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

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:1-11 NIV

If you want to make a success of your life, you must have visions and goals. It is good to have hopes, dreams, aspirations and a purpose, because without a vision, you have no direction, you go nowhere and you achieve nothing. If you aim for nothing—you are bound to hit it! However, your goals should not be met at the expense of others. Your ambitions should not result in the destruction of other people. God’s way is to think of others, putting them before ourselves—to be a giver not a taker. The world’s way is one of selfishness. If you are selfish—thinking only of yourself—you will end up hurting people and in the end you will destroy your own life. The Bible is clear—selfish ambition is a work of the flesh. It springs from your old unrenewed nature. You need to allow the Holy Spirit to do a work in your life to where your desires are only toward the things of God and your ambitions are directed toward the building of God’s kingdom and the edification of God’s people.

The Bible says that we should do nothing out of selfish ambition—thinking only of our own desires and interests—or out of pride and vain conceit. Pride is a destructive force. It causes us to put our needs and feelings above the needs of others. It causes us to focus only on ourselves rather than the plan of God and we end up missing God’s wonderful plan for our lives. Selfishness makes you shortsighted. You don’t see the big picture—you miss God’s eternal purpose. Selfish ambition divides and separates us. If the devil can divide us, he can bring strife and every evil work into our midst. As believers, we should be one in spirit and purpose. We need to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus, who humbled Himself to take upon Himself the appearance of man and to die upon the cross. Because He did this, God has highly exalted Him, giving Him the Name above all names. Every knee will bow before that Name and every tongue confess that He is Lord!

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. James 3:13-18 NIV

Selfish ambition goes hand-in-hand with envy. When we are envious and jealous of others and when our ambitions are selfish, we will become competitive toward others. We think that we have to bring others down so that we can be lifted up, but we are unwise, we are deceived and we are strangers to the truth. God’s wisdom is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. If we want to be wise, we must humble ourselves and we must work for the good of others. Our ambition should be that we would be a blessing to everyone we meet. If we work to be a blessing, the Lord will be the One who promotes us and exalts us. When God promotes you, no man can bring you down. If you will put God and others ahead of yourself—God Himself will bless you and take care of you!

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

1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God.  Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NIV

11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity–in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground–in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. 12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.  Deuteronomy 28:11-12 NIV

God is a God of abundance. Anything He does, He does in a big way. He says that if we will obey Him in all things and if we will carefully follow all his commands, then He will bless us and open up His good treasury to us. Not only does He promise to bless us, but He also promises us that He willabundantly bless us. The Amplified Bible says that the Lord will make you have a surplus of prosperity. This word “good” is also translated as bounty, bountiful, graciously, joyful, kindly, precious, prosperity, wealth, welfare, well favored.

31 This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance. Job 36:31 NIV

11 You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.  Psalms 65:11 NIV

When you obey God and keep His commandments, there will always be blessings on your life. God blesses His children when they love righteousness and also when they are cheerful, generous givers. When you have done everything you know to do to please God – there is a blessing coming your way!

Sometimes, however, you are doing everything you know to do and yet it seems as if nothing has happened for you yet. Remember that the blessings of the Lord almost always arrive unexpectedly. If you keep your faith activated – even though one moment you may see nothing, the very next moment the blessing will be pouring out of heaven!

This is how it works: You could be hiking in the canyons in the western United States on dry ground with not a cloud in the sky, but 30 miles away there is a sudden downpour. Because you are downstream, all that water is coming your way! It is called a flash flood! One moment you are walking on dry, dry ground and the next moment you are being swept away by a wall of water! When the blessing of God is headed your way, it might seem as if one moment nothing good is happening to you, but the very next moment, you could be overtaken and overwhelmed by the blessing of God!

25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.  Nehemiah 9:25 NIV

When we serve the Lord, He blesses with an abundance of all things. We will eat and be well nourished. The Scripture says that the Lord will open up His good treasure, the storehouse of His bounty, to us. Why? Firstly, He blesses us because He loves us, and secondly, He blesses us with more than we need, so that we can pass the blessing along to others.

13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality.  2 Corinthians 8:13-14 NIV

The Lord God has promised His obedient children a surplus of prosperity. He will show Himself abundantly generous toward us if we will be generous toward others.

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

Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His precepts, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them, 13 And when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all you have is multiplied, 14 Then your [minds and] hearts be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  15 Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, but Who brought you forth water out of the flinty rock, 16 Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. 18 But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.  Deuteronomy 8:11-18 AMP

Verse 18 does not say that God gives you wealth – it says that He gives you the power to get wealth. There is something that is required of YOU. You are the one who get the wealth – by the power of God! Some people think that they need do nothing while God does everything, but God requires your willingness and your obedience.

