Reputation, Regard, Report

 

In the Bible we have a lot of examples set forth, but have you ever stopped to consider the accounts? For most of these accounts there has to be several factors several individual choices to serve God.

There must be Reputation among men, The regard of God, and the report of others. Your reputation or testimony, God seeing you, regarding you and counting you Worthy and faithful, and men who can speak personally experientially to your character. Then there must be the choice to do what they are asked to do by and for God.

Tonight we are going to speak to Reputation, regard and report.

Of Jehu, Jehoshaphat and Joseph. Please notice the alliteration some consider a must in a sermon.

 

 

Reputation.

2Ki 9:1  And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead: 

2Ki 9:2  And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; 

2Ki 9:3  Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not. 

2Ki 9:4  So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramothgilead. 

 

A rather odd and mysterious set of instructions don’t you think? So he is to go to a captain of the army draw him out from his fellows and privately talk to him, oh wait it gets better, he is to take him to an inner chamber and speak to him alone. Once alone he is to anoint him with oil and tell him he is to be the next king of Israel.

Then he is to flee, Flee, not wait, not say good bye, not have dinner, not visit the bathroom ( thats how we know he is a young man) or let all the fellows with Jehu know what he is doing, oh no he is to leave and tarry not.

Sounds all kind of james bond with some mission impossible tossed in doesn’t it? This message will self-destruct.

 

2Ki 9:5  And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. 

2Ki 9:6  And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. 

 

Jehu is sitting with his fellows, apparently they recognize this guy, or at least his office, for Jehu does not hesitate to comply. No one questions him going off alone with him despite the lack of security in the situation. As a senior army officer Jehu is well versed in security and whom to trust and whom not to trust. That my friends is a Godly reputation. That when you come upon a group and you Single one out, instantly you are trusted and obeyed.

Jehu and the prophet go into an inner chamber and the prophet does and says what he was told to say and do, and he then takes off,

 

 

2Ki 9:11  Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication. 

2Ki 9:12  And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. 

2Ki 9:13  Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. 

 

 Jehu goes back to his fellows after this odd encounter, without the prophet who had left and tarried not, as it was told him to do.

Jehu is asked if all is well, first let me say he is discombobulated, out of sorts for this was a strange encounter. He was still not fully believing it as real, for his answer is steeped in suspicion. “Ye know the man and his communication.”

His fellows call the prophet mad, not mad as in crazy but in scatterbrained, wildly unpredictable. So apparently they knew the guy and his manner, and Jehu is questioning the whole thing, as pranks are rampant in most armies for there is a lot of spare time, so he casts a very suspicious eye upon the others, He thinks they are in on the joke.

They quickly declare they had nothing to do with this encounter, so he tells them of the message he had just received from the man of God, and they believe him.

Again, what a reputation this prophet, these prophets had in Israel.

It also goes to show the standing Jehu had with these men, they took his word for it, never questioned his veracity, but immediately fell in line and proclaimed him king.

Both men Jehu and the prophet had good reputations.

 

Regard: attention to or concern for something.

(2Ki 3:14)  And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

 

Jehoshaphat was the Son of Solomon, but Elisha did not say for Solomon I regard you. He said for Jehoshaphat I regard you.
Jehoshaphat was a righteous man. He did God's will. He often checked with God to make sure what he was doing was God's will.
He was a Godly man.
Therefore God recognized and regarded him.

Jehoshaphat was with the kings of Edom and of Israel. The king of Israel was Ahab's son, Jehoshaphat had not yet learned his lesson from being in league with the wicked man.
Just a short time before this his life was put in danger due to Ahab's deceitfulness.

Jehoshaphat once again aligned himself with a sinful leader who led the people astray with idols, and no fear of the one true God. Leads me to believe he was a little naïve, that he thought all people were like him and straight and true.
Jehoshaphat got into trouble twice now by bad alliances. 
Yet through it all God knew his heart and regarded him.

Regard, A word that carries a lot of weight.
 Elisha would not have looked at or paid attention to the 3 kings (Edom, Israel, and Judah) if Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah was not in the group. 3 kings, especially important men from the viewpoint of man. Yet Elisha would not have answered had Jehoshaphat not been among them.

That is a terrible statement to hear from anyone, let alone from the man of God. The king of Edom and of Israel would not have been listened to, or even seen. Think about that. They would have been left to the slaughter had they not had Jehoshaphat with them.

