Transference Of Spirits

Transference of Spirits

2Sa 11:14 Now it came about in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent [it] by the hand of Uriah.

2Sa 11:15 And he had written in the letter, saying, "Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die."

2Sa 11:16 So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he put Uriah at the place where he knew there [were] valiant men.

2Sa 11:17 And the men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David's servants fell; and Uriah the Hittite also died.

Background for today's message:

David at a very low point in his life is at the cave Adullam, where he has what we would call a gathering of eagles. Men from all walks of life and nationalities, joined themselves unto him.

They are described as everyone who was in debt, everyone who was in distress, everyone who was dissatisfied.

They saw a leader they could believe in, a leader who was willing to work with less than perfect people. They became his mighty men of valor. It is interesting to note all the foreigners David recruited into his army: Ahimelech the Hitite, Ittai of Gath (Goliath's home town!); Ishbosheth the Canaanite, (#2Sa xxiii:8), LXX.; Zelek the Ammonite, (2 Sam 23:37) and of course Uriah the Hittite

Uriah I believe joined himself to David at the cave of Adullam. He became one of the David's mighty men of valor. Men whose bravery, loyalty, and ferociousness in battle are legendary. What David did to him, is one of foulest deeds in all scripture. The story is told in 2 Samuel 11, and 12.

In preparing for and preaching the message last week, something caught my attention I didn't speak on but I want to address a whole message to that subject: transference of spirits. In last weeks message I noted Saul came up with a scheme to kill David and it was simply this: David wanted to marry a daughter of Saul's and Saul basically said kill 100 Philistines as a dowry and the girl is yours. Saul thought that in the process of attempting to kill the 100 Philistines, David himself would be killed, and no blame could be laid at the foot of Saul, because after all, the Philistines would in fact be the ones who killed David.

What is interesting about this is that the same idea is the scheme used by David later in his attempt to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah. Chance? I don't think so. This morning I want to talk about something called transference of spirits, and just as importantly I want to talk to you about the power of words.

In the case of Saul and David, I think somewhere along the line David heard of Saul's plan, the word apparently got out, it is after all recorded in scripture. It may be the idea wasn't original with Saul, one of his cohorts may have mentioned it to him, or Saul may have consulted with others and bye and bye the word got out, and that is how the story wound up in our bible. I believe somewhere along the way David heard it, and it was like a virus that buried itself into his spirit waiting for the right opportunity of a compromised spiritual immune system to burst forth in all its horrible glory. When David committed adultery, hidden and suppressed seeds of the enemy watered by his actions sprang to life. The message today is about getting those seeds cleaned out of us, and keeping our spiritual immune system protected and healthy. Because like David we have heard things on tv, from friends, even stories of the failures of others, they become lodged in our spirit lurking for a time of compromised spiritual immunity to spring forth. Lets get them before they get us!

On the Powerpoint screen is a magnified picture of Velcro, and in it you can that the secret of Velcro, very simply is hooks and loops. Transference of spirits is when a hook of the enemy finds a loop in your spirit with which to attach a seed of evil.

In life there are good hooks and loops and there are bad hooks and loops. David in the cave of Adullam is an example of a good hook and loop. People from all over were attracted to his bravery, his vision, his compassion, and his zeal for the Lord, that transferred from him to them.

David in the case of Uriah is an example of a bad one and here is another that contrasts bad and good:

Joh 8:37 "I know that you are Abraham's offspring; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.