You Own It. But Do You Know How to Use It?

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. One for your faith and one for your leadership. Both are about understanding the specific thing you have been given and learning how to use it with intention. Let's get into it.

This Week's Word

The Opening: You Own It. But Do You Know How to Use It?

Most believers own a Bible. But very few know how to use it as a weapon.

I want you to sit with that for a second. Not as a criticism. As an invitation. Because today that changes.

Part One: God Did Not Give You Just Any Sword. He Gave You His.

We completed our series Suited for Battle: The Armor of God on Champion's Walk this week, and we finished with the most powerful piece of all. The Sword of the Spirit.

Every piece of armor we have covered in this series has been for defense. The helmet guards your mind and thoughts. The breastplate protects your heart and spirit man. The shoes keep you grounded in God's peace. The shield deflects the attacks of the enemy. The belt holds everything in place with the power of the truth. But the sword is different. The sword is the only offensive weapon in the entire armor of God.

And God did not hand you a generic sword. He handed you His.

Now I want to take you on a word study today, because when you see where this sword comes from and what it is made of, you will never look at your Bible the same way again.

Let me start at the very back of the book and work my way forward, because one of the things God's Word tells us is that He always sees the end from the beginning. And when you see the sword described at the end and then find it again at the beginning, you will understand that this was never an accident.

Revelation 19:15 NKJV says, Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. This is describing Jesus. And it is telling us that when He speaks, a sharp sword proceeds from His mouth. When Jesus wields the Word of God, it is described as a sharp sword.

Now come all the way back to the beginning. Isaiah 49:2 NKJV says, And He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. This is a prophetic word about Jesus spoken hundreds of years before He was born. And it uses the exact same description. A sharp sword coming from His mouth.

God saw the end from the beginning. And the sword He gave you is the same one described in both Isaiah and Revelation. This is not a hand me down. This is an inheritance from the One whose Word created everything.

Faith Anchor #1: God did not give you just any sword. He gave you His sword.

Now I want to take you to the power of this sword. Hebrews 4:12 NKJV says, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Living and powerful. Not was living and powerful. Is. The Word of God is not a historical document that had its moment. It is alive right now. And it is sharper than anything ever made by human hands.

Think about the sharpest blade you have ever seen. Whether it is a surgical instrument or the finest kitchen knife. Every time you use it, it dulls a little. Every use takes something from the edge. That is the nature of every natural blade ever made.

Faith Anchor #2: Unlike a natural blade that dulls with use, God's sword gets sharper every time you use it.

The more you read the Word, speak the Word, stand on the Word, and wield the Word in your life, the sharper it becomes in your hands. You do not wear it out. You grow into it. And the longer you carry it, the more effective it becomes.

Now I want to make sure you understand what kind of sword this is. The word used for the Word of God in Ephesians 6:17, where Paul tells us to take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, is the Greek word rhema. Not logos.

Logos refers to the entirety of God's Word. Rhema refers to the specific, revealed, applied Word of God spoken by the Holy Spirit into a particular situation. In other words, when Paul tells us the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, he is not just saying, own a Bible. He is saying, learn to hear and wield the specific Word the Holy Spirit gives you for each specific battle.

Faith Anchor #3: The sword is the only offensive weapon in the armor. Every other piece is for defense. This one is for advancing.

Second Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV tells us, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Complete. Thoroughly equipped. Not partially. Not mostly. Completely. That is what the Word of God produces in a believer who learns to wield it.

You own the sword. Now learn how to use it. Read it. Study it. Speak it. Stand on it. Let the Holy Spirit show you the specific rhema word for the specific battle you are in. Because this sword does not lose its edge. It only gets sharper.

Part Two: Your Assignment Ended. Your Calling Did Not.

Now let me bring you the second word for today, and I want you to receive this one carefully because it could be the most clarifying thing you read this week.

There is a difference between your calling and your assignment. And most people have never been taught what that difference is. Which means most people have been confusing the two for years, sometimes for decades. And that confusion quietly creates something that can derail even the most gifted leader. It is called identity drift.

Here is the distinction.

Your calling is the overarching purpose God designed you for. It is the theme of your entire life. It is who you are becoming and what you were born to do.

