George Catlett Marshall Jr. was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on December 31, 1880. The youngest of three children, he was initially a disappointment to his parents with his mischievous behavior and poor performance in school.

When he overheard his older brother Stuart beg his mother not to let George go to the Virginia Military Institute because he thought it would disgrace the family name, George was deeply motivated to outshine his brother who had graduated from VMI with distinction.

He did struggle at VMI at first, but by the end of the first year at VMI, George was at the top of his class.

As a US Army officer, he served in both world wars, rising to the post of U.S. Army chief of staff, personally building and directing an army of eight million men and women to win WWII in Europe and in the Pacific.

He was also a statesman famous for his leadership roles during World War II and the Cold War. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense. He was hailed it as the "Organizer of Victory" by Winston Churchill for his leadership of the Allied victory in World War II.

After the war, Marshall crafted the "Marshall Plan" for European recovery. Most of Europe was in shambles. Without that plan, much of Europe would have fallen into Soviet hands. In 1953, Marshall received the Nobel Peace Prize. He died in Washington, D.C., on October 16, 1959.

Young George Marshall—-the kid whose older brother thought George might disgrace their name at VMI—- did more to win WWII and rebuild a shattered Europe than almost any other single person in America. Few Americans have shaped the

prosperity and reputation and safety of our modern nation as George Marshall.

What drove George Marshall to excel so much? As I watched the video about his life on TV this week, I could not help wonder if fear of failure, fear of rejection or just plain old anger was part of the reason George drove himself to succeed so well.

It seems he had to prove that his family was wrong about him…and he did! George was a born fighter. He was not going to allow his family to see him as a loser, so he worked very hard to succeed, it seems.

It’s very possible he believed that in order to be seen as valuable and respected, he would have to work very hard and always be a success in life. He may have believed the lie that his real value was dependent on his performance.

This is a common belief among many people that drives some to success and others to failure.

So, General George Marshall probably proved that the lies one believes about his self-worth can motivate a person to achieve more, perhaps, than they would have otherwise.

Such a motivation seems to have played a significant role in other major leaders throughout history.

Orphan Leaders

I’ll never forget what author Gordon MacDonald wrote in his excellent book Ordering Your Private World about leaders who were orphans as a child.

MacDonald cites what famous psychologist Paul Tournier says that a large number of world political leaders over the past several centuries having been orphans—people like Caesar Augustus ( Involved with birth of Jesus), JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, LEO TOLSTOY, JOHN KEATS, NELSON MANDELA and STEVEN JOBS

He wrote that these men and women overachieved and often drove themselves and others too hard because they had to succeed at all costs. Their success and the approval it drew from others gave them what they lacked as children: acceptance, value and admiration.

In short, these former orphans seemed to use adult accomplishments to get the love and appreciation they could not get as children from their parents.

So what’s wrong with all that, you ask? Many of those folks did some wonderful things. Sure, maybe they believed lies about themselves that they were not worth much, that people didn’t want them or appreciate them, but look at all the good they did. Look at the success they had.

Lies Steal Lives

But millions of men and women in prison or on drugs would tell you that the lies that came from their painful childhood did not make them a success. Just the opposite.

90% of men in prison say they did not have a good relationship with their fathers, for instance. That painful childhood experience easily produces lies that they are worthless, helpless and hopeless. Those common lies can cripple anyone emotionally and rob them of much of their ability to succeed in life. Lies can rob us of the joy, peace, courage, wisdom and patience that leads to successful living.

I was reminded of all this recently when I visited a person who has suffered much from lies they picked up at home. They believed it was always their fault when things went wrong and that they deserved to be yelled at all the time.

They agreed to ask God for truth to replace the lies they believed. Within one minute, the lie was gone. God spoke to them and told them that they were not the problem all the time. They were not always to blame when things went wrong.

That false guilt and shame lie had brought them years of fears and tears but it would not any more. Once God speaks to a lie, it never comes back. It is dead and His words bring life.

This is one of the most imprint messages I bring because:1. 99% of people on earth need to be set free from lies that

are twisting their lives and robbing them of the joy, peace, love and health that God wants for them.

2. I have lived this message. I spent decades of my life suffering from a list of lies that were birthed in my childhood experiences. That’s when most people pick up lies. Children really are “wet cement”.

1. Negative things that happen to them as children quickly hardens into lies about themselves that do not go away with time. Those cement blocks of lies hang around our necks until God cuts them off with His truth.

3. God is very concerned about our emotional health.

1. In Ex. 6:8-9, there is the sad story of Moses announcing to the enslaved Israelites that he had come to take them the Promised Land. It did not go well. Notice why.

2. Moses tells them what God told him to tell them:“I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.'" So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.

The Jews could not believe God because they were so badly damaged emotionally. This is a common problem to all mankind.

