Having a reputation.
I believe that the church has lost it reputation. A big reason for this is that the church has compromised its assignment. When Seal Team Six finally killed Bin Laden, they had a reputation above every other team because of their assignment and the success with which they completed the mission. The assignment of the church was to be different and to be separate from the world. This does not mean we were to avoid the sinners but that we were to bring something to them that the world didn’t offer and could not offer. The fact that the church is not doing this has actually caused us to retreat and lose ground to the kingdom of darkness.
Why is a reputation so important? We read in the bible in the book of Acts that when the seven sons of Sceva tried to cast a demon out of somebody they were faced with a response they did not expect. “Jesus we know and Paul we know, but who are you?” Jesus had a reputation in the kingdom of darkness. His reputation was His mission to destroy the work of darkness. Every devil and demon knew why He was here and what He was suppose to do. His reputation caused devils to run to Him and request of Him to leave them alone and to leave their region. I believe Paul had the same reputation. The devils admit that they know him.
In the story of Gideon we see that God finds him hiding and threshing in a winepress. The Medianites conquered the country and were impoverishing the nation. God finds Gideon and greets him with a destiny.
Judg. 6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
Judg. 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
Gideon does not see himself in the way that God sees him. He complains about their fate and if everything the Father has said is true, then why doesn’t he see it? This sounds so familiar. So God commands Gideon to do something. Something that was unthinkable and most probably meant that he would be killed for it. God tells him to take his father's bull and go and break down the false altar of Baal. He told him to sacrifice the bull on the new altar he is to build for God, and use the wood that he cut down from the altar of the false god. One might ask why would God ask him to do that? Gideon had no reputation yet and God wanted to give him one. You don’t get a testimony without a test. No one gets a reputation if he has not done anything. You might get a reputation, but it would not be one you would like anyway. So Gideon goes by night with some friends and does what God commanded him to do. The next day the whole town is in an uproar about what he did and demands he be punished. His father gets up and challenges them to prove if Baal was a god let him fight or avenge himself. Lets look at what happened next.
Judg. 6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
Gideon got a new name and a new reputation. Jerubaal means “destroyer of Baal.” He no longer was known as a man that hides but one that destroys the enemies of God. Moses would not have a reputation without a Pharaoh. David would not have a reputation without a Goliath. Joseph would not have a reputation without a famine. Sadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not have a reputation without a fiery oven. Daniel would not have a reputation without a lion’s den. Joshua would not have a reputation without a Jericho. Jesus would not have a reputation without a satan.
When Joshua sends out the spies and they met Rahab, she told them that those in Jericho feared Israel. They heard the stories and the reports about the things God did for them at the Red Sea. It caused Israel to have a reputation that placed fear in the enemy’s heart. This reputation caused the enemy to lose strength and the will to fight.
Josh. 2:9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
Think what your reputation does to your enemy. He is disheartened and not motivated to fight you at all. Reputation is a powerful weapon in a battle. What are you facing today? It has come your way so that God can give you a reputation. You are someone that overcame cancer. You are someone that overcame failure. God makes all things work together for our good. It is not a test, it is a testimony. It is not a failure you are staring down, it is an opportunity to make a name and be known in the kingdom of darkness. God gave Jesus a name above every other name that in His name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Him to be Lord. One of the promises we have in the book of Revelation is that He will give us a new name.
Rev. 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
I believe that new name is the name that lines up with your reputation. I want to encourage you to face every challenge and know that it is God setting you up for greatness. Think what will happen when we as the church take our assignment back. Think about the possibilities when we see every challenge as a place for God to manifest.