Cult Of The Lamb Sins Of The Flesh Guide
Arnau Cyr
Once we make this into a permanent page, we will post all the links that pertain to churches in the ARC here. Chris Hodges, the pastor of the Church of the Highlands, is one of the overseers of the ARC.
Here is our original post followed by the entire Prayer Force Leaders' Guide. However, the previous page numbers in the original document do not fit the format of our post. I will try to figure out how to do that tomorrow so check back then for proper pagination of the original document.
Remember the hoopla about Sovereign Grace Ministries being the *experts* in church planting? ARC leaves them in the dust. Not only are they growing rapidly, but some of their churches are huge. Remember the awe of the Reformed crowd on the attendance at Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill? In its heyday, we were talking about 14,000. Here are a few numbers from ARC.
ARC central is located in Birmingham. Chris Hodges, the pastor of COH, is part of the lead team of the ARC. This group appears to function as overseers for particular churches. They help each other out. So, Hodges would not oversee his church but could oversee other churches in the network .For example the Overseers for COH are:
We will discuss structure as we progress in this series. In the meantime, it is important to understand that Hodges is highly influential in the ARC. It is my opinion that whatever goes at COH will be encouraged in other churches. COH has done us a favor by providing documentation of their beliefs in the Prayer Force document. I commend them for their transparency. We plan to look at how Robert Morris is putting COH's demon theology into practice next week.
Today, we are going to further list the various beliefs/practices found in this lengthy document. There is so much here that in-depth discussion of each point is impossible in this post. Also, because of time limitations, we are not touching on large segments of the document. We urge everyone to read it for yourselves.
We will be looking more closely at a number of these beliefs and practices in the weeks to come. Much of what you will read in the document has been bandied about Christian circles for decades. However, this is one of the first times that we have seen it so carefully codified in one document. So, hold onto your hats. If you want to skip directly to the demon stuff, scroll down to #13.
Sometimes we will be called to stake ourselves to a leader. God will give them an assignment that He never intended for them to carry through on their own. They will need our agreement and full support. (P.80)
I receive the crown of glory and choose to walk in the authority that You purchased through Your blood, Jesus. Hallelujah! You have in Your possession the keys of the kingdom. I operate confidently and with boldness in Your name to distribute your grace and mercy throughout this world.
"Lord, I now confess seeking from satan the help that should come from God. I now confess as sin (name all occult sins) and also those sins I cannot remember. Lord, I now repent and renounce those sins, and ask you to forgive me. I rebuke satan. I count all things of satan as my enemies. In the name of Jesus Christ, I now close the door on all occult practices, and I command all such spirits to leave me in the name of Jesus Christ."
(Here is a very brief list of occult practices, channeling, astral projection, crystals, precognition or fortune telling, telepathy, clairvoyance, telekinesis, ouija board, tarot cards, good luck charms, seances, involvement with Edgar Cayce, Jean Dixon, Shirley McLain, communication with the dead or any spirit of a human being, dead or alive (this is really communication with demons impersonating people) mind control, witchcraft, fourleaf clover, rabbit foot, wishbone, E.S.P., transcendental meditation, hypnosis, mind altering drugs, yoga, incense, dungeons and dragons, pendulum, palm reading, automatic handwriting, horoscopes, signs of zodiac, voodoo, magic, levitation, water witching, tealeaf reading, secret organizations like Freemasons, the worship of or praying to any other that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.) (P.109)
"Father, I break and renounce evil spiritual and emotional ties that I have had or may have and with (lodges, adulterers, close friends, husbands, wives, engagements, cults, and binding agreements between buddies). I renounce these evil ties. I break them, and wash them away with the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ." (P.109)
"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I now renounce, break and loose myself from all psychic powers, bondages, or bonds of physical or mental illness upon me, my family or family line as the result of parents or any other ancestors. I thank you, Lord, for setting me free." (P. 109)
"In the name of Jesus Christ, I now rebuke, break and loose myself and my children from any and all evil curses, charms, vexes, hexes, spells, jinxes, psychic powers, bewitchment, witchcraft, and sorcery that have been put upon me or my family line from any persons or from any occult or psychic sources, and I cancel all connected and related spirits and command them to leave me. I break the power of any negative word that has ever been spoken against me or anyone in my family. I thank you, Lord, for setting me free." (P.109)
"In the name of Jesus Christ I now renounce, break and loose myself from all demonic subjection to my parents, grandparents, or any other human beings, living or dead, who have dominated me in any way. I thank you, Lord, for setting me free." (P.110)
"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command satan and all his demons to loose my mind. I ask you Father to send angels to cut and sever all fetters, bands, ties, and bonds, whether they be by word or deed. I now ask the Lord, to loose the Spirits of the Lord, listed in Isaiah 11:2, (the Spirit of the Lord, the Fear of the Lord, Counsel, Might, Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding) into me and my family. I come to you, Jesus, as my deliverer. You know all my needs (name them). I now loose myself from every dark spirit, from every evil influence, from every satanic bondage, from every spirit in me that is not the spirit of God, and I command all such spirits to leave me now in the name of Jesus Christ. I confess that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, redeemed, cleansed, and sanctified by the blood of Jesus. Therefore, satan has no place in me, no power over me, because of the blood of Jesus." (P.111)
There is far more in this document that I have not shared. I ask that your read the entire document in order to get the big picture. There is too much to discuss in a single post. Each of the prayers that we listed could be posts in themselves. Over the next weeks we will be jumping around, looking at a number of the issues raised. We will also be looking at more in this document.
Do not let anyone spoon feed you. You are smart. In spite of the beliefs expressed by COH, you have the Holy Spirit who can guide you in asking questions. One of the best things to do is to ask lots and lots of questions.
1. Miracles, including healing and raising from the dead, are not out of the realm of the routine possibility at COH. Therefore, is the COH congregation made up of people who have a lower morbidity and mortality rate than the surrounding population when adjusted for socioeconomic factors? Has the local news media reported on people being raised from the dead or even being cured from cancer at significantly higher rates than those around them?
3. Is God really a Spirit who is not into theology? Why would Hodges not want people to think about their expressed belief structure from a theological bent? Do the Bible verses quoted really say what they claim is being said?
The document mentioned the 10/40 window which is the Muslim world. As you know, TWW is friendly with Todd Wilhelm who lives in Dubai-part of that 10/40 window. Now, if we apply COH claims, shouldn't we see bad architecture and no flowers in Dubai?
On the other hand, one would also assume that the Church of the Highlands presence in Birmingham would result in a city comprised of glorious architecture, right? Is it? Please refer to the pictures up top. COH's contention does not compute.
How do we know we are following the wind of the Spirit of God? There are great prayer resources and vibrant prayer ministries available to us that woo us in many directions. We can get involved in various noble causes such as praying for evangelism across the world, serving in healing ministries, honing our prophetic gifts by following great prophets, or confronting demonic strongholds in our city. We might be interested in heading up prayer walking in our community, joining with other parents to pray against ungodliness on our schools, or marching on Washington to war against injustice. Where do we begin?
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:13). We begin our role as intercessors by getting planted and rooted in the local church which God ordained as the primary source of ministry to the world. We will flourish and see souls added daily, miracles, healings, and deliverances if we take the time to go through seasons of planting, watering, pruning, and storms as the plantings of the Lord in His house. We want to be deeply rooted so that we produce sweet fruit.
In Matthew 28:18-20 circle the action words from the commands that Jesus gave the church. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Jesus was saying that after having given His life for ours and conquering the devil and the power of sin, He now had the keys that gave Him all authority on the earth. He then told His church, including us, that He is giving that authority to all of His disciples.
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