3. It is not wonder then that the prophet Isaiah wrote that when Messiah comes “he would bind up the broken hearted”…to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.( Is. 61:1-3)

God cares greatly about our emotions! He made us to live joyfully and He knows our faith can be restricted by our damaged emotions. So emotional healing is very important to God!

The Way Out of Emotional Pain If you can accept the statement that all emotional pain is caused by our beliefs about ourselves, then this message will help you. I believe that every emotion is based on a belief at that moment whether we are aware of that belief or not.

So, as we begin another year, let’s review the main lies that Satan has used for millennia to trap millions into “stinking thinking” that robs them of the real life God always wanted for them.

Then, let’s review a simple way to set ourselves and others free from such demonic beliefs.

Please use your handout as we go along.

Review the eight common lies.

Now let’s review how to receive God’s truth to replace these lies and others like them.

The Four Steps to Listening Prayer 1. Feel the feeling 2. Go to a memory 3. Identify the belief in the memory 4. Ask God for His perspective on that belief

Now let’s practice this:

Focus on a negative feeling you have had recently or that you have right now.

While feeling that emotion, allow your mind to take you to a memory. Try to identify what is the belief in that memory that is

causing the negative feeling in the memory. That belief may be one of the eight common lies.

Is there any anger in that memory? You must resolve the anger before we ask God for His perspective about your belief.

Choose to forgive the person the anger is directed towards: others, yourself or God.

Forgive specific people for specific things, not generalities.

Check the memory again. Is the anger still felt in the memory? If so, there is a belief anchoring that anger there. Getting rid of anger first is key to hearing God well. Here are the four common reasons people unconsciously hold onto anger:

1. They feel that the anger empowers them, makes them stronger

2. They feel that the anger protects them from further hurt3. They feel that the anger validates a wrong done to them. It

proves that they were wronged.4. They need the anger as a way of revenge against someone.

If you feel that one of those four beliefs may be the reason you feel you still need that anger, let’s ask God what He thinks about that reason.

Pray like this: Holy Spirit, is it true that I need the anger I feel in this memory so that I can_________ ( fill in one of those beliefs)

After the anger feeling is gone, finish the steps for Listening Prayer.

See me or Beth or Esther afterwards for more help.

The 8 Most Common Lies We Believe About Ourselves

The Four Steps to Listening Prayer1. Feel the feeling2. Go to a memory3. Identify the belief in that memory4. Ask God for His perspective on that belief

in the memory

Anger: 1. Check for anger in the memory.

Unforgiveness/anger in the memory will block our ability to hear God speak to the lie in that memory.

2. We must forgive specific people for specific things.

3. When we still feel the anger in the memory after forgiving, there may be a hidden reason the feeling of anger is still there.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Worthless Helpless Hopeless Abandoned

Fearful Shamed Tainted Confused

I’m never good

enough.

I don’t matter much to people or

to God

I’m worthless.

I can’t stop this.

I’m out of control.

Not even God can help me.

There is no way out.

I can’t do anything.

It’s never going to get any better.

There’s no way out.

Nothing good will

ever come of this.

I have no options.

I’m all alone,

I’ve been overlooked, rejected.

I’m not needed.

I’m not loved,

needed, wanted, or cared for.

I’ll always be alone.

I’m going to be hurt again.

Doom is just around the corner.

It is just a matter of

time before it happens

again.

I’m stupid, ignorant. I allowed it to happen. I should

have known better.

I should have

stopped it. I was a

participant.

It was my fault.

I’m dirty, unclean,

trash.

My life is ruined.

I will always be broken because of

it.

No one, not even God

could never want me.

I’ll never feel clean.

I don’t know what is

happening to me.

It doesn’t make sense.

I can’t explain it.

I have no words to

describe what I am feeling.

I am so confused

Four Reasons Why We Unconsciously Hold Onto to Anger 1. We feel that we need the anger to empower

us, to make us stronger.2. We feel that we need the anger to protect us

from further hurt3. We feel we need the anger to validate a

wrong done to us. It proves that we were wronged.

4. We feel we need the anger as a way of revenge against someone.

(After identifying one of these reasons we might be using to hold onto anger, ask God what He

thinks of)

When Demons Try to Interfere1. How does the demonic thought you sense

make you feel? 2. Do the four steps of Listening Prayer starting

with the feeling the demonic thought creates in you.

3. Continue with the prayer session after the Lord speaks truth to the lie the demon was using to interfere with your healing session.

(Slideshare viewers: this last page about the 8 common lies is posted on Slideshare in a better format that fits on one page.) Feel free to use it. It is built on info from the excellent ministry called Theophostic Prayer Ministry led by Ed Smith. Click here to see their website. We have used this ministry for years with amazing success helping people get set free from lies.