The YOU ARE NOT files - your enemy's most dangerous weapon

Mark Holloway's picture

With grateful thanks to C.Baxter Kruger’s excellent teaching on this subject.

God when I doubt, when I’m not really sure if it’s you that I’m hearing, should I include that in these conversations that others see?

Yes you should. It’s reality.

You really said that?

I did.

But God it’s not normal for public Christian figures to openly confess doubt, I mean I’m not a ‘public figure’, but thousands of people read these conversations now so I just wanted to know what the rules are.

It’s not normal. But if you do it shows reality.

What do you mean?

I mean when public Christian leaders don’t share the doubt that assails every one of them, the everyday man assumes that his own doubt is unusual, he quickly comes to the conclusion that others, certainly other ‘strong’ believers don’t suffer doubt like he does and he wonders why he is assailed by doubt ‘when others aren’t’. The enemy pounces, the enemy tells him that it is because of his sin.

“the great accuser who accuses you all day and night”

The enemy points to some particular sin that the man finds he cannot overcome.

“the thing that I would not do that very thing I do.”

He pretends to the man that he is not forgiven, is caught in sin, and as a result cannot possibly hear from God. Can you see the brilliance of his strategy Mark?

Is brilliance the right word God?

It’s an apt word Mark. The enemy is not stupid he convinced billions of angels to rebel. Angels are more difficult than men to trick. The enemy’s strategy is to convince all men that my prime focus is their sin.

Why?

Because sin is your vulnerable spot. Sin is common to all men, and all men feel bad about it because the enemy is constantly telling them how bad they are. The enemy’s lie is true and yet also a lie. You are caught in various sins but it’s a lie because it does not affect my view of you. The crucifixion demonstrates that in so many ways that even the greatest theologians are still trying to come to terms with. Unfortunately the everyday rank and file Christian has been hoodwinked into thinking that popular Christian thinking on the Crucifixion explains it all – and yet it doesn’t even touch the surface!

What should we do about that?

Ask me.

“You do not need that any man should teach you, but the Spirit teaches you…”

Ask me Mark and I will explain.

“And the Spirit of truth will lead you into all truth.”

Mark the Cross was a plan hatched by the three of us before the beginning of the world, a plan we had been working on and developing in conjunction with humans and angels since that date. All of the prophets and the bible heroes discussed it with us and pointed to it in their prophecies, writings and Psalms. Do not for a moment think there is a man alive who understands fully the import of the Cross.

Wow God I didn’t see that coming; that was pretty big.

Bigger than you can imagine. The point of this conversation Mark is that Doubt convinces the common man that he is sinful, caught in his sin and as a result cannot hear me. He convinces the man that whilst others, particularly public Christian figures, can hear from me, he cannot and the reason is because of some fault on his part. Some days the enemy points to a particular sin and tells the man the reason for not hearing from God is that sin, other days he reminds the man that he is generally falling short of the mark and tells him that his basic ‘fallen’ behaviour is what is keeping him from hearing me.

But God why is the enemy so focused on this? We all know that it’s possible to hear from you.

You all know in theory, but in reality few of you experience it as a fluent regular conversational back and forward experience like you might converse with a friend. And Mark that conversation is the very reason you were born. When a man converses with me he becomes himself. He begins to recognise my voice in his everyday life and things begin, ever so slowly to change. The enemy knows that. He understands that the reason you were born was for a conversational relationship; back and forward conversation all day. So he has focused all his efforts on preventing you from that.

You think his temptations to do the naughty sins are his main focus but they are simply a smoke-screen. He is much more focused on hurling a constant barrage of self-doubt at you. He opens up his files of destruction and death, the ‘YOU ARE NOT’ files that he keeps on each person’s life.

As Baxter Kruger has brilliantly discerned and then taught, Satan’s ‘YOU ARE NOT’ message is carefully crafted to destroy a man from the inside out. It is particularly destructive because Satan makes a very convincing job of pretending that his ‘YOU ARE NOT’ files are actually a mix of your own thoughts and mine, but actually they are not. They start with him; ‘You are not good enough’, ‘You are not worthy’, ‘You are not acceptable to God’, ‘You are not admired by the people you love’, ‘You are not making the same level of progress in your life that others do’, ‘You are not as good a father as other fathers’, and so on. 

That barrage of ‘you are not’-focused self-doubt is common to all humans, Christian or not because your enemy is fighting a battle with all humans not Christians in particular. He hates you all whatever your beliefs.

So what should we do?

Listen to me. Instead of constantly focusing on your sin, listen to me. I’ll tell you if I’m not happy with something. See what happens if you do this; instead of telling me what you’ve done wrong, ask me if there is anything you’ve done wrong that I particularly want to talk about;

“search my heart oh God and see if there be any wicked way in me.”

