The Spirit of Absalom

So I want to start something called the Spirit of and the Bible deals with it sometimes in

Jude 111 for instance.

In Jude 111 if you look at it they use examples from the Old Testament to tell us what to

avoid.

And so we want to go down that road over the next two or three weeks to make sure that

we avoid things we need to avoid.

So for instance in Jude 111 it says,

Woe to them!

They have taken on the way of Cain.

They've rushed for profit into Balaam's era.

They've been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.

So then there are instances like that where God says, listen, don't walk the way of Cain.

Don't walk the way of Balaam.

Don't walk the way of Korah.

And so when we use the word in the Spirit of, if you go to 2 Kings 2.15 it's used both

in the positive and in the negative sense.

In the positive sense you find 2 Kings 2.15 it says that Elisha began to walk in the Spirit

of Elijah.

And then when you go to Luke 1.17 it explains what God means when he says, in the Spirit

of.

So that's the title for the next few messages.

In the Spirit of.

In Luke 1.17 it says, when God says in the Spirit of something he means in the nature

and the power of.

So today we're not talking about, we will one day talk about the Spirit of Elijah.

But today I want to talk about the Spirit of Absalom.

And so before we talk about the Spirit of Absalom we need to understand that this is

not the name of an evil spirit.

What we're trying to say is that it is either a personality often preyed on by a spirit,

preyed on by a spirit.

And what does that look like?

When we say the Spirit of Absalom what we're talking about is the nature and the work of

this spirit.

The nature and the work of this spirit.

What does that look like?

How do I avoid it?

Because the strange thing is as I was going through it I've been preyed to it.

I've fallen prey to it.

I've behaved like Absalom not once, more than once.

And so to be aware of it then prevents us from behaving the way we should not behave.

It prevents us from going down that route.

So when you read 2 Samuel chapter 13 to 18 you'll find the life of Absalom.

2 Samuel 13 · chapter mention

Absalom was David's son and he was born of David and Bathsheba, right?

And in five chapters he goes from being David's favorite son to his death.

So what does it look like when we talk about the Spirit of Absalom?

Maybe we'll deal, most likely we'll deal next week with Korah, Cain and Balaam.

We have dealt with Jezebel in the past so we might not talk about that.

And we'll end on a high note with the Spirit of Elijah.

So go through it so that we know what to avoid.

And so as we talk about this just be careful of two or three things.

When a pastor or a leader preaches this it almost feels like it's self-serving.

It's almost like, okay, is he calling us Absaloms and is he trying to solidify his position and quell down any questions?

You've got to try and avoid thinking like that because that's not the intent.

So that's the first thing.

That it is not self-serving.

It is guarding the church.

And that for sure is the responsibility of leaders and definitely my responsibility.

So that's the intent.

Second, it is easy to feel guilty and condemned.

It is easy to feel guilty or condemned.

Because maybe you have walked this way as I have.

I'll give you real examples of how I walked this way and the harm I did.

Not in the distant past but some years ago.

How it harmed other people who were in authority because they walked this way.

So sometimes it's easy to feel guilty or condemned as you hear this teaching because did I do that?

Maybe try to avoid guilt and condemnation because that isn't the intent of the Spirit.

You know then that it's not coming from the Spirit of God.

It's coming from our own struggles.

Or perhaps if I preach it a certain way it might make you feel guilty and condemnation.

So one of the things I've been asking the Lord is as you go through this series Father,

can you make me a compassionate plumb line?

A compassionate plumb line where you hold a plumb line so that the wall is straight.

But you're compassionate with it so that it doesn't condemn if the wall is crooked.

And I've asked some others to pray for me and they are.

So that it doesn't come out wrong.

And the third thing is as we go about this, yes, I have fallen prey to this.

And so maybe it is more common in experience than we think.

I've fallen prey to this.

And so I know what it feels like to operate in the nature and the work of the Spirit.

And the last thing is in talking about this we are able to achieve a few ends.

One, it exposes the Spirit which pretends to be helpful but is actually harmful.

So it exposes the counterfeit.

Then I love it when these kids begin to sing.

Second, it smart waters the Spirit.

And I know that's a term that needs to be explained.

The currency notes, if you steal them from a bank, they have a smart water dye on it.

You steal it and you open the pack and it just sprays that dye.

It's an invisible dye.

But the cops can catch it because it shows on your fingers and it shows on your currency

note whenever it's stolen because it explodes.

And it's invisible but it is a dye.

It's called the smart water dye.

So by talking about this, we smart water the Spirit.

As in it doesn't matter how much it tries to hide, it'll be exposed.

And thirdly, we safeguard the church from harm.

We safeguard the church from harm.

Those are the intents.

And so even when we continue with Cora, Balaam and Cain next week, that would be the intent.

Any questions?

Any questions?

Cool.

So how do absolums end up happening?

One of the ways absolums end up happening, based just on our reading of the chapters

in the Old Testament, you can raise absolums.

Hey, if that other mic is working, please send it my way.

I prefer moving around.

You can raise absolums by not dealing with the issues they are struggling with.

Not dealing with issues they are struggling with.

Let's go over the absolum story because I just assumed that all of us know the story.

So absolum was David and Bathsheba's son.

After the first child died, absolum was David and Bathsheba's son.

David absolutely loved absolum.

