Your Mind Is Under Attack. Here Is What God Gave You to Fight Back.

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 bring you two distinct words. One for your faith and one for your leadership. They come from two different places but they are both equally important, and I believe both are going to speak to something real in your life right now. Pull up a chair. Let's get into it.

This Week's Word

Part One: Put It On and Never Take It Off

Let me ask you something before we go anywhere today.

What would you do if you got a call from your doctor with a bad report? Not the good one you were hoping for. The bad one. And instead of scheduling a follow up right away and treating it with the urgency it deserves, they casually schedule it two months out and just leave you hanging with that information while your life feels like it is dangling in the balance.

Or what if you woke up one morning to an unexpected bill that you have no idea how you are going to cover? Not a bill you planned for. The kind that shows up out of nowhere and turns your whole financial picture upside down.

Or what about this one. What if you have been battling a thought that will not leave you alone. A thought so persistent and so intense that you have started to wonder whether it is even yours. Whether that is just the way you are wired.

Those are the moments that the Bible refers to as the evil day. And what God's Word has to say about those moments is exactly what I want to bring you today.

We are starting a brand new series on Champion's Walk called Suited for Battle: The Armor of God, and we are breaking down one piece at a time. This week we started with the Helmet of Salvation. And before I take you into what that helmet does, I want to show you something that most people have never been taught about where it came from.

The armor of God did not originate with the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6. Paul was referencing something that already existed. Something that belonged to God Himself long before it was ever made available to us. Isaiah 59:17 NKJV says this. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on His head. God Himself wore this armor. He wore it first. And that changes everything about how you understand what you have been given access to.

Faith Anchor #1: Once you put it on, you never take it off.

This is not like your work clothes that you change every day. When you put the armor of God on, it is designed to stay on. Your spirit man does not clock out at night. Your spirit man is very much awake and very much alive even when your body is at rest. The enemy does not take days off and neither does the armor you have been given.

Faith Anchor #2: The armor belonged to God and He used it first.

That is not a hand me down. That is an inheritance. God wore this armor when He was dealing with the disobedience of His own people. He put on the helmet of salvation not because someone was going to throw a rock at His head, but because He was guarding His thoughts. He was protecting Himself from allowing what He was hearing to turn into something destructive. And now that same armor, the armor He used in battle, has been made available to you.

Faith Anchor #3: Salvation and hope will guard you in the battle.

First Thessalonians 5:8 does not just call it the helmet of salvation. It calls it the helmet of the hope of salvation. That hope is not wishful thinking. That hope is a confident expectation that whatever you need saving from, God's salvation covers it. The bad report. The unexpected bill. The thought that won't leave you alone. The helmet covers all of it. Put it on. And do not take it off.

Part Two: Your Ripple Is Reaching Further Than You Think

I want you to picture something with me for a moment.

You are standing beside a pond on a clear, still day. The water is like a mirror. It is reflecting the sky. It is peaceful and serene and completely undisturbed. And you reach down, pick up a small pebble, and throw it right into the center of that pond.

The moment it hits the water, you hear the splash. And then you watch. Ripples begin moving out from that center point in every direction. Slowly at first, then wider and wider. And because the day is so clear, you can see them moving far out across the water. And here is what I want you to understand. Just because you can no longer see them does not mean they stopped. Those ripples kept going long after they left your line of sight.

That is the ripple effect. And I want to ask you something that I think is one of the most important questions a leader can sit with. Do you understand the ripple you are creating right now? Because whether you are aware of it or not, you are creating one. Every word you speak. Every decision you make. The way you carry yourself when things are hard. Someone is always watching. And someone is always depending on your ripple, whether you realize it or not.

Now here is a principle that I have carried with me for years and come back to often in my teaching. Mankind knows how many seeds come from one apple. But only God knows how many apples can come from one seed.

I want you to sit with that. When you throw that pebble into the pond, you might know it is going to cause some ripples. But you do not know how many, how big, how far, or how long those ripples will travel. When you make a genuine impact in someone's life, you might be touching future generations without ever knowing it. That kind word to a stranger. That act of encouragement in the middle of someone's hard day. That investment in someone who needed to feel seen. Those ripples go further than you think.

There are two things I see that diminish a person's ripple effect more than almost anything else. The first is self absorption. When life gets hard, people naturally turn inward. They get quiet. They separate. They go into survival mode. And while they are focused on surviving, they stop noticing the impact they are having on others and they lose the intentionality behind the ripple they are creating. The devil loves that. He wants you feeling like an island that is isolated all to yourself. Alone and separated from the body. Easy to pick off.

The second is low self perception. When people start believing that they are worthless and not worth following, they will buy the lie that their presence stopped mattering, and they will lose sight of those who are depending on them. When that happens, their personality begins to shrink and their leadership presence begins to diminish. And I want to be direct with you about that. That mindset is a lie from the pit of hell. And the longer you allow it to stay, the more dangerous it becomes.

Someone needs your ripple today. Do not hold back. Ripples do not start big, but they always grow.

Take This With You

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

On the faith side, make a decision right now that the armor of God stays on. You do not put it on in the morning and take it off at night. You wear it always. If you have been walking through a difficult season and you have been letting the thoughts run wild, remind yourself today that you have the helmet of the hope of salvation on your head. Speak it out loud. Remind the enemy of it too.

On the leadership side, take out a pen and paper and write down three people you know you have impacted, even if they have never acknowledged it. Own the ripple you are creating. And then identify one person in your life right now who might be straggling behind. Reach out to them this week. That single act could be the pebble that sends ripples further than either of you will ever fully see.

From the Table Last Week

On Champion's Walk, my faith show that teaches Real Help For Real Hope, I brought you Your Mind Is Under Attack. Here Is What God Gave You to Fight Back. We launched a brand new series called Suited for Battle: The Armor of God and started with the Helmet of Salvation. I took you all the way back to Isaiah 59:17 to show you that this armor belonged to God and He wore it first, broke down the four ranks within the enemy's kingdom from Ephesians 6, and revealed the powerful distinction between the helmet of salvation and the helmet of the hope of salvation from 1 Thessalonians 5:8. If you have been feeling mentally attacked or overwhelmed, this episode is going to show you exactly what God gave you to fight back with. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgY7kAPjo1E&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNvHLzeBuhqHvZhuCSMEQEgV

On The Executive Perspective, my leadership and business show that delivers Real Help For Real Success, I brought you The Ripple Effect: Why Your Smallest Actions Echo Further Than You Think. I walked you through the ripple effect principle and what it means that your words, your actions, and the way you carry yourself are creating an impact in people's lives whether you are aware of it or not. I also shared the apple seed principle, two major obstacles that diminish your ripple effect, and practical ways to reignite your impact if you feel like you have lost it. Someone is depending on your ripple right now. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqqdZeSO-yI&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNuJ-dNFVFCWc3lb7BmJ07mM

Until Next Time

Put your helmet on and keep it on. And while you are protected and standing firm in faith, do not forget the ripple you are creating in the world around you. Someone is watching you. Someone is depending on you. And your ripple is reaching further than you think. Go make it count this week.

This Wednesday on Champion's Walk, I'm continuing the Suited for Battle: The Armor of God series. We are going deeper and I believe this next piece is going to be just as powerful as the first. 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