I guess it was lucky for the other two that Jehoshaphat was with them.

The question for us in this is would the man of God regard you?
Would he have helped the group if you were in it instead of Jehoshaphat?
Would the God of man see you, look at you, pay attention to you or me?

God knows the heart of man, He knows the intent of man. This is how He judges us, by the purity of our heart.

Will God regard you?

Regard: attention to or concern for something.

 

Of Good Report

Gen 41:14  Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.

In the account of Joseph there was a time he was in prison and he interpreted dreams for 2 fellow prisoners. Those dream interpretations came true and he was left alone, abandoned in prison by the one who promised not to forget him.
Then there came a crisis and the man remembered. He had forgotten Joseph in his time of prosperity, but when the need arose he remembered.

2Ki 5:3  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

Naaman needed healing and he went to a prophet of God when he was told of him.

Act 10:5  And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
Act 10:6  He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
Cornelius needed one to teach him, to guide him. He was sent to Peter.

There is a trend here. The want or need of a man of God to lead and guide. There is no need of the man of God for these people if there is no crisis. Times of plenty lead to no need. at least no discernible need by the people.
But in time of crisis there is need and there is a desire to find a man of God.

Now each of these men had a reputation or a good example set forth that they were called upon in these various times of need.
They were men whom God trusted to have people come to. They were Men of God.

There are times in this world where people need a man of God, are you of a good enough reputation or report that people will come to you? That God might send them to you in their time of need?

There is more than just a title associated here, there is more than just need, there is a solution provided in a man of God being asked a question.
Sober minded, righteous men of God being called for a particular situation.

In Naaman's case he had all the prophets of his god to call and he went to the man of God based on a young woman’s word. Not the little g gods but to the God with the Big G in His name.
In pharaoh's case he was directed to a prisoner. The greatest ruler at that time was beholden to a prisoner, but that prisoner had a reputation as a man of God.

This speaks to the example set by these men, of the service to the God they served, and of the power of the God they served who had the answers the people needed.
God used these men at these times and they stayed true to His calling and to His service and they set an example and a reputation that called people to them.

Do people call on you in their time of need? Do you have that example, that reputation that men from afar will hear of you and your God and they will come to you in their time of need?

Most times people will only call for help when there is no other option, are you the one they will call? Are you the one God will send them to?

What is your reputation? of what repute are you? Do people call on you for your God is mighty?
Or do they see you as themselves? someone who has no answers, no solutions? In the same pit that they themselves are in?
Are they seeing you set apart serving a mighty righteous God?

Can you speak to them of a God who can help them? Deliver them?
Do you know that God?
Or are you someone who goes to church and has no impact because you just went to church and failed to meet the God who is the reason for that church?

Are you a man or woman of God or a man of church?

Are you someone they will call in their time of need?
Are you someone who can be called in their hour of need?

Or will they have to look for another?

If not you who do they call? To whom will they turn for Godly instruction if not you or me? If they go to the world they will get the world’s advice and that is what led them to where they are now in a position seeking help.

 

The upshot of all this is your reputation, the Regard of God, and the report of men.

Where do you stand with God and man?

Men may not like you, but do they respect you and know where you stand?

When in trouble do they come to you despite the fact they do not care for where you stand?

Will God look upon you, will He regard you and deliver you from trouble?

When people are in need will men recommend you to them, for they know you are of God and can help?

 

What is our testimony to the world?

What is our testimony to our friends and family? Jehu’s friends respected Him.

What is our report among men? When seeking will they be sent to you?

 

The man with Joseph in prison knew him in his darkest hour, knew him when most of us would be downcast and doubting yet he (Joseph) had a good report even in the most dire of circumstances.

 

What is your reputation and report? What is our standing with God?

The good thing about all of this is if you do not have a good standing among men, you can change it. If you do not have a good report, you can change it.

If God does not regard you, You can change it.

It is not an easy thing to do but you can change it. Yet to do so will take effort, effort and determination. Effort, determination and a heart for God.

 

Today if you are not the man or woman of God that people would go to in their times of trouble, you can change it.

If you do not know Christ, you can change it.

But as I stated at the very beginning, it is a choice, and one only you can make. A choice to serve God, a choice to hear God and a choice to be Godly.

 

God does not coerce, God does not enslave, He asks all men to make that choice of their own free will. What you do with that choice is what determines your reputation, your regard, and your report among men.