But be ready to have your faith tested, I am not nearly as focused on your wrongdoings as you want me to be. Even in repentance the enemy wants you to shut me out. If you just listened to me like David did you would often find that I didn’t want to focus on your sin, but rather just wanted to talk. I know your mistakes before you make them, I knew them before you were conceived, you don’t have to remind me of them. But ask me if you like and I’ll point out the ones I want to talk about at the moment, but be prepared for a surprise. Many many religious people will not be prepared to accept that I am not as focused on sin as they are. The Pharisees have always been that way Mark. They were completely focused on their understanding of scripture and on sin and yet completely missed the fact that I just wanted to talk with them.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me, and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

They constantly harassed me for not conforming with their understanding of scripture. Constantly!! They thought that I should come to judge all the sins of the world because they misunderstood the words of Jeremiah and Isaiah and the others. The enemy taught them their understanding of scripture and as a result they saw me as a God who always wanted to remind men of their sins. But I didn’t and that made them very unhappy with me. The enemy still teaches the Pharisees their understanding of scripture, and as a result they still want me focused on judging and condemning. Their misguided knowledge of scripture tells them still that’s what I want to do, but they are wrong;

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

By focusing you all on your sins and your constant need to confess them he blinds you to the fact that I am just waiting to talk. And if I surprise you with what I say what of it? Do I get to talk or can you only hear your own ideas about what I want to say? I want you to risk allowing me to do more of the talking, and if I surprise you by not focusing on your sin would you be prepared to be comfortable with that? Or is the spirit of the Pharisees going to win in this generation too as it has in every generation?

The Pharisees need to search the scriptures to discover what the real sin is. It’s there, hidden in plain sight and it’s not what they think it is.

Your enemy wants you to focus on your sin because when you do you assume that I will not talk until you are clean and then having caught you in that lie he reminds you of even more reasons you cannot possibly be acceptable to me, and so you turn away from discussion with me convinced that the reason you cannot hear me is that you sinful. You spend your days convinced you are bad and guilty and you mistake the awareness of your faults as my voice convicting you. It seldom is. When you are aware of something you’ve done wrong you should test the spirits. Ask me if that awareness of past faults, no matter how recent the fault; ask me if that awareness is my voice, or the accuser’s. You are going to be surprised and unsure of the answer, but if you continue to ask and seek you will quickly learn that it’s me.

“Ask and keep on asking.”

That’s all I want, just to talk.

God there are going to be people very unhappy with this conversation and convinced that it isn’t you because they want you to be much more focused on sin.

Yes they do. They need to discuss that with me not you. I am better at answering questions of that nature than you will ever be. I see the real heart of a man and it is a different picture than the accuser presents.

God that comment will just make them even angrier.

Some yes, some no. Leave that to me Mark. Leave them to discuss that with me. Those who are genuine will do, those who are not will confront you.

Wonderful!

PRAISE FOR THE FREEDOM DIARIES

The Freedom Diaries will stretch you. It describes Mark’s real life struggle with Doubt as he discovered that he could hear God’s voice every day.Dr Mark Virkler. Author of 4 Keys to hearing God’s Voice. Buffalo. New York.

Like a child on Christmas morning, I was delighted to discover how simple yet wonderful it is to place my hand into the hand of God and listen to his whispers and enjoy his affection.  I could only ask why no one had ever told me he was this good and this close.  I wish I had read this book a long, long time ago.  Daniel Walker. Founder and Executive Director of Nvader. Author of God in a brothel.

This is new and exciting. It’s not the idea of hearing from God that’s new, it’s having conversations back and forth, question and answers. That’s new for most of us. Now I am enjoying my own conversations with God, which always leave me with hope. David Garratt of Scripture in Song. Hawaii.

You can purchase your own copy of Mark Holloway's book, 'The Freedom Diaries - God Speaks Back' on this website.

IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE THINKING IT'S YOUR OWN IMAGINATION WHEN YOU TRY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH GOD - read the 'Practical Tips' section. How to have your own conversation with God in The Freedom Diaries 

 

Related Resources: 

How to Hear God's Voice!   

Related Blogs: 

How to Hear God’s Voice   
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Anonymous's picture

Just wanted to say that I am being liberated by what you have been posting Mark. I did some journaling after I listened to Mark Virkler on Sid Roth some 2-3years ago. However, I stopped after a while because I felt I was deceiving myself by the positive things that I felt God was saying to me. I figured He would at least zero in on my failures, but I did not get any feedback like that. However, reading your posts for the past two months has helped me quite a lot. I am going to start conversing with the Lord again. Thank you.

Anonymous's picture

yes it's very concerning at first to discover God doesn't want to talk about all our many sins. But it's clearly and obviously him so what do we do? Can the potter tell the clay how things should really be?? If God just wants to talk and not accuse like the enemy suggest he does, if he just wants to tell us how much he loves us and to focus on teaching us how to live - then arguing with him about that wastes time. I know. I have constantly tried to persuade him act like the God of Religion and condemn me. But he reminds me he is God, not me and he gets to decide how he will act. So glad to hear you are going to start conversing with God again - that's the whole purpose of the book right there, to encourage others to try their own conversation with God.

Mark

erika.nicole.bradford's picture

I absolutely LOVE this blog and how you converse with God. It reminds me of the way He speaks to me. No one taught me that...the Holy Spirit just sort of led me into journaling some years ago. Since I didn't know anyone who did it or had never heard a teaching on it I sometimes wondered- doubted what I was hearing. However, when I ran across How to Hear the Voice of God in 2010 and discovered that there was a real method to what i thought was madness I was overjoyed! It has only been this year that I have begun following this blog and I can say that it is energizing! I love the way God does what He does...and in speaking He amazes me when its completely different from what I thought He was going to say! It gives me more faith that He knows and I don't!