Your assignments are the roles, the seasons, and the responsibilities that serve your calling. They are the story broken down into chapters.

They are not the same thing.

Leadership Truth Bomb #1: Your assignment may change. But your calling stays consistent.

Think about a soccer player who grows up playing center midfield. That position, that role, that assignment serves the calling of being an elite athlete. When a college coach sees that player and moves them to a different position, the assignment changes. But the calling, to compete and excel at the highest level, never does. The calling is constant. The assignment is seasonal.

Here is why this matters so much. When you confuse your assignment for your calling, something dangerous happens the moment that assignment ends. You do not just lose a job. You lose your identity. You lose your sense of purpose. You feel like the story is over. But it is not over. The chapter ended. The book is still being written.

Leadership Truth Bomb #2: When your assignment ends, your calling does not. It simply shifts in a new direction.

I have seen this happen with executives who gave twenty years to a company and then the company was sold. I have seen it with athletes who won championships and then sat in the emptiness of, now what. I have seen it with leaders who completed a major project they poured their lives into, only to find themselves feeling lost once it was done.

The reason it feels that way every time is the same. They had their identity wrapped around the assignment instead of anchored in the calling.

Here is how you protect yourself from identity drift. You anchor yourself in the calling and let the assignments serve it. Not the other way around.

And here is the question I want you to ask every time a new assignment presents itself. Does this bring me closer to who I am called to be?

Not, does this pay well. Not, does this impress people. Not, does this feel safe. Does it bring me closer to my calling? If yes, it deserves your serious consideration. If it pulls you further away, no matter how good it looks on the outside, it is out of alignment.

Leadership Truth Bomb #3: Knowing your calling simplifies your yes. But it also strengthens your no.

When you know your calling, you stop chasing status, applause, and approval. You start choosing purpose and fulfillment. You make decisions faster. You lead with stronger conviction. And when something does not align with where you are called to go, you can say no with peace instead of guilt.

Your calling is the overarching theme of your life. Your assignments are the story broken down into seasons and chapters. Anchor yourself in your calling and you will always understand the relevance of your assignment, even when that assignment comes to an end.

The chapter closed. But you are still here. Which means God is not done writing.

Take This With You

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

On the faith side, open your Bible this week with the intention of a warrior, not just a reader. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a specific rhema word for something you are currently facing. Then speak it. Declare it. Wield it. The sword only works in the hand of someone who picks it up.

On the leadership side, take ten minutes and write down your calling as you currently understand it in one sentence. Then list your two or three current assignments. Ask yourself honestly: are these assignments bringing me closer to my calling or pulling me away from it? That clarity alone will make some decisions much easier this week.

From the Table Last Week

On Champion's Walk, my faith show that teaches Real Help For Real Hope, I brought you The Sword of the Spirit. This was Part 6 and the final installment of our Suited for Battle: The Armor of God series, and I finished with the only offensive weapon in the entire armor of God. I took you through a word study from Isaiah 49:2 all the way to Revelation 19:15, showed you the logos versus rhema distinction, and challenged you with this: most believers own a Bible, but very few know how to use it as a weapon. This episode will change that. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhcbNJMfdJ8&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNvHLzeBuhqHvZhuCSMEQEgV

On The Executive Perspective, my leadership and business show that delivers Real Help For Real Success, I brought you When Assignments End, Your Calling Doesn't. I broke down the critical difference between your calling and your assignments, why confusing the two leads to identity drift, and how to anchor your identity in your calling so that when a season ends you do not lose yourself with it. Three leadership truth bombs included. This one is going to speak to a lot of people in transition right now. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q49eA8ufECc&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNuJ-dNFVFCWc3lb7BmJ07mM

Until Next Time

You have the sword. Now use it. You have the calling. Now anchor to it. Both require the same thing from you: the intention to pick up what you have been given and use it with purpose. You were not built to sit on the sidelines holding a weapon you never swing. Get in the fight. This week.

This Wednesday on Champion's Walk, I am bringing you a fresh word that I believe is going to meet you exactly where you are. Do not miss it.

Then Saturday on The Executive Perspective, I am 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