His Sheep Hear His Voice But What Does It Sound Like

(the loud voices of religion or the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit)

by Jim Gordon

It seems that in Christianity today, there are a wide variety of voices to be heard. Many are loud and obvious, others are quiet and hard to hear. It seems the most important voice is often quiet and hard to hear.

As followers of Jesus, our goal is to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit that lives within us. It is a quiet, calm, still voice that is often overlooked. Sadly, we do not seem to hear much teaching within most churches about listening for the Holy Spirit.

Within the church, there are many voices demanding our attention. The voice of the pastor, the voice of the religious system and its many doctrines, the voice of big-named evangelists blaring from our TVs, even the Bible without the guidance of the Spirit. Here in the US, there are also many voices of politicians telling us what we should believe and who we should follow. All these voices can act like graffiti which blurs the view of the important voice we should be seeking.

In his book, ‘Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity’ author CJ Penn points out many cases where we listen to the wrong voices. Unfortunately, these voices are often much louder than the still, quiet voice of the Spirit, and many times blurs the voice we should be hearing. In his book, he shows the difference between man-led Christianity and Jesus-led Christianity, plus emphasizes the importance of the power of the Spirit within us.

I personally feel the institutional church today has failed its members by not teaching how to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I think religion would prefer we listen to the pastor and church doctrine rather than learn how to hear from the Spirit who is within.

I grew up in the church system, and ended up spending fifty-years within it. From the first time my parents took me to church as a child, all the way through until my wife and I decided to leave the walls of religion, I do not remember being taught how to listen for the voice of the Spirit. We were told the Spirit was given to teach us, and we were told the Spirit is within us, but other than that, I was mostly clueless on how to listen and understand what the Spirit was saying. I was told that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom of God is within us. Yet, anything in regard to how to listen, hear and understand was not part of the teaching.

Many people say God only speaks through the Bible, yet the Bible on its own is only a book. The Bible tells us about God and can lead us to the Word of God (Jesus), but without the Spirit bringing to life the words we read, we are really left to our personal views and opinions and what others have told us the written word means.

Now, I do believe the Spirit can speak to us through the Bible and through other people, yet, it is the Spirit that makes the difference. Apart from the guidance of the Spirit, words of the Bible and words of other humans are just that, words. I often wonder why so many people are more impressed with written words and words of others rather than trying to hear the voice of the Spirit. People are quick to point out that we cannot trust our inner feelings or inner spiritual intuitions. Yet for me, to ignore the Spirit of God, the God we love and worship, the Spirit that Jesus said he would send to teach us and comfort us, is very frustrating. Truthfully, we are taught more to ignore and distrust the inner leading, and trust more the words of other human beings. This does not make sense to me.

The only way to get past all the different views and opinions is to focus on Jesus. Listen for the quiet voice of the Spirit from within who will teach us and lead us into truth. That is not to say we are all going to think and feel the same way on everything. God deals with us personally and in different ways. The problem is when we are shown something or led in a particular way, we expect everyone to see it our way and believe the same thing.

We can learn and be encouraged by reading the Bible with the guidance of the Spirit. We can learn and be encouraged through fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ with the guidance of the Spirit. Yet we seem to forget the most important truth, which is the Spirit is within us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have the mind of Christ. Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

So, to say all this I still have to admit that after all the years in institutional religion, I do not have an exact answer. I, like many in the church, were never taught how to listen for the Spirit. As time passes and I think more about the fact that the Spirit lives within me, I have come to really pay attention when I get an unusual feeling of peace, or a feeling of just knowing something and being at peace that it is right or wrong. I even had dreams a few times where I heard an inner voice in regard to some specific issue and when I woke up, I acted on it and found the answer I needed. I do not say every dream is from God or every instinct we have is the Holy Spirit, but these are ways the Spirit can lead us. We seem to think we need to clearly hear an audible voice to know it is the Spirit, but I think we need to learn to focus on the inner intuitions and sense of peace. Unfortunately, we very often ignore that quiet leading from within, and as I mentioned before, there are many louder, more obvious voices demanding our attention.

In Christ, we are all his children, and no one should be looked up to or revered more than anyone else. We should stop putting all our hope in other people, the church, the Bible, doctrines and religious rules. Focus on listening for the Holy Spirit who is within us. The Spirit will teach us truth and guide us in the way we are to go, if only we pay attention and respond to that leading.

Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com

What One Insight May Help Your Marriage The Most?

By Mike Edwards

If I were to ask you if life is hard or easy, most of you would probably say hard at times. Few would deny that challenges arise from time to time. This same insight could help your marriage get off to a good start or perhaps help you dig you way out of a mess. Now sometimes, your partner is a mess and refuses to step up to the challenge! Just make sure you aren’t the mess. All to say, marriage is hard sometimes and hard work is required to get back on track.

My personal naiveness 

Young couples – I doubt most of you were as naïve as I was in the beginning of my marriage. I assume agreement on our differences would quickly evaporate because of our love for one another. Heck, I probably assumed we wouldn’t have any differences. I suppose because dating went so well was part of my challenge. But I ended up pursuing counseling as a career because of the marriage struggles I noticed my parents had. Yet, I guess I assumed I was totally different. I went for some premarital counseling, but I have always been hard of hearing. The truth is beginning to share things including closets, children, and in-laws, and that each individual brings their own baggage into the relationship, creates challenges. 

What is a critical attitude when marriage gets hard 

Many of us start off saying our partner is our best friend, but we don’t always act like that. Happily married couples behave like good friends, abiding by the golden rule. If both partners act consistently like they wish to be treated, characterized by respect, affection, and empathy, marriages are good. Regardless, there are challenges in 7 days-a-week relationships unlike in other friendships where you don’t share as much. When the relationship is struggling, often it will be because one is not living out the golden rule. Start by changing yourself rather than trying to change your partner. Are you treating your partner as you wish to be treated? 

What is a critical skill when marriage gets hard 

Watch expectations. Great relationships have differences. It is how you handle them that is critical. One who begins a relationship knowing that he/she does not have a right to expect everything he/she desires sets himself/herself up for success. Living happily incompatibly is the goal. Discuss and solve differences in a calm manner, as best friends do, so solutions can be discovered. It is better to try again later than let anger fly. Respond not react to differences. Do you have anger rules and agree to stop the discussion and try again later when these boundaries are violated? 

What does God have to do with it?

I have to put a plug in for a Creator encouraging going the extra mile in marriage. A great advantage of my being a God-follower is knowing good enough isn’t enough. Marriages can fail despite an 85% success rate. Great marriages aren’t about being good enough or not as bad as other partners. The best goal of marriage or any relationship is aiming for perfection. My view of God, as an encourager and forgiver, inspires me to pursue perfection in my relationships without being paralyzed by guilt when failing. I have the “want to” to be perfect – okay getting closer to perfect. That credit goes to God!

What One Insight May Help Your Marriage The Most?

Mike Edwards has been writing for Done with Religion for some time and has been a great addition to the site. He couldn’t find enough people to discuss God openly so he started blogging years ago. Mike also has his own site where he writes that can be found at What God May Really Be Like  He can be contacted by email at: medwar2@gmail.com