Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

A daily chat with Pastor Mike and other resources to encourage listeners to connect with the Word of God and grow in their faith.

Pastor Mike Impact Ministries is a religion podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 1,000 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Pastor Mike Impact Ministries, a religion show with 1,000 episodes published.

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  Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

  1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 - Ministry to One Another

  Sep 15, 20266 min

  Yesterday Paul spoke about our relationship with spiritualleaders. Today, in 1 Thessalonians 5:14–15, he reminds us that ministry is notsomething that belongs only to pastors. Every Christian has a ministry to otherbelievers. Paul writes: “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who areunruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” NoticePaul is speaking to the brethren. These instructions are for the whole church. Thennotice something very important: Paul does not tell us to treat everyoneexactly the same way. Different people have different spiritual needs. Firsthe says: “Warn those who are unruly.” Some people need correction. Theword “unruly” was sometimes used of a soldier who was out of line. There aretimes when a believer begins walking in a direction that is spirituallydangerous. Love does not simply ignore that. Galatians 6:1 says that if someoneis overtaken in a fault, spiritual believers should seek to restore that person “in a spirit of gentleness.” Correction should never come from pride. Itshould come from love. ThenPaul says: “Comfort the fainthearted.” Some people do not needcorrection. They need encouragement. The fainthearted are those who have becomediscouraged, fearful, or overwhelmed. Maybe life has hit them hard. Maybe theyhave suffered a loss. Maybe they are battling anxiety about the future. Maybethey simply feel like giving up. Paul says: Comfort them. Come alongside them. Remindthem of God's promises. Sometimes the greatest ministry we can give someone issimply being present and saying: “I'm here, and I'm praying for you.” ThenPaul says: “Uphold the weak.” Some believers are spiritually weak. Perhapsthey are new Christians. Perhaps they struggle with temptation. Perhaps theirfaith has been shaken. Paul doesn't say criticize the weak. He says: “Uphold” them. Hold on to them. Support them. Help them keep standing. Then comes aphrase that probably applies to all three groups: “Be patient with all.” Thatmay be the hardest part! People don't always change as quickly as we wouldlike. Spiritual growth takes time. And we need to remember how patient God hasbeen with us. Second Peter 3:9 speaks of the longsuffering of God. If God hasbeen patient with me, surely I should learn to be patient with others. Thenverse 15 says: “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but alwayspursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.” Our natural reactionwhen someone hurts us is to hurt them back. They criticize us—we criticizethem. They say something unkind—we respond with something unkind. They mistreatus—we want to get even. But Paul says: “Do not render evil for evil.” Jesustaught the same thing. He told us to love our enemies and pray for those whomistreat us. Romans 12 says: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evilwith good.” That is completely contrary to our natural instincts. Itrequires the grace of God. Paul says instead: “Alwayspursue what is good.” The word “pursue” is strong. Don't merely wait for anopportunity to do good. Go after it. Look for ways to bless people. Look forways to encourage. Look for ways to restore. Look for ways to strengthen. Lookfor ways to respond to hurt with grace. Thinkabout the different people God may place across your path today. One may need aloving warning. Another may need encouragement. Another may need someone tohold them up. And all of them need patience. The Christian life was neverintended to be lived alone. God has placed us in a spiritual family where weare to help one another keep walking with Jesus. So today ask: “Lord, who needsme to come alongside them?” And when He puts someone on your heart, don't justthink about it. Call them. Visit them. Pray with them. Encourage them. Ministerto one another. Godbless, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!

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  Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

  1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 - Appreciate Those Who Serve

