“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

Foundation Scripture: Hebrews 8:10

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Hebrews 8:10 AMP

I.  How to train the human spirit:

• By giving the Word first place in your life
• By meditation in the Word
• By practicing the Word
• By instantly obeying the voice of your spirit
• By praying in the Spirit

II.  Give the Word first place in your life

• First place means first place. First place means that you exalt the Word of God above all the words of man.
• First place means that when you have a choice, you believe the Word of God and not your circumstances, your feelings or what your head tells you.
• Proverbs 4:20-22 AMP – My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.
• Proverbs 7:1-3 NKJV – My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you. 2 Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.
• The only way you can make the Word of God first place in your life is if you know it—if it is in your heart and mind—if it abides in you and you abide in it.
• This is how you make the Word part of who you are:

III. Meditate on the Word

• The Word of God will not work for you if you just mentally assent to it (agree with it). It will only be effective if it becomes part of you—if every thought you have, every word you say and every action you take is governed and regulated by the Word that is in your heart.
• Joshua 1:8 AMP – This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.
• Meditate means to reflect on, contemplate, or ponder something.
• The Hebrew word for “meditate” means “to murmur. It is also translated in the KJV as “mutter”; “imagine”; “roar”; “speak”; “study”; “talk”; “utter”.
• Psalms 1:1-3 NKJV – Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
• This man is truly blessed—because he fully embraces God’s life-giving Word!
• Because you delight in the Lord, you drink deeply from His Word and you meditate on His Word day and night; the result is that you bring forth fruit in season, your leaf doesn’t wither, and whatever you do prospers!

VI.  Practice the Word

• James 1:21-22 AMP – So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].
• If you refuse to be led, directed and changed by God’s written Word, how in the world do you think that you will recognize or obey the voice of His Spirit?
• 1 John 5:8 NKJV – And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
• Water is symbolic of the Word. The Spirit and the Word will never contradict each other.
• Matthew 7:21 AMP – Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
• Romans 6:17 AMP – But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.

V.  Instantly obey the voice of your spirit

• Proverbs 20:27 NKJV – The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
• The Lord will lead and guide you through your heart—not your head.
• You can trust your heart when it is trained in the Word of God and submitted to God and His Word.
• Romans 9:1 AMP – I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying; my conscience [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit bearing witness with me.
• Your spirit and your conscience are one and the same.
• Hebrews 5:14 AMP – But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.
• When you spend a lot of time in the Word of God, even your senses become trained to know what is right and wrong.
• 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 KJV – (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
• Do not allow your carnal mind to rule you. Submit your thoughts completely to God’s Word.

VI. Pray in the Spirit

• Praying in tongues helps you develop a sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit and your own spirit.
• 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 NKJV – For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
• When you pray in tongues, your spirit man rises up, even as your mind grows quieter.
• 1 Corinthians 14:2 NKJV – For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
• Jude 20 NKJV – But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
• Praying in the Holy Spirit builds you up in your faith, drawing you closer to God and His will for you.

 

“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

But I want you to know and realize that Christ is the Head of every man, the head of a woman is her husband, and the Head of Christ is God. 1 Corinthians 11:3 AMP

For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church, Himself the Savior of [His] body.
Ephesians 5:23 AMP

According to the will and the Word of God, Jesus Christ is the Head of the body of Christ. He is the head of every man and every woman. On earth, and in the family, He has set the husband as the head of the wife and therefore the head of the family. What does it mean to be the head of your house? If you desire to please God, then it certainly does not mean that you lord it over your family or boss them around, neither does it mean that you get to control them. Ephesians 5:21 AMP says, “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and told them that their job was to love and serve others, just as He had loved and served them. Jesus laid down His very life for us and He asks us to do the same for others. Why would we serve others and not our own family? The husband is head of the wife, just as Jesus is Head of the church. Jesus put us ahead of Himself. He considered our need as greater than His own.

Ephesians 5:25 tells husbands to love their wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. How does Jesus love His Church? That’s how you should love and treat your wife. The word for “love” here is agape – the God-kind of love – not mere human love, but God’s love. The love that sees others as valuable and precious; the love that can love sinners; the love that can love the unlovable! Not a conditional love, but an unconditional love.

Jesus is never mean or selfish with us, neither is He controlling or manipulative. He respects our free will and He gently, yet firmly, leads and guides us. All His plans for us are good and beneficial plans. He brings freedom and peace and joy to our hearts and lives. Ephesians 5:28-29 tells husbands to love (agape) their wives as much as they love their own bodies, because she is your own body – you are one flesh! It also says that the husband who loves his own wife loves himself. No man ever hated his own flesh, but he nourishes, carefully protects and cherishes it, just the same way that Christ does the church.

Husbands, love your wives [be affectionate and sympathetic with them] and do not be harsh or bitter or resentful toward them. Colossians 3:19 AMP

In the same way you married men should live considerately with [your wives], with an intelligent recognition [of the marriage relation], honoring the woman as [physically] the weaker, but [realizing that you] are joint heirs of the grace (God’s unmerited favor) of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off. [Otherwise you cannot pray effectively.] 1 Peter 3:7 AMP

The Bible does tell wives to submit to their own husbands. However, the Lord is not pleased when husbands demand submission from their wives. He is not pleased when a husband is harsh, bitter or resentful toward his wife. In fact, if you treat your wife roughly, the Lord will not answer your prayers! If a husband treats His wife like Jesus treats the Church, she would willingly and happily submit to him. If she doesn’t, then she obviously needs you to take your place as the priest and prophet of your home and love and pray for her! There are very few wives who wouldn’t respond to the God-kind of love from their husbands. Wives naturally want to please their husbands and to make them happy. If you are kind and understanding with your wife and if you make an effort to meet her emotional needs, you will have a happy wife and a happy life!

The Hebrew word for “head” means captain or chief. Husband, you are the captain of your own ship – your family. The direction your family goes in is in your hands. Joshua declared, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) The first and most important thing you need to do is to serve God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, yourself, and to teach your children to do the same. They will follow and serve God if they know how much He loves them. You teach them how much God loves them, by loving and nurturing them yourself.

The Bible says that a man who seeks to serve and have a position of leadership in the Church must have unquestionable integrity and be the husband of only ONE wife. That not only means “one at a time” it means “only one”! This is good advice for every husband, not just ministers. If you are a minister, remember that your ministry is only as strong as your marriage.

Husbands, your first priority is to love God with all your heart; your second priority is to love your wife with all your heart; your third priority is your children; your fourth is your career or your ministry. A man who has his priorities in order, and who obeys God’s word regarding his wife and family, will have the fruit of a beautiful loving family, who serve the Lord together with him.

Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. Psalms 112:1-3 NKJV