grandson Luke. Then early Sunday morning we will be driving to Boston Massachusetts for an appointment early Monday morning with a doctor at the Boston Children’s Hospital, who is a leading specialist in the world on the condition that Luke has wi...

Today, I have basically one point that I would like to emphasize. From this passage before us in Luke 9, and from my other experiences in life, I am convinced that one of the greatest dangers we will face in following Christ as His disciples is pride. After following and being with the Lord Jesus for now over three years the disciples are arguing and disputing with one another over “which of them...