The Foundation You've Been Missing.

The Word at the Table

I'm Neal Reyes, The Entrepreneurs' Pastor, and I'm glad you're at the table. This week I want to share a personal encounter I had with God that stopped me in my tracks. He gave me a loving correction that I believe is going to speak to more than just me. Pull up a chair and stay with me on this one. I think it's going to make you think.

This Week's Word: The Foundation You've Been Missing

It was late. Katie had already gone to bed and I was still up working on some projects, moving between rooms in the house. And then I heard it. That still, familiar voice.

Now let me say this before I go any further, because I think it matters. If you are not hearing God speak to you in a personal way, it may be one of three things. You have not yet learned to recognize what His voice sounds like. You are not making room or time to listen. Or you have not yet valued the voice He has already given you, which is in His Word. When you get His Word deep down inside you, when you read it over and over and spend time in it consistently, one day He will speak to you about something you were not even expecting. And when He does, you will know it.

That night, He spoke to me. And what He said stopped me in my tracks.

He said, son, I want to help you with something. He told me that there were things Katie and I had been believing for, real things, real needs, real breakthroughs we had been standing in faith for. And He told me that while I had been doing the right things, something subtle had shifted. He said, you have built your faith so strong that you have slid into standing on your faith rather than standing on My Scripture.

I want you to sit with that for a second because it hit me hard.

He was not correcting me from a place of anger or scorn. He was correcting me from a place of love. And that lines up perfectly with what Scripture tells us. Proverbs 3:12 says that the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects the son he delights in. That is the kind of Father we serve. He showed me in that moment that my faith, as strong as it has become, was never meant to be the foundation. His Word is the foundation. Faith is what you use to stand on that Word. Faith is what you use to exercise that Word and bring it to pass. But when faith becomes the thing you are standing on instead of Scripture, you lack the foundation of something firm to stand on. Faith must be what you stand in, not on.

He took me directly to Isaiah 43:26. Put me in remembrance of my Word. Let us contend together. State your case that you may be acquitted. God does not tell us to remind Him of His Word because He forgot it. He tells us because we forget it. And He was showing me that while I had scriptures loaded in my heart and I could rattle them off, I could not point to the specific Word I was standing on for the specific thing I was believing Him for. That is a different thing entirely.

Here is the practical truth that I want you to carry from this. It is not enough to have strong faith in general. When you are believing God for something specific, you need a specific Word to stand on. Find the scripture that covers what you are believing for. Get it down inside you. Speak it. Pray it. Wrap your prayer in that Word and put God in remembrance of it. And then stand on it, not next to it, not near it, on it, until you see the fullness of that answer come to pass.

Now here is where this connects to your leadership and your business. Because the same principle that changed my prayer life is the same principle I have written on the wall of my conference room. Literally painted on the wall above my smart board where I meet with my team.

Pray to be more selective in order to be more effective.

About a decade ago I was deep in the middle of producing ministry content. The Lord had given me a specific assignment and I was all in. Five videos a week. Late nights in the studio after work, after soccer practice, after the kids were down. I was sick once, felt like absolute garbage, and I still got up, ironed my clothes, turned on the lights, and banged out three recordings over three days because I had made a commitment and I was not going to break it.

During that same season, someone reached out to me from my church. A sharp, well connected lady who wanted to bring me into a multi-level marketing opportunity that had caught on like wildfire in our congregation. It looked good. It may have even been good. But my answer was no. Not reluctantly, not with remorse, just no. My focus was guarded for the specific assignment God had given me and I was not going to let anything pull me off of it.

Fast forward a couple of years. I start getting emails from someone I did not recognize, representing an organization I was not familiar with. My IT background kicked in and I deleted them, twice, assuming they were spam. On the third or fourth email, the Holy Spirit told me to open it and take a real look.

I did. I verified it independently, reached out, and got on a phone call with the founder of an international television network. His wife had been doing research on a topic I specialize in, the Gifts and Operation of the Holy Spirit, and came across a ten part series I had produced on YouTube called 9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit. She called him into the room. They watched together for hours. And she told him, we have got to get this man on our network.

You can find that full series right here if you want to check it out: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMPDSgKkGZNtEpOsCTj6nidB9EH1JMc7R&si=kiHrRHmuoFDjF9We

That phone call happened because I said no to distraction and yes to my assignment day after day when nobody was watching. And here is what I want you to understand. That is not just a success story. That is a principle.

When God gives you a dream or an assignment, you have to guard it. Not just with your faith but with your focus. Be selective about what you say yes to because every yes you give to the wrong thing is a no to the right thing. And there are people on the other side of your obedience who need what only you can bring.

Be specific about what you are standing on. Be intentional about what you say yes to. Those two decisions, more than almost anything else, will determine how fast you move from where you are to where God has called you to be.

Take This With You

This week I want you to do two things. First, identify one thing you are currently believing God for and find the specific scripture you need to stand on for it. Get it down inside you. Speak it. Pray it. Wrap your prayer in that Word and put God in remembrance of it. And then stand on it until you see the fullness of that answer come to pass.

Second, take an honest look at what you have been saying yes to lately. Is there something consuming your time and focus that is pulling you away from your primary assignment? If so, I want you to make a decision right now. Not tomorrow. Today. Protect your assignment. Say no to what does not belong and say yes to what does. Guard your focus. Stand on His Word. That is where the breakthrough lives.

From the Table Last Week

On Champion's Walk, my faith show that teaches Real Help For Real Hope, I brought you When Faith Is Not Enough: The Foundation Most Believers Are Missing. I shared a personal correction God gave me late one night that I believe is impacting more believers than just me. We dug into the difference between standing on faith and standing on His Word as your foundation, Isaiah 43:26, and why getting specific about the scripture you are standing on for a specific need changes everything about how you pray and how you stand. If you have been believing God for something and the breakthrough has not come yet, this one may show you exactly why. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/u7mlkrHZgvQ&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNvHLzeBuhqHvZhuCSMEQEgV

On The Executive Perspective, my leadership and business show that delivers Real Help For Real Success, I introduced one of the most powerful principles I have ever taught and literally painted on the wall of my conference room. Be more selective in order to be more effective. I shared the personal story of how saying no to a distraction and staying focused on my assignment led directly to an international television network discovering my work and inviting me on air. If you have been spreading yourself too thin or saying yes to things that are pulling you away from your primary focus, this episode is going to challenge and redirect you. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/Knz7WANMqpw&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNuJ-dNFVFCWc3lb7BmJ07mM

Until Next Time

Stand on something specific. Say no to what does not belong. Show up even when no one is watching. That is the kind of faithfulness that God rewards and that breakthroughs are built on. You have everything you need to take your next step this week. Now go take it with confidence.

This Wednesday on Champion's Walk, I'm bringing you a fresh word that I believe is going to meet you exactly where you are. Don't 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