He had an older son, the oldest, who was supposed to inherit the throne.

His name was Amnon.

Amnon lusts after his half-sister, Tamar.

Tamar refuses his advances, says, this is a really bad idea.

I'm your half-sister.

He doesn't listen.

He rapes her.

And so now Tamar's life is destroyed because she'll never be able to marry again.

People will know what has happened.

Amnon, once he sleeps with her, just is so disgusted with her that he throws her out.

She may be Amnon's half-sister, but she's absolum's sister.

Absalom is enraged, but he keeps the rage down.

His intent is, how do I avenge this?

David knows about it.

David doesn't do anything.

He should have done something with absolum, but he didn't.

Absalom flees because he knows he's in danger.

He flees and David's heart longs for him, but David does not do anything.

He kills Amnon and that's why he flees.

He gets Amnon into a party and then kills him.

And absolum flees.

David knows where he is three years later.

The Joab the general goes and gets him back into the king's palace, but David refuses to see him.

Sometimes absolums are formed because David refused to deal with their issues and struggles.

Sometimes.

Not all absolums are like that, but sometimes absolums are formed because David refuses to.

Absalom then begins to do, in 2 Samuel 15, let's read that.

You'll get an idea of what this spirit is like and how it operates through people.

And when it operates, what does it look like?

You'll get an idea.

Second Samuel 5, sorry, 2 Samuel 15, 15.

Once you read that, we'll get an idea.

Absalom does come back to Jerusalem, but now his conspiracy and plot begins to unfold and he turns against David.

So 2 Samuel 15.

Starting at verse 1.

In the course of time, absolum provided himself with a chariot and horses and with 50 men to run ahead of him.

He would get up early, stand by the side of the road, leading to the city gate.

Whenever anyone came in with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, absolum would call out to him.

What town are you from?

He would answer.

Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.

Then absolum would say to him, look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.

And absolum would add, if only I were appointed judge in this land, then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice.

Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, absolum would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him.

Absalom behaved in the way towards all Israelites who came to the king asking for justice and he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

At the end of four years, absolum said to the king, let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow that I made to the Lord.

While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow.

If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I'll worship the Lord in Hebron.

The king said to him, go in peace.

So he went to Hebron.

And absolum sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, absolum is king in Hebron.

200 men from Jerusalem had accompanied absolum.

They had been invited as guests and they went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter.

While absolum was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel, the Gileonite, David's counselor, to come from Gilo to his hometown.

And so the conspiracy gained strength and absolum's following kept on increasing to a point where David had to flee.

And then absolum goes and sleeps with David's concubines.

And then David flees.

And in the end, the result is violent because the spirit is violent.

The spirit of absolum is violent.

His death is violent.

We'll talk about that later.

But this is what the story is about.

And now that we know the story, let's go on with what we were talking about.

So you can raise the absolums.

You can raise the absolums by not dealing with the issue that they are struggling with.

And it puts them off to the point where now they take things into their own hands.

So sometimes absolums are the result of David's not doing what they're supposed to do.

How do you make...

Oh, there it goes.

Second, sometimes if you don't discern the personality of people early,

then you give them a platform and regret it later.

And the third way absolums are formed is because we are supposed to love,

we don't stop and correct.

Jesus would pick figures from the Old Testament.

Sure.

Jesus would pick figures from the Old Testament.

And in his letters to the church in Revelation, he would refer it that way.

He would say, do not tolerate that woman, Jezebel.

He wasn't talking about a woman named Jezebel because nobody names their daughter Jezebel.

He was trying to make a connection.

That's what we're trying to do here.

We've got to make sure that we are safeguarding ourselves and the church from this spirit ever gaining a hold of any of us to do harm.

Just as it used me to do harm to another pastor.

Who knows I'm talking about this?

I was actually praying for me.

So that's where we're going with this.

Thanks man.

Between you and me while no one's listening, I really feel bad that the leafs lost here.

Pray for you.

The other struggle we have is...

The other struggle is guys, because this is a spirit that is sometimes at work to divide churches,

It works through personalities that are nice, friendly, lovable, popular, trustable, like I was.

And so everyone loves Absalom.

And so did David.

So it's very hard to deal with this spirit.

That's why we need to talk about it.

So what are some of the characteristics?

Any questions on that before we go on to the traits of Absalom?

Any questions?

So here are some of the traits of Absalom.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Many times Absalom's are the result of David's not, or his father's not dealing with issues and struggles.

And because they ignore it, either because they want to avoid it or they want to schmooze over it,

it ends up producing people that didn't have to go down that route.

Yeah.

See, the strange thing about the story of David is what happens to him is a result of the prophecy that Nathan speaks over him saying,

the sword will never leave your house.

But what happens with Absalom is not because of the prophecy.

Absalom makes his own choices.

But it just so works in the tapestry of things that David now suffers an injustice that he had done to Uriah when he had Uriah killed so he could marry Bathsheba.

If you don't know these stories, it's good to read 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel.

It's about David and Saul and it's rich.

It shows how people are and how God deals with things.

Yeah.

So here are some traits of Absalom.

Absalom's don't trust authority.

They don't think authority is competent.

And there's a tendency to feel that they would handle it better.

Perhaps they could.

The crazy thing about being the manager of anything and you can ask the principal of a school or the manager of a company is that there are things that people can deal with much better than you.