The first thing you must do in order to prosper is to work. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says that, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” The second thing you must do is to give to the Lord – your first-fruits, your tithe and your offerings. Malachi 3:8-10 says that you are robbing God and under a curse if you do not bring your tithes and your offerings to God’s storehouse.

However, when you bring God your whole tithe, there will be food in His house and blessings on you that you won’t have room for! Tithing and giving are not optional to the child of God, they are required. The moment you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are washed in His blood and His covenant of blessing is established in your life.

You are in covenant with Almighty God – what is His is yours, what is yours is His. One tenth of your income is a very small offering compared to what God gave you – His all and His only! The Lord gives you the power to get wealth in order that His covenant with you would be established or fulfilled. God will never owe anybody anything – He always pays what He owes and gives what He promised to give!

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel: I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way that you should go. 18 Oh, that you had hearkened to My commandments! Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a flowing river, and your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the [abundant] waves of the sea. 19 Your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like the offspring of the sea; their name would not be cut off or destroyed from before Me.  Isaiah 48 17-19 AMP

The Lord is the One who teaches you to profit – if you will pay attention to Him and His Word. First, do what you know to do – work and give. Then pray. Ask God for wisdom. Use your faith to trust God to open doors for you and give you favor. Trust Him to give you ideas and innovations. Be faithful with everything God gives you – starting with the small things and moving on to bigger and bigger things. If you – the Church – will put the Kingdom of God first, if you will obey God and give, if you will reject covetousness and embrace generosity, then God will teach you to profit and yourpeace and prosperity will be like a flowing river!

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

1. Pray at all times.
   

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   • There are many things God has equipped us with, to effectively run our race. One of them is prayer.
   • Pray at all times—on every occasion, in every season. Seasons change—pray in every season and don’t stop praying.
   • Pray with all manner of prayer and entreaty. Different prayers for different situations.
   • To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance. The enemy won’t give you a break—don’t give him one. Pray with strong purpose and perseverance. Weak, faithless prayers are not answered.
   • Intercede—stand in the gap—in behalf of all the saints.
   • Intercede means: to plead on another’s behalf; to act or interpose on behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition; to act as mediator in a dispute; to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups.
   • 1 Corinthians 14:15 – Pray in your earthly language; pray in your heavenly language.
2. Pray in the Spirit.
   

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   • Romans 8:26-27 NKJV – Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
   • We pray in the Spirit when we don’t know what to pray.
   • When we pray in the Spirit, we are praying the perfect will of God; therefore it is very important to pray in the Spirit even if you think you know what to pray.
   • As you pray in the Spirit, you grow in sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit, and He will lead you and prompt you even as you pray in your earthly language as to what to pray.
3. Confidence in prayer.
   

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   • 1 John 5:14-15 AMP – And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. 15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.
   • If God hears us, He will answer us.
   • How can we be sure that He hears us?
   • If we ask the Father for anything according to His will, we know that He hears us. You can be confident that you are heard and that the answer is on the way.
4. Pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus.
   

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   • Under the Old Covenant, people knew God as God, but Jesus showed us an added dimension of Him as a loving, heavenly Father.
   • If you are a born-again, blood-washed believer, then God is your Father. John 16:23-28—Ask Me nothing—ask the Father in my Name.
   • John 14:13-14 NKJV – And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
   • We don’t ask Jesus for anything.
   • We ask the Father in the Name of Jesus. We ask according to His will as revealed in His Word.
   • Our joy is full because He answers our prayers.
   • Jesus said, “Don’t keep asking Me. The Father Himself loves you directly.”
5. Jesus our High Priest.
   

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   • Under the Old Covenant, men came to God through a priest and heard from God through the prophet. Under the New Covenant, Jesus is our High Priest.
   • Hebrews 4:14-16 – Come boldly to the throne of grace.
   • Because Jesus loves us, because He totally understands what we face, because He took our place, we can now come to God, based on what Jesus has done, and boldly ask for help in the Name of Jesus.
   • People who are timid before God do not have a revelation of how much He loves us and what He has done for us.
6. Effective prayer.
   

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   • James 5:16 KJV – The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. NKJV – The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. AMP – The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].
   • There are three things at work here. A righteous man; praying fervently; expecting an answer. The result is powerful, dynamic and effective!
   • Fervent prayer. Fervent means: having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; having or showing great emotion or zeal; ardent; extremely hot; burning; glowing.
7. Righteousness and answered prayer.
   

