Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

We want to talkabout this very last phrase: “Supplication for all the saints”. So we are to bepraying always with watchfulness, with perseverance, and be praying orsupplicating for all the saints. I cannot say it enough times—we are to bepraying for others.   AsPaul tells us to pray here, two Greek words are actually used for the words prayers and supplications . The word supplication is used twic...

What does it mean to be watchful in prayer? It means to stay awake and bealert. Remember the passage in 1 Peter 5:6–8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because youradversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he maydevour.”   Tobe watchful is what Jesus was speaking about in the Garden of Gethsemane withHis disciples in Matthew 26:41. As He went a little farther to pray by Himself,He...

Jesus promised Hisdisciples in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power, after that the HolyGhost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me….” My friend,when the Holy Spirit is upon us—when He is guiding and leading us—then we willbe praying in the Spirit with the power and authority of heaven behind our prayers.   RememberRomans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which a...

Wehave already spoken about the soldier on his knees, breathing out prayers. Thespiritual breath of the believer is prayer. In contrast, the breath of thewicked person in Proverbs is lies. This does not mean that we are alwaystalking in prayer. Jesus even warned about vain repetitions in prayers in Matthew6:7. No, He is speaking of constantly having communion with the Lord—living inthe awareness o...

In1 Timothy 2:1 we read: “I exhort therefore, first of all, thatsupplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for allmen, for kings, and for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet andpeaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptablein the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come tothe knowledge of the truth....

Welcometo Pastor’s Chat. Today we’re moving on to Ephesians 6:18–20. The Apostle Paulhas been talking about putting on the whole armor of God, that we might be ableto stand against the wiles of the devil—and having done all, to stand. But notonly does he want us to stand; he also wants us to bow our knees. In theseverses, Paul speaks about the Christian soldier on his knees.  AsPaul concludes the...

In 2 Timothy 2:1, Paul toldhis son in the faith, Timothy, to “be strong in the grace that is in ChristJesus.” So I encourage you—be strong in grace. This grace comes throughhumility, through confession of sin, through recognizing every moment your needfor the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood to cleanse you, to help you, and togive you everything you need to be all that you should be for the glory o...

Now we are not only holding up the shield of faith, but we arealso taking the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We have alreadysaid many things about this but today is especially important as we talk aboutthe Word of God and prayer—the Word of God and prayer.   Youcannot separate the Word of God from prayer. If you are praying as you should,you will be reading the Word of God as you s...

Today, we are focusing on how the sword of theSpirit—the Word of God—is our greatest defense against the false teaching ofthe cults and heresies that are so prevalent in the world today. This is veryimportant. At the same time it is our best weapon against the false teachingthat Paul warned would take place in the last days (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy3:1-9).   Thebest answer to secular humanism is t...

We’vebeen talking about the Word of God. Yesterday, we discussed hiding the Word ofGod in our hearts—meditating on it, memorizing it, and placing it deep withinour souls. We let it become our guide, our protection, and our shield. It isalso the sword of the Spirit, which enables us to stand against the enemy. Butnot only that—it can also deal with our own hearts. That is what we want totalk about...

The psalmist said in Psalm 119:11, “ThyWord have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.”   When you’re seekingto win someone with the Word of God—the Gospel of Jesus Christ—it may need tobe more like a concealed weapon. It’s hidden down in your heart, but you’reable to draw it out at just the right moment and use it effectively to bringthat person into contact with God Himself. If y...

When Satan casts a fiery dart atus, the sword can be used defensively to deflect that dart with God’s HolyWord. But it is also offensive—it can strike the enemy. Think about this: whenyou use the Word of God, you can defend yourself against temptation. But youcan also attack Satan’s kingdom by preaching the Gospel, witnessing to thelost, and teaching the truth. My friend, every time a person is sa...

Understandthis clearly: Satan did not quote God’s Word completely. And he did not quoteit correctly or in its proper context. My friend, Satan is not afraid when youquote Scripture—especially if you do not understand it. He is not intimidatedwhen you use verses out of context, perhaps just to make yourself feel betterabout what you are doing.   Overthe years, as a pastor, I have seen many people d...