But there are these little things they can deal with.

But when you deal with a whole table of things, there's a reason why managers are paid.

Manager wages.

So I might be able to deal with one of the things that the manager isn't doing well.

That becomes my pet peeve.

But if I were put in the same place, I would not know how to deal with the 43 other things he deals with.

And so Absalom's and now we are coming back to the church.

Absalom's don't trust authority.

They don't think authority is competent and they feel that they would handle things better.

Perhaps they would.

There's another thing that happens with them.

The topic they are most interested in at present is the topic that they think the church needs.

I used to cause so much havoc for people.

There was a time when the only thing I was obsessed with is we have to start something in downtown that helps the homeless and the drug addicts.

Businessmen would call me to talk to them because I would seek opportunities to get businesses involved in setting up things on Hastings.

They would call me and I would go with a whole set of scriptures that would rip strips of them saying,

what are you guys doing your business for?

You should be pumping all your money into Hastings and downtown.

They would call me once. They would never call me after that.

Why?

For very obvious reasons.

These were generous Christian businessmen who were putting money in so many different things.

But in my spiel to them, it would be if you don't help the poor, then what good are you?

And so what would happen then is they would never call me back.

It never took off. Why?

Because that was my pet thing.

My pet thing was we need to do something for Hastings.

And sometimes what happens is the topic that you are most interested in begins to become the topic that you think the entire church should now learn.

The Absalom spirit, we just call it A.S.

The Absalom spirit works against leadership, works against leadership.

And shepherds who have for years been laying down their lives to build.

The Absalom spirit works against leadership and shepherds who have for years been laying down their lives to build.

To build a sheep.

The spirit distorts, misrepresents, and tries to marginalize the influence of leaders amongst people by pulling what's called the Eden Deception.

What's the Eden Deception?

It's very simple.

Did he really say that?

Oh, that's not right.

You know, but I don't want to criticize that.

I don't want to say anything, but I'm surprised he said that.

That's a blooming hook, man.

That's done so often.

It's called the Eden Deception.

That's how Adam and Eve were hooked.

So in that sense, Absalom is a master manipulator.

There'll be statements like, you know, you're my friend.

I want to spend quality time with you.

I want to invest in you.

Unlike others, maybe you're not getting the time you need, but I'll invest in you.

Here's a fresh word for you.

And the fresh word will be on the side.

It'll never be corporately tested.

It is self-exalting in the sense that it operates outside of permission.

It operates outside of permission.

It operates outside of permission, inside meetings.

But it's disguised as Christian service.

And it is actually Christian service.

But the strange thing about Christian service is Christian service that is outside order is not Christian service,

because your God is a God of order.

So this is the difficult part about Christianity.

It's not that what a person does is wrong.

It might be righter than every other person in the church.

But when it's not done in order, it is not Christian anymore.

Any questions before we go on?

I hate having been stuck here.

Sorry, go ahead.

No, we are saying that this is not the name of a spirit.

We are saying that this is the nature and the work of a spirit.

It operates through people.

There is nothing in the Bible to say there's a spirit called the spirit of Absalom.

Charismatics and Pentecostals can come up with that.

But there is nothing like that.

There is nothing called spirit of Jezebel,

but there is a woman called Jezebel in the Old Testament

and in the New Testament.

Jesus refers to that woman Jezebel,

meaning she is doing things in the nature of the old Jezebel.

So when we talk about someone operating in the spirit of Absalom,

what we are saying is that person is now taking on the nature of the Absalom in the Old Testament.

And obviously what he's doing is ungodly.

And if he is fueled by another spirit that makes him do it,

that causes discord, strife, dissension,

yeah, then it is another spirit operating.

But it is because a person is behaving like that.

It's in the nature of the work of the Absalom in the Old Testament.

So that's why when you look at the book of Revelation,

Jesus says do not tolerate that woman Jezebel.

What he means is there is this woman who's behaving like the Jezebel in the Old Testament.

Do not tolerate her.

I can't hear you. Can you speak louder?

Yeah.

Yeah, so how God sees everything is like this.

So this is the tunnel of time.

He's able to say things because he knows what's going to happen here.

But he doesn't make people do things to make that happen.

It's in his foreknowledge that he speaks, not in predetermination.

Because if it was in predetermination, then poor Judas, what hope did he have?

Poor Ananias and Sapphira, what hope did they have?

So it's not, he doesn't predetermine our evil actions because then he is not a holy God.

Because he's literally taking us down a path of evil.

But because in his foreknowledge he can say,

therefore the prophetic word then comes to pass because he knows what's going to happen.

But he doesn't predetermine it.

So he's not manipulating Absalom to do something, but he knows Absalom will do it.

Yeah.

Any other questions?

Okay.

An Absalom spirit works at stealing the hearts of people,

works at stealing the hearts of people that belong to the Lord.

Works at stealing the hearts of people that belong to someone else's authority.

And always remember, Absalom is not an external threat.

It is internal.

It's not something from the outside, it's inside.

Absalom was David's son.

He was within the spiritual realm.

It's inside.

Absalom was David's son.

He was within the palace, within the family.

The goal is,

can I displace,

can I displace and replace the one in authority?

Can I displace and replace the one in authority?

So Absalom will, and the strange thing is you can provide opportunities

for Absalom to engage corporately, as in engage with the body at large.

