The Twelve Stages of an Absalom Spirit

Do you remember King David in the Bible?  He was a man after God's own heart.  there is so much more to him that that.  Like he is the one who killed Goliath with a stone from his slingshot.   He was King of Israel.  He sinned with Bathsheba.  He was father to the wisest man in the wold, Solomon. He has another son, Absolam.  Absolam was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel.  He was flawless from head to foot.  He cut his hair only one time a year, and then only because it was so heavy.  Absolam killed his brother Amnon because Amnon raped their sister Tamar.  (And you say the Bible is boring).  This put David and Absolam in conflict.  When David finally invited Absolam back to Jerusalem Absolam worked to take the kingdom from David.  The Absolam spirit is alive and well today working to destroy God's churches.   The following shows how the Spirit of Absolam works in the church today.  

There are basically 12 stages that individuals go through when they have become influenced by the Absalom spirit of rebellion and disloyalty. As individuals progress through these stages, any church will experience increasing strife and disunity. Ultimately, if these deceived individuals are not dealt with, the disloyalty that spreads through the congregation will bring a church split or the departure of many affected saints.

Here are the Twelve Stages :                                                                               

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1.            An Independent Spirit

The first stage involves an attitude which takes on an independent spirit. The person no longer wants to serve the leadership but seeks recognition and a reputation.

2.            Self-Promotion

In this stage a person will maneuver for the praise of men. II Samuel 15 tells us that Absalom stood by the gate of the city and stole the hearts of the people.

             3.         Spiritual Pride

As people recognize and praise the Absalom, the deceived individual begins to believe that he is more spiritual than the leaders.

             4.         An Offended Spirit

Fourthly, we find the Absalom falls into an offended spirit because of spiritual pride. When his ideas and gifts are not promoted by the leadership as he believes they should be, he becomes highly offended. Often he will seek others that will agree with him in his offense.

             5.         A Critical Spirit

This leads up to a critical attitude toward the leadership. At this point, almost all the decisions of the leaders are questioned and undermined to the people. Sadly, with this critical spirit, the Absalom no longer can receive any spiritual feeding or direction from the leadership.

              6.       A Competitive Spirit

                      At this stage, the Absolom sets himself up in competition with the church leadership and begins to                                         distort and misrepresent the decisions and directives the leaders are giving.

                       7.    Sowing Strife and Division

Here, the Absalom will take his offenses to many individuals in the church and spread his discontent through telephone calls, meal times together, and secret gatherings such    as home fellowships.

              8.     Accusing the Leadership

                   At this stage, he feeds his followers on his own critical spirit and faultfinding. Through                        bold gossip, he speaks against faults that he sees in the leadership which are usually not related to God's spiritual qualifications set down in the Word. Minor things will be made major issues, such as what kind of car the pastor drives, how long he takes to receive the offerings or his insensitivity to babies crying in the services.

          9.       Open Disloyalty and Division

Finally, the Absalom feels that many are following him so he boldly brings his disloyalty out into the open. At this point the leaders become aware of his discontented splinter group. Now the people are forced to make a choice between the leaders of the church and the Absalom who : has deceived them.

           10.     A Bold Conspiracy

In this stage the Absalom justifies his conspiracy to everyone by focusing their attention on all the minor issues that he has found fault with in the leadership. (Usually, the Absalom does not have legitimate accusations such as the preaching of false doctrines or blatant sin on the part of the pastors.)

        

          11.      A Church Split

Sadly, the Absalom leads a naive splinter group out to birth a new church or ministry. II
Samuel 15:11 says, "And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem that were called, and they went in their simplicity (innocence) and they knew not anything." The people innocently followed the rebellious Absalom and split the kingdom.

          

         12.      God’s Judgment on the Rebellious Church

Pathetically, every church that is birthed through an Absalom split will have God's judgment fall upon it - Scripture tells us, "If the root be evil, the whole tree will be evil," and every church or ministry that is birthed by an Absalom spirit will be full of rebellion, disloyalty and continual church splits. (In the Bible, Absalom also died an ignominious death because of his insurrection.)

Folks,  do you see yourself or any of your friends or enemies exhibiting the Spirit of Absolam?    Please love God and the church more than anything you may think you can gain by splitting the church.  Please know that God does not look kindly on the ones who have the spirit of Absolam.  Rebellion is as the sin of Witchcraft.  Please repent and turn from your wicked ways.  Ask for forgiveness and work to protect the church in any way you can.     God loves His church and He will protect it.