Are You the Sixth One?

The Word at the Table

I'm Neal Reyes, The Entrepreneurs' Pastor, and I'm glad you're at the table. This week I'm bringing you two distinct words again. One for your faith and one for your leadership. But before I get into either one, I want to open with a story that I believe is going to set the tone for everything that follows. Stay with me. This one hits different.

This Week's Word

The Opening: Are You the Sixth One?

There is a minister I am aware of who was called by God to start a television station. And one day God had a heart to heart conversation with him about why He had chosen him for this particular assignment.

What God told him was not what he expected to hear.

God said, I want you to understand something. You were not my first choice for this. In fact, you were not my second or my third or my fourth. You were my sixth choice.

He then went on to explain. The five people I went to before you, not one of them listened. But this was something I wanted done and something I needed done. And even though I went to the first one and he did not listen, I had to go to the second one. Then the third. Then the fourth. Then the fifth.

One, two, three, four, five. I went through five different people before I came to you and finally found the one who would say yes.

I want you to sit with that for a moment. Not because it is a story about someone else. But because it is a question for you.

When God comes to you with an assignment, a dream, an idea, or an instruction, are you the one who says yes? Or are you one of the five?

That question runs through everything I want to share with you today. Both on the faith side and on the leadership side. Because whether it is understanding who you already are in Christ or recognizing the window of opportunity that is standing right in front of you, the answer always comes down to the same thing. Will you receive what has already been made available to you?

Part One: You Are Not Trying to Be Righteous. You Already Are.

We are in Part 2 of our series Suited for Battle: The Armor of God on Champion's Walk, and this week we moved from the Helmet of Salvation to the Breastplate of Righteousness.

Now before I show you what this piece of armor does, I want to tell you a story that I think is going to bring it to life.

Years ago, I was at a midweek church service. As I walked into the foyer I ran into a brother I knew. Good man. Solid Christian. I dapped him up and asked how he was doing. He said something that was staggering. His reply was "just trying to stay righteous." I continued into the service, but something felt off. There was a check in my spirit that I could not shake. Something about that statement did not sit right with me. And as I sought God about it, He brought me right back to those words. Just trying to stay righteous.

And here is what God showed me. That brother was treating righteousness as something he had to earn. Something he had to perform his way into. Something he could step in and out of depending on how well he was doing.

But righteousness is not something you try to be. It is something you already are in Christ.

Second Corinthians 5:21 NKJV says it plainly. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be our propitiation. Our payment. Our sacrifice. And through that payment, through that blood, we have been made the righteousness of God. Not by our own effort. Not by our own performance. By His finished work.

This is not about what you do. This is about what He already did.

Faith Anchor #1: The reason the armor fits is because you have been made in His image.

God wore this armor first. Isaiah 59:17 NKJV tells us He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on His head. He wore it first. And the reason He felt confident giving it to you is because He already knew it would fit. You have been fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. This is not a hand me down. It is an inheritance.

Faith Anchor #2: We have been made the righteousness of God through the blood of Christ Jesus.

Now I want to show you what this breastplate actually protects you from. Because it is not just armor for the battlefield. It is protection for your heart.

Romans 8:1 NKJV says there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

No condemnation. That means the guilt, the shame, the accusations of the enemy have no place to land on you. You may know that the Bible refers to the devil as the accuser of the brethren. He goes before the courts of heaven and tries to bring accusation against you. But here is what I love about this. God is the judge. And Jesus is your advocate.

Every time the enemy tries to make his case against you, Jesus approaches the bench and says one thing. My blood. My sacrifice. My blood.

And that shuts down every argument. Every accusation. Every charge. Because the blood of Christ Jesus has already made you righteous. The case has already been settled.

The enemy's greatest weapon against a believer is not temptation. It is making you forget who you are. The moment you forget that you have been made righteous, you become vulnerable. But the moment you know it, you wear it with confidence. And confidence in your righteousness is what makes the breastplate work.

Faith Anchor #3: When we wear God's character, that character is not just our identity. It is also our protection.

You are not trying to be righteous. You already are. Put that breastplate on. And do not take it off.

Part Two: Your Window of Grace Is Open Right Now. Do Not Miss It.

Back to that television station story for a moment. Because I want you to hear one more detail.

That minister said yes. He stepped out, scared or not, and he built what God told him to build. And from what I understand, he has a very successful television station today. Did it come easy? Probably not. It likely showed up wearing overalls, meaning it looked like a lot of hard work. But he did the thing anyway.

Now I want to tell you something personal.

When I was in college working toward my technology degree, I had a school assignment where we had to propose a technology invention. And I wrote an entire paper, complete with a business plan, about a device that could connect to any radio station in the world from anywhere you were. You could be driving through Nebraska and tune into a station in Miami. I felt something almost electric as I wrote it. My instructor loved it. I got the A.