But even when opportunity comes, discontentment kicks in

and therefore they can't function.

Discontentment is so the heart of Absalom.

If he loses his discontentment, he won't be able to function.

He has to be discontent.

You take away discontentment from Absalom?

One of the things that happens when I begin to feel discontent under someone's authority,

if I let go of that discontentment, I can return to normal.

So what do I have to do? I have to hold on to it.

Always see the grass that is greener somewhere else.

Always find things that are not working.

Always be able to find some fault that makes me displeased and discontent.

Because if I let go of my discontentment, I will return to being a full-fledged son.

So I have to nurse discontentment.

I have to find something that is better somewhere else.

They would make good movie critics, but that's not where we're going.

And so because of the critical spirit, they are usually not able to receive spiritual food,

not able to receive spiritual food from leaders or direction.

They're not able to receive it.

So yes, there's a false humility, but it is towards trying to steal hearts.

Trying to steal hearts through assurances, favors done, great humility,

welcoming into their lives ones that belong to a shepherd

that absolums won't work with, but work behind or on the side.

Any questions?

So false humility, and they try to steal hearts by giving assurances, by giving favors,

by doing favors, by showing great humility, by welcoming people into their lives.

And these are lives that actually are being raised under the authority of a shepherd.

But absolums won't work alongside the shepherds.

They will work on the side so that it's something that's happening on the side, not in real.

This is exactly what's happening in 2 Samuel 15.

Humility that is not towards a peaceable end is false.

Humility that is not towards a peaceable end is false and does not have wisdom.

It's kind of like a more political, violent, same with our prime minister's things that we don't really like about him.

But we're not ready to leave the country. We know who we are committing.

How do we fight for what we believe will help the church and yet still continue to fight?

What I can do if I am, if you're the pastor, or if you are the shepherd and I am operating under you,

and you are beginning to do things that either don't take care of me or don't address my issues, and you've tried, you can't fight.

You have only two choices. You can bring it up, I hope that the pastor will change.

Fighting, stirring up stuff from...

Yeah, yeah.

And so you can be validated by the word on almost every issue.

And if it comes to that, then the leader is in error, if you can show the person from the word.

And there's a process, Matthew 18, if there is an issue with any of the leaders or with me that you see is wrong,

then you'll have to go the Matthew 18 route.

Jacob, this is something that you're doing wrong.

And Jacob doesn't care to hoots for you.

So then you go and bring one of the other leaders and says,

Jacob, I've spoken to this leader. We want to come and talk to you about it.

And Jacob still doesn't care to hoot.

So now you have to go to that leader, let's say it's Derek, who might be nicer.

And so you go to Derek and you say, Derek, we need to ask the leaders to deal with this issue,

because this is an issue where Jacob is doing me harm, Jacob is doing wrong, Jacob is doing evil.

It is sin that is contagious.

And if Derek doesn't listen, then you go to Jane or you go to Heidi.

One of them will hopefully listen to you.

And at some point, they'll have to confront me or confront people that are with me.

If you want to find sin, you'll find it in my life easily.

But if you want to find contagious sin, it's unlikely.

Sin that is contagious must be dealt with.

Where it's something that I do.

Like, let me give you contagious sins.

Strife, discord, gossip, sexual sin, embezzling money, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness.

These are contagious sins. The Bible mentions them.

If these you find, and that if you find these and you find these repeatedly in my life or in the life of any of the leaders,

yeah, then you should come up and talk about it.

What Absalom does is whisper behind backs.

So some years ago, I used to go to church and preach there often.

The man trusted me.

He, every time he would leave town, he would let me speak.

And he opened this church to me, would involve me in prayer, would involve me in mission.

And then I would drive people up and down to Surrey, to Richmond, to Vancouver.

And then one day I noticed that they were beginning to complain about this pastor.

And I knew him quite well.

That's a sad thing, eh?

That sometimes you are trusted by somebody because you know them well, and yet you can fall into this trap.

And so they began to say things about this pastor.

First there was one lady and she started talking about him and I didn't say anything.

But it would happen week after week.

And by the third time it happened, now there were two or three people in my car and they would start talking about this person.

I would now begin to, for some strange reason, encourage them and begin to almost enjoy it like a morsel.

Where it was, it was odd to listen to them gossip about this man that I knew well.

But I would just keep listening.

I would have the same responses that I've written down.

Oh really? Yeah. I'm not too sure of that.

That doesn't sound like him, but you know, yeah, I guess people make mistakes.

Or, oh really? You know, I don't want to say anything critical about it, but really that happened?

It was so, it was so, yeah, I wish I don't make mistakes like that when I have a church.

It is so blooming pious, you feel like slapping yourself.

And this would go on for weeks on end.

And then I did even a stranger thing.

When I spent time with that pastor, I'm sitting with the pastor, I'm telling him, you know,

I just want you to know that this person is saying this about you and this person is saying that about you.

I'm telling him what they have said.

I thought to myself, I've done my holy, godly duty.

But I was operating in the spirit of absolute.

And one day he calls us all to his house.

He calls all the parties involved.

And I thought, good, their goose is cooked.

And so we call them all.

We're sitting around this table and I'm thinking to myself, well, your turn has come.

Now you'll get your just desserts.

And he turns to me and he says, why did you entertain their gossip?