TheChristian life, as we said, is a battlefield. Satan is warring against us. Hewants to defeat us. He has come to steal, to kill, and destroy. But God, ourGod has given us an armor. The armor of God. Did you hear that? The armor ofGod. Not the armor of some man, some person in the past, or the armor that wehave made up for ourselves. No, it's the armor of God Almighty Himself that'sbeen m...

One of theclearest verses in the Bible that speaks about the Word of God being the swordof God in found in Hebrews 4:12. “For the Word of God is quick and powerfuland sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul andspirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts andintents of the heart.”   First,this verse says the Bible is “quick”, which literally...

Yesterdaywe looked at “the sword”. Today, we want to think about “the sword ofthe Spirit ”. Paul calls this sword, “the sword of the Spirit”. Someone has said that the best understanding of this is that the sword is fromthe Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture. We must alwaysremember that the Word of God that we have, the 66 books of the Bible fromGenesis to Revelation, are insp...

Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet ofsalvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”   Todaywe're continuing in one of the most important passages in the New Testament forvictorious daily Christian living. That's Ephesians chapter 6:10-17. Thepassage that's on the whole armor of God. Today we come to a piece of theequipment that is absolutely essential if we're...

Put on thehelmet of salvation. It's very important that we understand that withoutsalvation, man cannot reach correct conclusions about spiritual truth.   Matterof fact, we can put it very plainly this way. The Christian who does not feedhis mind on scripture is a Christian who will be vulnerable to deception. But aChristian who is grounded in the Word of God will not easily be led astray. Als...

The helmet also reminds us that we are in a spiritual warwith Satan, and that one of his main strategies is to attack our minds. We mustbe ready to deal with the wiles and fiery darts of the evil one.   Now,my friend, yesterday we talked about the assurance of salvation. The devil willdo everything he can to take away that assurance. When he does, it robs you ofyour security—your sense of Christ b...

Taking up the helmet of salvation and putting it on means thatwe are having confidence that we are God's children. We are in His family. Yousee the helmet protects us from the biggest lie of the devil that we are notsafe in Jesus Christ. Listen carefully. One of Satan's most crippling attacksis to make believers feel insecure. Their insecurity produces paralysis. If aChristian thinks, &quo...

Today, we want to talkabout the past, the present, and the future power and protection that thehelmet of our salvation gives us.   Oursalvation isn't something that just gives us the confidence that I'm saved. I'mgoing to heaven. Putting on the helmet of our salvation each day has the powerto protect us from the fiery darts of the evil one. We see this in three greatdimensions.   First...

Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet ofsalvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”   Todaywe are continuing in Ephesians 6:17. We are talking about the whole armor weare supposed to put on to stand against the wiles of the devil. Yesterday westarted talking about a very important piece of that armor—the helmet of oursalvation in verse 17. What is this helmet? Yesterday we men...

Todaywe’re continuing in Ephesians chapter 6, where the Apostle Paul is teachingbelievers how to stand strong in spiritual warfare. And our verse today isEphesians 6:17: “And take the helmet of salvation…” Now Paul says morein this verse—he also mentions the sword of the Spirit—but today I want tofocus only on this one piece of armor: The helmet of salvation. Because ifthere is one place Satan lov...

Faith is not in ourselves. It is in the God of the Bible—the Godwho has made great and exceeding promises to us. We must choose to believethose promises.   InPsalm 9:10 it says, “Those who know Your name will put their trust in You. For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who trust in You, who seek You.” Wecan only experience and know God by faith! His many names in the Bible revealHis attributes...

Yesterday we talked about the darts of the devil. Today I want to talk about his strategy.   Thestrategy of the devil is to cause us to doubt God—to doubt God and His truthand His Word. You see, at the heart of every temptation is the same battle:Will I trust God and His truth in His Word, or will I trust the devil and hislies? I have to make a choice based on who I want to believe. This goes all...