And I did absolutely nothing with it.

A few years later, XM Radio launched. Then iHeartRadio. Then TuneIn. Someone else built what God had placed in my heart.

Then not long after that, I was at the gym holding my iPod, and I had another idea. What if you could combine a phone, an MP3 player, and a camera into one single device? I can still feel the weight of that thought. It felt enormous.

A few years later, Steve Jobs walked onto a stage and introduced the iPhone.

I walk around with my invention in my pocket every single day. But someone else's name is on the patent. Not mine.

I am not sharing that with you to create regret. I have repented for those delays and I am free from them. But I am sharing it because those moments taught me something I carry with me everywhere I go. And it is something I want to transfer to you right now.

Every opportunity God gives you comes with a window. A window of grace. A period of time during which that door is open and you can walk through it. But windows do not stay open forever. They close. And when they close, the opportunity does not disappear. It just goes somewhere else.

Think about the flood story. A man climbs onto his roof as the water rises. A kayak goes by and offers him a ride to safety. But he waves it off. The water is now up to his waist as he stands on the roof when he notices a boat going by. It offers him another ride to safety. But he waves it off again. The water is now up to his neck as he spots a helicopter flying by. It stops and offers him a ride to safety, but again, he waves it off because he is convinced God is going to show up and save him. And he drowns. Not because God did not send help. But because he did not recognize the help when it arrived. He was expecting something different. Something more dramatic. Something that looked like his idea of rescue rather than God's.

That is what happens when opportunities show up wearing overalls. You were expecting a tuxedo, or perhaps an evening gown. So you miss it.

Here is what I want you to carry from this. When God gives you the instruction, the idea, the assignment, the green light, you do not wait for perfect conditions. You do not wait until it feels comfortable. You do not wait until you have every resource lined up. You move.

Because if you do not, God does not stop. He is loving and patient, but if you continue to operate in disobedience, eventually He will just move on to the next person on the list.

Is there something He has been speaking to you about? Something in your leadership, your business, your personal development, your calling? Something you have been circling around but have not fully stepped into?

Your window is open. Right now. Do not be one of the five who didn't answer the call. Be the one who says yes.

Take This With You

This week I want you to do two things, one for each word we covered today.

On the faith side, stop trying to earn something that has already been given to you. Find 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Romans 8:1 and read them slowly. Let them land. You have been made the righteousness of God through the blood of Christ Jesus. There is no condemnation. Walk in that confidence this week and let it show in how you carry yourself.

On the leadership side, identify the thing you have been circling. You know what it is. The assignment, the idea, the decision, the next step you have been delaying. Write it down and commit to one specific action toward it this week. Not someday. This week. Your window is open. Move while it is.

From the Table Last Week

On Champion's Walk, my faith show that teaches Real Help For Real Hope, I brought you You Are Not Trying to Be Righteous. You Already Are. This is Part 2 of our Suited for Battle: The Armor of God series and I took you deep into the Breastplate of Righteousness. We dug into 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 8:1, and Isaiah 59:17, and I shared the story of a brother I ran into at church whose words sent up a check in my spirit that God used to reveal one of the most important truths a believer can know. You are not trying to become righteous. Through the blood of Christ Jesus, you already are. If you have been striving and performing and trying to earn something that has already been given to you, this episode is going to set you free. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpJrcEQ_8Yo&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNvHLzeBuhqHvZhuCSMEQEgV

On The Executive Perspective, my leadership and business show that delivers Real Help For Real Success, I brought you Your Opportunity Has an Expiration Date. Are You About to Miss Yours? I introduced the Window of Grace, one of the most important and personal principles I have ever taught, and shared two stories from my own life where God gave me extraordinary ideas that I never acted on and watched someone else build instead. I also walked through the flood rescue story, the television station story, and the principle of when the cloud moves, you move. If there is something God has been calling you to step into and you have been delaying, this episode is going to challenge you to move while your window is still open. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3yIORut7KE&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNuJ-dNFVFCWc3lb7BmJ07mM

Until Next Time

You have already been made righteous. And your window of grace is already open. The only question left is whether you are going to walk in what you have been given and step through what is right in front of you. The answer is yes. Now go live like it.

This Wednesday on Champion's Walk, we are continuing the Suited for Battle: The Armor of God series. We have more pieces of armor to cover and each one is just as powerful as the last. Do not miss it.

Then Saturday on The Executive Perspective, I'm dropping something for the leaders and entrepreneurs who are ready to operate at their next level. This one is going to challenge you to think bigger, lead better, and push past where you are right now. Be there.

I'll see you at the table next Tuesday.

Neal Reyes, The Entrepreneurs' Pastor