Why did you talk? Why did you listen to them?

Why did you say the things?

And I'm looking at him stunned.

I'm thinking to myself, you should be shouting at them, not at me.

Well, that man took such a stance against me.

I was so upset that I got up and left and I did not speak to him for six months.

Stopped going to his church, completely disappeared, would not talk to him.

And one day I remember early morning I wake up and the Lord says, you are the guilty man, not him.

You were the one who operated in the spirit that was wrong, not him.

Call him up and tell him you want to come to his church.

And so I called him up and that evening, Sunday evening, I went to his church.

I went to his church and he welcomed me.

He was kind to me.

And he said, Jacob, do you just want to share a word with me?

And he said, Jacob, do you just want to share a word of encouragement?

He was still giving me an opportunity after all that I'd done.

I go up, stand on stage and before the whole church I confessed what I had done.

And I turned to him publicly and I said I was sorry.

At the end of the day, the only way to spare yourself of the Absalom spirit is to repent and stop what you're doing.

There's no other way around it.

That was not the first time I did it.

That was perhaps the last time I operated in the fullness of it.

I've still made mistakes after that.

But I'm aware of it now.

So behind the scenes, Absalom's covertly plant doubt concerning leadership.

And they usually have this nose for discontented people.

They have a nose for discontented people.

They can smell discontented people out and then they'll sow more seeds of discontentment.

Absalom is self-seeking because he loves listening to complaints that undermine authority.

I loved listening to complaints about this bastard.

He was a good friend.

Taught me a lot.

But it was good to hear that this man also had faults.

It was good to hear the things he was messing up, getting wrong.

And once the spirit gathers a small following, the disloyalty is openly displayed.

When we sat in his house and he said what he said to me, got up and left in a huff, I was shouting.

Because then disloyalty was an open display.

And once disloyalty is an open display, what happens is people are forced to make a choice.

People are forced to make a choice.

They have to choose between Jacob, who's given them rides every week,

who's done them favors, who helps them, and the pastor that they are complaining about.

Now they have to make a choice.

Puts people in a very difficult situation.

I told him because I thought I was an innocent party.

I didn't expect him to call and then turn on me.

And me entertaining it because I really wanted to hear more and do the Absalom thing, that was completely wrong.

And the strange thing was Chava, he was a good friend, man.

He was a guy who did me good.

I realize this is going to be heard by a lot of people, eh?

But you must also realize how serious this is.

Yeah, that's a hard call, eh? Do you repeat the question?

Chava's saying, so when you hear things like this, how do you deal with it?

I think there are just two ways to deal with it.

Avoid it. Do not take car rides if this is, if it's pastor roast every Sunday when you get home.

Avoid car rides. Do not go.

And if it continues, do you have the courage to tell them to stop?

Or do you have the courage if they don't stop to come and say, hey, Derek, hey, Mae, hey, Don, this is happening?

It's not easy because you feel like you're being a tattletale.

You're betraying that nobody can now trust you.

It's very difficult.

I was at a pastor's house in Houston three months ago, and he said, Jacob,

always remember that people need to be faithful first to the vision of God and then only then be loyal to the leader.

I thought, what a cool statement.

Sometimes we think loyalty to the leader is the most important thing.

No, you have to be faithful to the vision of God and only after that, be loyal to the leader,

because loyalty to the leader will always collapse at some point when the leader does not please you.

But faithfulness to the vision of God will stay.

Your loyalty is not to a leader. It is important.

David had men who were loyal to him, the mighty three, the mighty 30.

He could run with them because he had them.

There was something greater than loyalty to a leader, which is faithfulness to the vision of God.

And that you have to have locked in your heart, eh?

People are forced to then make a choice between the genuine leader and Absalom who has deceived them.

And the spirit is hard to deal with because the people it works through are emotionally attached to or involved in people's life,

emotionally attached or favors done.

How do you then break relationship?

And Absalom works from within. It's quiet leaven. It's always on the side.

It's never upfront. It's never corporate. It's always on the side.

So you never know what's being said.

Leadership often tolerates the spirit in love.

Leadership tolerates the spirit in love.

You would think Jesus would say, hey, that woman, Jezebel, meaning the woman who's acting like Jezebel, love her, love her back into fellowship.

He doesn't say that. He says, do not tolerate her.

Put her out because I'm going to put her on a bed of sickness and I'm going to put any of the children who fornicate with her into a bed of sickness.

Those are loving Jesus' comments.

So leadership sometimes tolerates Absalom's because we are meant to be loving,

but mistakenly so because it's a spirit that seeks to divide and conquer, that seeks to divide and conquer.

It seeks to divide and conquer.

The earlier you deal with it, the safer the flock is.

One of the reasons I want to go down this road is so that any time I or you begin to behave like Cora, Cain, Balaam, Absalom, I don't know, Safira, any of those guys,

we suddenly have a light going off saying stop this.

This will bring discord and strife.

Stop this now. It doesn't end well.

It doesn't end well.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. We'll talk about how to deal with Absalom and end with that.

And one of the things is for leaders to be discerning because sometimes it's like quiet leaven.

It happens on the side and you don't see it till the dough is completely raised.

And so you've got to find out earlier because it's yeast that must be swept out.

Yeah.

It's a counterfeit anointing, guys, because it confides and counsels people.

It confides and counsels people without permission or delegated authority.