  Sep 14, 20266 min

  As Paul begins the closing section of 1 Thessalonians, hegives a number of short, practical instructions about relationships within thechurch. Today we begin with verses 12 and 13: “And we urge you, brethren, torecognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonishyou, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peaceamong yourselves.” Paul begins by talking about spiritual leaders. Hedescribes them in three ways. First,they “labor among you.” Ministry is work. The word Paul uses carries theidea of working to the point of weariness. Faithful ministry requirespreparation. Prayer. Teaching. Counseling. Visiting. Encouraging. Correcting. Caringfor people in times of sickness, grief, family difficulty, and spiritual need. Muchof that ministry happens where nobody else sees it. Then Paul says theseleaders are “over you in the Lord.” That speaks of spiritual leadershipand responsibility. A pastor is not called to dominate people. Jesus said thatleadership among His followers should not imitate the authoritarian leadershipof the world. A pastor is a shepherd. He leads. He protects. He feeds the flockwith God's Word. And he understands that ultimately the church belongs to JesusChrist. ThenPaul says they “admonish you.” Sometimes spiritual leadership requiressaying things people may not necessarily want to hear. The word admonishincludes warning, instructing, and correcting. A faithful pastor cannot simplytell people what makes them comfortable. Paul told Timothy to: “Preach theword!” And then he added: “Convince, rebuke, exhort, with alllongsuffering and teaching.” So how should believers respond to faithfulspiritual leadership? Paul says: “Recognize” them. That means appreciatethem and understand the responsibility they carry. Thenverse 13 says : “Esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.” NoticePaul doesn't say esteem them because they are celebrities. Or because they haveimpressive personalities. Or because they preach in large churches. He saysesteem them: “For their work's sake.” The honor is connected to the workGod has called them to do. I have had the privilege of serving in pastoralministry for many years, and I can tell you that one of the greatestencouragements a pastor can receive is simply knowing that his peopleappreciate him, pray for him, and support the work of the ministry. Hebrews13:17 reminds us that spiritual leaders “watch out for your souls, as thosewho must give account.” That is an enormous responsibility. Pastors willanswer to God for how they shepherd His people. That ought to make us pray forthem. Your pastor needs prayer. He faces temptations. He experiencesdiscouragement. He carries burdens that he often cannot share publicly. Hefeels deeply the hurts and struggles of the people he serves. And sometimes asimple word— “Pastor, I'm praying for you.”—can mean more than you realize. Butnotice how Paul ends verse 13: “Be at peace among yourselves.” Thattells us something else about healthy churches. They should be places of peace.Churches are made up of imperfect people. That means disagreements will happen.People will have different opinions. Different personalities. Differentpreferences. But our unity in Jesus Christ should be greater than ourdifferences. Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Paul wrote inRomans: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably withall men.” What would happen if every member of every church determined: “Iwill not be a source of unnecessary conflict.” “I will pray for my leaders.” “Iwill encourage them.” “I will support the work of the gospel.” “And I will doeverything I can to promote peace among God's people.” That would make atremendous difference. Sotoday perhaps we can do two simple things. First, pray for your pastor andspiritual leaders. And second, ask: “Am I helping create peace in my churchfamily?”

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  Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