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   • 1 Peter 3:8-12 – For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers.
   • Righteous in heart and motive, righteous in word and righteous in action.
   • Love God and your neighbor; do good, not evil; clean up your mouth; pursue peace.
   • God’s eyes are on the righteous—He is constantly watching over you.
   • His ears are tuned in to your voice and He hears your prayers. Remember, if He hears, He answers.
   • Commit to righteousness, because you are called to inherit a blessing!

 

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

And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 1 Samuel 17:26-29 KJV

Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

Goliath defied Israel and their God. God was not going to let that happen. He found a young boy with few qualifications in the natural, but who had an unswerving faith in God. Saul, and Israel’s army, saw a giant, but David saw a mortal man defying Almighty God. David had a cause and God anointed him to fulfill that cause. A teenager killed an experienced warrior, who was impossible to defeat in the natural, all because he looked at the situation, not from man’s point of view, but from God’s point of view. No matter how big your giant is, God has the plan to slay it. What cause has God called you to? What giant is out there defying your God? They will not prevail against a man or a woman, filled with faith, and obedient to His plan.

The devil is a liar – God is true

Goliath had a big mouth and he made a lot of scary sounding threats, but David cut his head off. Goliath trash-talked God, but David lifted God up and magnified Him. The devil tries to intimidate you with his lies and fear – but that is all he is – a liar. The truth will always defeat the lie – no matter how big and scary it is. Start talking about how good and how great God is! The truth will prevail. What lie is the devil telling you? Chop its head off!

Please God – not man

God can only use you to the level of criticism you can handle. Other people’s opinions and criticism could not stop David. The rest of the army stood around waiting for who knows what. David saw that there was a cause, and that something needed to be done. He had God to fight for him, so there was no reason to wait. He took action, found the giant’s weakness, killed him, and cut his head off. People may try to discourage you with negativity or mockery, but you need to continue to do what is right and to do what God has called you to do. Please God – not man.

Courage and faith

David was not encumbered with man’s armor or heavy weapons. He was able to move quickly and stay out of the range of Goliath’s weapons. David was an expert marksman with a sling and stones. What made him dangerous to Goliath – was not just his skill – but his courage and faith in God. Even the most skilled marksman will miss the mark when he is shaking in fear.

Use the skills God has already given you

David had already seen victories against a lion and a bear, so he had experience with impossible situations that built his faith in God. He could not have done what he did without absolute faith and trust in God. When you face new problems, remind yourself of – and encourage yourself in – what God has already done in the past. Your strength comes from God. Use the skills He has already given you and move forward in life.

The greater the challenge, the greater the victory

That one act – slaying the giant – launched David into prominence in Israel. Without Goliath, no one would have known David’s name. He was already called and anointed by God to be king, and it would be years before he sat on the throne, but everyone knew of him and they also knew that the hand of God was upon him.

Sometimes your challenges come not from the enemy, but from within your own camp

David’s victory over Goliath made him very popular with the people. Unfortunately, they made him very unpopular with Saul, who was afraid of Goliath, and who was now violently jealous of David – especially since David now carried the anointing that Saul had lost.

Sometimes the small things are more challenging than the big ones – you need courage and you also need patience

While David was hiding and avoiding being killed by Saul, he faced his greatest personal tests. Even though it didn’t look like it sometimes, God was still on his side and His plan was being worked out in David’s life. When David took the throne, he was no longer a boy, but a mature man of proven character. Because he kept his eyes on God and His help, and because he was patient and conducted himself honorably, the tests, trials, and opposition did not wear him down or take him out – rather they helped to develop his character. It’s not the challenges that have the power to conquer us – it is our own attitude that makes the difference between victory and defeat.

David trusted God to keep His word to him

David had two opportunities to kill the man who was trying to kill him, but he wouldn’t raise a hand to King Saul, the man whom God had anointed and appointed. His men thought it was God delivering Saul into David’s hand, but David had too much respect for God. He showed Saul kindness and mercy and allowed God to deal with Saul. No matter what God has promised you, you need to resist the urge to accomplish it by natural means. The shortcut is not God’s plan. Stay on the path God has placed you on and allow God to bring His plan for you to pass.

My Lord Jesus has never failed me because He is incapable of failure. I have learned just to trust Him, the world may be falling around me but He is my rock; He can’t be moved.

God has really been showing me that relationships in the body of Christ are so important. I was never a social person, before I had my “burning bush experience” to win people to the Lord. Now I realize that God has been preparing me to sow the Word into other believers.