That's why it's a counterfeit anointing.

It's a false deliverer.

It's a counterfeit anointing because it confides and counsels people without delegated authority,

without permission on the side so you never know.

And then the other thing that happens, and this we have to be careful with because very often in our speaking about people,

we begin to dishonor them.

Gossip always dishonors.

Resentment always dishonors.

One of the things that Absalom does, and this is so sad,

that he's going against his father.

And what does he do?

He goes up on a balcony, an open air balcony where the city can view,

and he begins to sleep with his father's concubines in open display so that he can shame his father.

So the Absalom spirit loves shaming shepherds and leaders that they're operating under.

It'll be in quiet conversations, in gossip, in insinuations, in questions asked, in the ways questions are asked.

And that is something that we all have to be careful of because it's so easy for me to talk about any of you

in a way that shames you, in a forum that is not with a leader.

It could be in a public place.

Have I done it?

Yes.

Unfortunately, yes.

To you, yes.

And I don't want to.

And you need to stop too if you're doing it.

So how do we deal with the spirit?

How do we deal with it?

Let's look at some scriptures.

Acts 20, verse 28 to 31.

Acts 20:28–31

Paul is in Ephesus.

He's going to say goodbye to them.

And then he makes this statement.

Please understand that this is going to happen in almost every church.

What are we doing?

We are safeguarding ourselves so that it doesn't happen or so that it doesn't affect.

It happened 2,000 years ago.

It happens now too because the spirits that operate are the same.

Acts 20, verse 28 to 31.

Acts 20:28–31

Here's what it says.

Keep watch over yourselves.

And he's talking to the leaders and the shepherds.

He says, keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

Be shepherds of the Church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.

That's external.

Verse 30 is what is bothersome.

Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.

So be on your guard.

If you go to Proverbs 20, verse 26, and I want to read it from the message because it's a little softer perhaps.

Proverbs 20:26

Proverbs 20, verse 26 from the message.

Proverbs 20:26

Proverbs 20, verse 26.

Proverbs 20:26

What I'm trying to show here is the responsibility that shepherds, overseers or leaders have.

Proverbs 20, verse 26 from the message.

Proverbs 20:26

It says, after careful scrutiny, a wise leader makes a clean sweep of rebels and dolt's.

And so it is important to scrutinize, as you would in your company, things that would cause your company not to flourish.

Only in this case, we don't sweep people out.

We try to help people get back on track.

Just like this man helped me to get back on track.

When I went to his church and I said what I said, he was a little embarrassed.

He didn't expect me to say that.

He said, Jacob, you didn't need to explain it.

I said, no, I didn't need to.

And things have been really good since.

Stop tolerating it.

You're dealing with a power or a personality that is operating under the power.

What are they doing?

They are coming against God's established authority and they are seeking to divide the house.

How dumb would it be if someone came to divide your house

and you didn't do anything?

Romans 16, verse 17 and 18.

Romans 16:17

Romans 16, verse 17 and 18.

Romans 16:17

I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.

Keep away from them.

Keep away from them, for such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.

By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the minds of naive people.

Nehemiah, chapter 6, verse 1 to 9.

Nehemiah 6:1–9

There were two guys, Sanballat and Tobiah.

Both of them were operating this way.

They were trying to stop Nehemiah from building the wall.

And they would keep trying to do things on the side, keep trying to get Nehemiah distracted.

Nehemiah refuses to fall for the antics of these Absalom types who were trying to stop and distract him from building the wall.

Sometimes you have to completely ignore their desire to have a platform or have a voice.

You have to ignore it because it is meant to poison.

Here's another one, Luke, chapter 6, verse 27 and 28.

Luke 6:27

It says, listen, pray for those who abuse you, love those who hate you.

So there's that part now where when you know there are Absalom's, do what David did, long for their return and begin to pray.

Begin to pray.

Begin to pray your heart out saying, Father, just like you did for me when you used people to change me,

please change so that what befell Absalom and what I was spared will not happen to them and they will be spared too.

That is a true shepherd.

Any shepherd who wants to sacrifice sheep that are butting each other is not a real shepherd.

At some point in the midst of the plumb line, there must come in compassion.

There is no mercy without judgment, guys.

You cannot show mercy without judgment.

Mercy does not exist if judgment does not exist.

Third book of John, not John 3, chapter 1, verse 9.

There was a guy like this.

I met guys like this.

I'm not talking about Acts 29.

I met guys like this.

I had to use the scripture to expose them.

Third John 1, 9.

I wrote to the church, but diatrophis, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.

So if I come, I'll call attention to what he's doing, gossiping maliciously about us.

Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers.

He stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

Dear friends, do not imitate what is evil, but do what is good.

Paul had to deal with people like this.

I pray, God, that sometimes just teaching it will prune us where we need to be pruned

so that we don't have to deal with it.

Got to understand that, guys.

When Jesus talks about pruning, the first measure he uses for pruning is the word.

He wants more fruit in a church, and so he will prune.

But the first method of pruning is the scissor of the word.

And if the word can prune me, then I don't have to now worry about him having to take any extra steps.

It's done.

And that's Jesus' preferred method, too.

Can I just prune you with my word, where you change, because my word has convicted your heart,

because it is life and spirit?

And once that happens, he doesn't have to take any other measure.

It's always the word that prunes first.