  1 Thessalonians 5:7-11 - Awake, Armed, and Encouraging

  Sep 13, 20266 min

  Verse 7 says: “For those who sleep, sleep atnight, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.” Paul is drawing aspiritual contrast. Night is the natural setting for sleep and drunkenness. Butbelievers belong to the day. Therefore verse 8 says: “But let us who are ofthe day be sober.” ThenPaul uses a picture that he often used in his letters—that of a soldierpreparing for battle. He says we should put on: “The breastplate of faithand love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” Those three familiarwords appear again: Faith. Love. Hope. We saw them in the very first chapter ofthis letter: A work of faith. A labor of love. And a patience of hope. Now Paulpictures faith and love as a breastplate protecting the heart, and hope as ahelmet protecting the mind. The Christian life is a battlefield. We have anenemy. Satan attacks our faith. He wants us to doubt God's goodness. He attacksour love. He wants bitterness, anger, and division to enter our hearts. And heattacks our hope. He wants us to become discouraged and believe that ourcircumstances will never change. So Paul says: Protect your heart with faithand love. Protect your mind with hope. And then he reminds us what our hope isbased upon. Verse9 says: “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvationthrough our Lord Jesus Christ.” What an encouraging promise. God's purposefor those who belong to Christ is not wrath but salvation. Why? Because Jesustook the judgment for our sins upon Himself at the cross. Verse 10 says thatJesus: “Died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live togetherwith Him.” There is the heart of the gospel: Christ died for us. Jesus didnot die merely as a martyr or a great example. He died for us. He took ourplace. Isaiah said: “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Petersaid: “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” Paulsaid: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” Oursalvation rests entirely upon what Jesus accomplished for us. Andnotice again Paul's wonderful promise: “We should live together with Him.” Whetherwe are alive when Jesus comes or whether our body has been laid in the grave,our destiny is the same: We will live with Jesus. That is Christian hope. ThenPaul says in verse 11: “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another,just as you also are doing.” This sounds very similar to the final verse ofchapter 4: “Comfort one another with these words.” Christian truthshould produce Christian encouragement. Paul doesn't want prophecy to make usargumentative. He wants it to make us encouraging. The word “edify” means tobuild up. Every day we are either building people up or tearing them down. Ourwords can encourage someone. Or they can discourage someone. Our attitude canstrengthen someone. Or it can weaken someone. Paulsays: “Build one another up.” Maybe there is someone God has placed onyour heart today. A friend who is struggling. A family member who isdiscouraged. Someone at church carrying a burden. Maybe God wants you to callthem. Send them a message. Pray with them. Remind them that God is faithful. Sometimesa few words of encouragement can change someone's entire day. And remember whatPaul says our encouragement is based upon: Jesus died for us. We belong to Him.We are not appointed to wrath. Our salvation is secure in Christ. And one daywe will live together with Him. So today: Stay awake spiritually. Put on faith,love, and hope. HeavenlyFather, thank You that Jesus died for us and that our hope of salvation restsin Him. Help us to put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet ofthe hope of salvation. Guard our hearts from doubt and bitterness, and guardour minds from discouragement. Lord, show us someone today whom we canencourage and build up. May our words bring hope, strength, and comfort tothose around us as we look forward to living forever with Jesus. In His name,we pray. Amen.

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  Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

  1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 - Children of Light

  Sep 12, 20265 min

  Verse 4 says: “But you, brethren, are notin darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” Notice againthe contrast. In verse 3 Paul spoke about “they” and “them.” Nowhe says: “But you, brethren.” Why is there a difference? Becausebelievers belong to Christ. Paulsays in verse 5: “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are notof the night nor of darkness.” Throughout Scripture, light and darkness arepictures of two completely different spiritual conditions. Darkness representssin, ignorance, and separation from God. Light represents truth, holiness, andlife in Christ. Jesus said in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Hewho follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Whenwe trusted Jesus Christ, we were brought out of spiritual darkness and into Hiswonderful light. Peter described believers as those whom God has called “outof darkness into His marvelous light.” SoPaul says: “You are children of light.” That tells us who we are. Andthen verse 6 tells us how we should live: “Therefore let us not sleep, asothers do, but let us watch and be sober.” In this verse, sleep is notreferring to physical death as it did in chapter 4. Here sleep picturesspiritual carelessness and indifference. Paul says, “Don't live as thoughnothing important is happening.” Wake up spiritually. That is a messageChristians need in every generation. It is possible to know Christ and stillbecome spiritually sleepy. We can become comfortable. We can lose our sense ofurgency. Our prayer life can become routine. Our Bible reading can becomemechanical. We can become so occupied with this present world that we forgetJesus is coming again. Paulsays: “Let us watch.” To watch means to stay spiritually alert. Jesusrepeatedly used the same word when speaking about His return. He said: “Watchtherefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Watchingdoesn't mean standing outside staring into the sky. Watching means living everyday in readiness. It means keeping short accounts with God. It means staying inHis Word. It means maintaining a faithful prayer life. It means using ouropportunities to serve Christ. It means refusing to become comfortable withsin. ThenPaul says: “And be sober.” The idea is being clear-minded, disciplined,and spiritually self-controlled. A sober Christian sees life from God'sperspective. The world says, “This life is all there is.” The Christian says,“Eternity is coming.” The world says, “Live for yourself.” The Christian says,“I belong to Christ.” The world says, “Gather everything you can here.” Jesussays, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Being a child of lightshould make a difference in how we live. Ephesians 5:8 says: “For you wereonce darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” NoticePaul doesn't say we merely have light. He says we are children of light. Ouridentity should affect our conduct. Sometimes we approach the Christian life bysaying, “Here is a long list of things I shouldn't do.” But Paul startssomewhere deeper. He reminds us who we are. You belong to Jesus. You are achild of God. You are a child of light. Therefore, live like who you are. Maybetoday would be a good time for a spiritual wake-up call. Has something causedyou to become spiritually sleepy? Have you lost some of the excitement you oncehad about serving the Lord? Have the things of this world crowded out yourawareness of eternity? Heavenly Father, thank You that through Jesus Christ You have brought usout of darkness and into Your marvelous light. Help us to remember who weare—children of light and children of the day. Guard us from becomingspiritually sleepy or careless. Wake our hearts to the reality of eternity.Help us to watch, to be sober, and to live every day in fellowship with You.May the light of Jesus shine through our lives so that others may see Him inus. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