Thank you for your honesty! People like me can truly relate!!!

Erika

Mark Holloway's picture

I love your comment -"He amazes me when its completely different from what I thought He was going to say!" That's just so much part of the conversation with God experience. He is constantly saying things we don't expect him to. That was his 'mistake' with the pharisees and with the priests to whom Jeremiah and so many of the prophets spoke - he insisted on saying things that didn't fit with what they knew. Of course some of what they 'knew' he had himself said, but God seems comfortable with changing the rules that we make around what he says. We don't want him to mean anything that differs from our interpretation, but he seems more than happy to decide the meaning of what he says, even if it doesn't fit with our theology. Thanks Erika, very encouraging!!

MARK HOLLOWAY

Anonymous's picture

Hi Mark, I don't expect you to publish this comment but please consider it without already branding it 'legalistic'..... I hope we can both let The Lord make that judgement ...
There are times in the life of every Christian when we it get wrong. We thought we had heard plainly the Lord speaking but time proved it was our own voice or some other voice....I think it requires some humility and acknowledgment on our part especially if we have influenced others in our wrong perceptions even though well intentioned.
I want to share with you a situation that no doubt has many local Christians confused and wondering and I don't think they are being legalistic, but honestly and genuinely perplexed....
Two ladies in our congregation bought a load of your books and distributed them among the congregation. Some people were cautious while others read with great enthusiasm .... One of the ladies became ill and it was told to me by the other lady that God had told them both to pray for healing.... They both confirmed that God had told them both that he was going to heal the sick lady.. This was passed on to friends. The sick person died the same week and the lady who said God had told her clearly her Christian friend would be healed is confused and in some distress.
That God speaks to His own is without question true, and sometimes in extraordinary ways, but my own contention is that The Scripture alone is the only irrefutable 100% guarantee of the authenticity of His voice in our day and it is free to all......

Mark Holloway's picture

I'm really sorry about what happened with your two ladies. And yes I agree that what God said in the Bible is irrefutable. The problem is interpreting what he has said correctly, whether it be his words in the Bible or the words he says direct to our hearts. I’m sure you will have seen that’s the case both in situations like the one with your ladies and when people read a bible passage and are convinced God has made some promise from that verse and then it appears he hasn’t.
 
Unless we constantly and relentlessly practise hearing God’s voice we will often get it wrong. A child learns language by hearing its parent’s voice but even as a fully fluent adult, that ‘child’ can still misunderstand what his parent said. Probably the most sensible course of action is to follow Jesus’ advice in Matt 7:7 that we should ‘ask and keep on asking’. The Greek is closer to ‘demand and keep on demanding’.
 
If we move away from thinking that the only way God speaks is from the Bible and begin to seek the experience of David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jesus, Paul, Peter and John where he speaks constantly and direct to our hearts (as well as from the bible) then we run a greater risk of getting it wrong.
 
That's simply because if you never listen to him you never risk getting it wrong. If you always listen to him you always risk getting it wrong.
 
Peter got it wrong sorting out what God was saying about Jews and Gentiles. Paul identifies places he got it wrong. Elijah got it wrong too.
 
I have included below one of the pieces we have published on what to do when you’re listening to God and you get it wrong. I hope this helps.
 
Courtesy The Freedom Assignment:
When you’re human part of listening is getting it wrong.

   It’s no different than when you listen to a friend
Sometimes you misunderstand what they say – even if you write it down.
   Part of listening is getting it wrong. If that seems too dangerous, you should take the advice of those religious people who say “Listen to God less and read the bible more.”
   The bible is the written words of God, but putting it above listening to God direct is not what Jesus or Paul taught. They both made it clear they spent more time listening to God than they did reading scripture (John 5:30) (Gal 1:12). Jesus chastised the Pharisees and Paul the Galatians for putting the scripture above listening to the Spirit.
   So what should you do if you write down something God says to you then it turns out you heard him wrong? The first step is to ask yourself the following question: Have you ever completely misunderstood what another human said even when you heard their exact words?? If you can mishear someone you can see and touch, then how much more likely is it you might mishear God who you can’t see, hear or touch? And let’s say you do misunderstand something another person says – do you stop listening to them? No. Instead you listen even harder when in conversation with them. It’s no different with God. It takes practise to understand what he says. Just as it does listening to a friend. You will need to constantly practise listening to God by having back and forth conversations with him. ‘Ask and keep on asking’.
   For the first 300 years the early church didn’t even have the bible. All they had were the ancient scriptures. Paul warned that although any scripture inspired by God was good for teaching, if you put them before listening to the Spirit it would bring death (Gal 3:5) (2Cor 3:6).
   The Pharisees knew the scriptures by heart and were convinced that what they read meant Jesus should die! Without a conversation with God you cannot interpret the bible correctly.  
Thanks for taking the time to ask the question.
Mark.

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