But when that doesn't work, that's when he has to use other methods.

Why? Because he loves his bride and because he loves you.

Both.

If you're a leader, know that you are a target, and there will be attempts to drive a wedge.

The trick is to be faithful to the vision of God and only then be loyal to the leader.

So let's assume someone wants to plant these thoughts in Derek's head or Iris' head,

or that it's better there, or this is not working here, you know, and the conversation begins.

Derek has to know that he'll be a target, and he has to then learn how to protect himself and his wife from being drawn into that.

Leaders will be attacked in this.

I was, and therefore I betrayed a good friend who was a mentor of sorts to me.

I'm not saying that because it happened to me, it'll happen to you.

You honestly are much better. And surprisingly, I'm sincere about that statement.

Yeah. Yeah, it's always, darling, Absalom lulls you into it.

When you go to shake Absalom's, when you go to bow before Absalom,

Betty's question was, you get lulled into it. It's not a direct attack.

And I'm saying, yes, she's right. Because when you go to bow before Absalom, he won't allow you to.

He'll shake your hand and grab you and hug you.

And it's like someone famous who you're going to say hello to, and he just grabs you and treats you like a friend.

What do you do then, man? It completely disarms you.

One of the other things I've found over the last couple of years is when people come and complain to you about somebody else.

If you ever bring that out, they don't want to say a word then.

I'm always surprised at that.

You spent six weeks telling me about this person, and now when I invite you to talk to that person,

you pretend like you never met me.

That's when you know that God is with you.

That's when you know that courage is missing.

Confront or avoid Absalom personalities who try to manipulate you, who try to sow discontent.

If it persists, find a leader that you're friendly with or you think is able to accept you and speak to them about it.

Let me say that again.

In this context of either pursuit or revive or the common gathering we have here at Acts 29 or quest or any other thing that will happen in the future,

if after having heard this, you see this kind of Absalom personality or the spirit of Absalom in operation,

confront them or avoid them.

And if they persist, speak to a leader that you think you can approach and tell them this is happening.

Because the intent is to safeguard the church.

Confront or avoid an Absalom personality who tries to manipulate or sow discontent.

If it persists, speak to the leadership about it.

And then the other thing is we have to be careful about guys like Job, who we trust,

who bring in Absaloms back into the fold before they repent.

So let's say Betty is operating that way, and she's trying to get the people who are trying to get her to come back.

And then along comes Jillian and says, no, you know, she's changing.

I've seen some changes. Let's bring Betty back.

Not if Betty hasn't actually changed.

Job brought Absalom back into David's circle.

And because of that, David then suffered, where he had to flee like a refugee from his own son, being cursed by a guy called Shimei.

Sometimes repentance is required before restitution can happen.

Yeah, but I'm saying why not give the benefit of doubt?

Should we bring up things with leadership immediately or give it some time when people persist on acting like this?

I would say persist because what if it's just an anomaly?

What if it's just one bad day or two bad days?

But if you see a pattern, then it's required that you bring it up.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, there are legitimate complaints, man.

You bring anybody from outside Acts 29 and you will find them finding a lot of holes in everything we do in the leaders, in the pastors.

They will find it.

It's us who are here that may not.

It's the leaders here who may not see their faults.

But you bring someone from outside, you'll see huge holes starting with me.

The bigger you are, the bigger the hole.

And so, and so, so there are legitimate complaints, say.

There are legitimate complaints.

Those complaints must be brought up with someone that you know has a listening ear for you.

And I guarantee you this.

There are enough people in this church now to hear a legitimate complaint.

There are.

For every three people you can't approach, you will find one that you can.

Go speak to them.

Tell them that you're being treated unfairly, that you're being ignored, that things are not being dealt with, that this was done, harm was done.

And if you have the guts, then confront directly.

I once said something to Rene that affected us so badly that she called me up half an hour later and spoke to me and said,

You did this to me. You harmed me. You hurt me.

And I'm thinking to myself, defend, defend, defend, defend.

Somehow come up with a scripture that will knock her off a pedestal.

Because I can come up with scriptures for everything.

And so I'm thinking, come up with something.

And then I'm thinking to myself, my God, she is right.

I remember apologizing to her, saying, I am sorry.

What I did was wrong.

I have absolutely no right to do what I did.

I hurt you and I hurt you badly and I have no excuse.

I don't know if you will be able to let go of this immediately.

But if it takes time, I'll try over a period of time to make you get better.

Sometimes one-on-one confrontation works, but sometimes it's hard to do that with the pastor who thinks he's all that.

So then go to someone who doesn't think as highly as himself.

So let's see what is the end of Absalom.

So we leave with a warning.

Though Absalom means father of peace, that's what his name means.

Ab Shalom.

Though Absalom means father of peace, it's a violent spirit and it meets a violent end.

Violent end.

Violent spirit.

Is this born out in the New Testament?

Let's look at the Old Testament, what happened to Absalom, then look at the New Testament.

In 2 Samuel 18, verse 9, Absalom is riding and fleeing from battle and he had amazing hair, like Derek or Don.

2 Samuel 18:9

Amazing hair.

Sorry.

Tony is feeling left out.

So Absalom had amazing hair and so he goes riding and his hair gets entangled in the branches and he's now suspended between heaven and earth.

And can't free himself and the mule runs away.