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  Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

  1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 - The Day of the Lord

  Sep 10, 20266 min

  In chapter 5, Paul turns from the comfort of Christ’s coming for believers to theseriousness of “the day of the Lord.” He writes: “But concerning the timesand the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.” Apparently, Paul had already taught them about these things. Notice that Pauldoes not give them a date. Throughout history, people have tried to calculatethe exact time of Christ’s return. But Jesus said in Matthew 24:36: “But ofthat day and hour no one knows.” Our responsibility is not to set dates.Our responsibility is to be ready. Paulcontinues: “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord socomes as a thief in the night.” A thief does not normally send a noticesaying, “I’ll be at your house tonight at 2:00.” The point is unexpectedness.The day of the Lord will come suddenly upon a world that is unprepared. Thephrase “day of the Lord” is used throughout the Bible to describe a timewhen God directly intervenes in human history in judgment and ultimatelyestablishes His righteous rule. The Old Testament prophets spoke repeatedlyabout it. Joel called it “the great and terrible day of the LORD.” Isaiah,Zephaniah, Amos, and others warned of a coming day of divine judgment. ThenPaul says in verse 3: “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then suddendestruction comes upon them.” Notice the words “they” and “them.” Paul is describing unbelieving humanity. The world will believe thateverything is secure. People will be saying, “Peace and safety.” Yet suddenlyGod's judgment will come. Paul compares it to labor pains upon a pregnantwoman. That illustration tells us two things. First, the event is certain. Oncelabor begins, the birth is coming. Second, the event becomes inescapable. Paulsays: “And they shall not escape.” That sounds serious because it isserious. The Bible presents the return of Jesus Christ as both a wonderful hopeand a solemn warning. For the believer, Christ’s coming means reunion,resurrection, transformation, and being forever with the Lord. But for theunbelieving world, the day of the Lord means judgment. And that raises the mostimportant question: Are you ready? Not, “Do you know all the prophetic charts?”Not, “Can you explain every detail of Revelation?” But: “Do you know JesusChrist as your Savior?” Jesus came the first time to provide salvation. He diedon the cross for our sins. He was buried. He rose again. And today He offerseternal life to everyone who will trust Him. SecondPeter 3:9 tells us that God is “not willing that any should perish but thatall should come to repentance .” God's warning of judgment is actually anexpression of His mercy. He warns us because He wants us to turn to Him.Perhaps there is someone listening today who has never personally trusted JesusChrist. You may know about Him. You may attend church. You may be a good personby human standards. But have you received Christ? The question is not whetherwe know when Jesus is coming. The question is whether we are ready when Hecomes. Andfor those of us who know Christ, these verses should cause us to live withurgency. There are people around us who are not ready. Family members. Friends.Neighbors. Coworkers. We should pray for opportunities to share the good newsof Jesus Christ with them. The day of the Lord will come. God's Word says it iscertain. So today, let us make sure that our hearts are ready and that ourlives are faithfully pointing others to Jesus. Let'spray. Heavenly Father, thank You for the promise that Jesus is coming again.Thank You also for the warning in Your Word concerning the day of the Lord.Help us not to become distracted trying to determine dates and times, but helpus to live ready. For anyone listening who has never trusted Jesus Christ, maytoday be the day they turn from sin and receive Him as Savior. . InJesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

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