It says his head got caught in the Terebin tree so he was left hanging.

And then in verse 14, Job asks one of his servants, can you slay Absalom?

And the guy says, you can give me as many shekels as you want.

I will not touch the king's son.

So Job says, I cannot wait anymore.

And he takes three javelins and he shoves it right through Absalom's heart and kills him on the spot.

It was a violent death.

And his death brings great sorrow to Israel.

Great sorrow to Israel.

But it was the only way that Israel could be reunited under David.

Sometimes the only way to bring back the unity that has been destroyed by Absalom is to actually make sure that either that spirit is not active or the person does not continue doing what, it has to be stopped and arrested.

Is there New Testament scriptures to bear this out?

First Corinthians 3.16.

These are New Testament scriptures that sometimes bother me because it almost presents another side of God that we don't attribute to him.

First Corinthians 3.16.

If you destroy the house of God, I will destroy you.

That's talking about the house, the temple.

It's not talking about our bodies.

If you destroy the house of God, how do we destroy the house of God?

Descension, strife, discord, contagious sin.

Descension, strife, discord, contagious sin.

These are the ways we destroy the house of God.

And we name another one.

First Corinthians 11.

Verse 29.30.

If you do not discern the body, as in if you read the first, the preceding verses, if you begin to bring divisions within the body and you do not discern the body, then know this, that some of you will sleep and some of you will die.

Sorry, some of you will fall sick and some of you will sleep, as in die.

We don't realize how precious the unity of the body is to him.

And therefore, when I begin to do what I did then in that man's house, I'm putting myself in God's judgment.

For him, removing Jacob from the earth is not a big deal.

It's transferring me from this plane to this plane.

I still get to go to heaven because my eternal security is fine.

Fine.

But it is a removal from the earth when I begin to destroy the one thing that Christ brought with his blood and the Spirit is making together.

This is why we land with a prayer of repentance so that if we have gone down this route, that God would begin to heal our heart and begin to bring us back to a place where this does not happen.

Second Timothy 4.14.

Talks about two guys, a guy called Hymenaeus and a guy called Alexander the Coppersmith.

Both of them behaved like this. They would bring discord and strife.

And Paul says, I'm releasing them into Satan's hands.

And yet in Second Timothy 2.24, it says, Hey, Jacob, can you gently try and teach or explain this?

And if you can, then perhaps ones who have done the same thing that you did years ago will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil.

Let's pray.

Father, we heard Ed and Stacey talk about what we have here and that sometimes it can become commonplace for us.

We also know that there are plenty of flaws, plenty of things that are not how they should be in this church.

And that there can be valid, legitimate concerns, complaints, issues that must be dealt with.

And that perhaps haven't been dealt with.

There has been no channel to deal with it.

There has been no channel to deal with it.

False in my personality and my way that makes it hard sometimes for the church to get to a better place.

Would you start there?

Would you start there by helping me and others who are leadership in different churches to begin to find ways to address issues and concerns

so that that can never be the reason why absolums happen in this church?

Can you begin with that?

All I can offer is a sincere prayer, Oh God, but you are faithful and this is your church.

None of us paid it for it with our blood you did.

But you do want a blemishless, beautiful, bright, vibrant, bright, shining like Stace was saying.

So we come right now, Father, and ask for a spirit of repentance.

We ask for a spirit of repentance.

We were talking about the spirit of absolum.

Now we're asking for a spirit of repentance.

Nineveh was affected by a spirit of repentance.

The entire city repented and they were spared.

I asked for a spirit of repentance so that this church will never be a place where absolum will flourish.

If some of us have behaved like absolum, are behaving like absolum, like I did, then, Oh God,

then, Oh God, gentle Savior, help us escape that snare.

Help us escape that snare because you love your bride.

You love this church, Abba, and you love each one of us.

Help us escape that snare.

And as we go forward, when I make a mistake gossiping about someone, slandering someone,

saying something ill about someone, exposing them publicly,

speaking behind their back in a way that shames them, could you quickly remind me saying,

But Jacob, but Jacob, but Jacob, could you do that for us, Jesus?

Can you bring purity into this church in this one area?

As we deal with different things, could you do that for us, Lord, not even for our sake, but for your sake first,

and then for our sakes, so that we may be blameless and pure?

There's a scripture. I remember it as a children's song.

Do everything without complaining. Do everything without arguing,

so that you may become blameless and pure children of God.

Jesus, these are the things we are asking for at this stage in the life of the church.

Please grant it. Please grant it.

Thank you, Holy Spirit. I trust your work in my life, in our lives, in the life of this church,

so that Absalom forever will find this a difficult place to thrive.

And so, Father, as one who is the shepherd of this flock that you have appointed,

I release forgiveness upon anyone who has operated in the spirit of Absalom,

upon anyone who has spoken ill of any of the leaders or of me with a heart that holds nothing back.

I release your forgiveness, Father.

And if you forgive, then how can any of us hold anything back?

And let the same thing be reciprocated towards me, where I have harmed or any of the leaders have harmed.

Let the ones that are hurt forgive us.

So I erase from my heart anything outstanding

and start with a fresh slate for every person in this house right now.

Fresh slate.

Across this room, Spirit of God, could you do that?

Could you do that, oh God?

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Bless you guys. If you need prayer, there'll be people here to pray with you, yeah?