“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.
Foundation Scripture: Ephesians 5:18

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 KJV

1. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, He brings us into a greater revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ

The Holy Spirit is the way to the Father.
He is the way from the Father to us.
He is like an Artist—He paints Jesus upon the canvas of life and makes Jesus real to us.
The more we are filled the more we recognize and depend upon Jesus.
The Holy Spirit brings us into a life of personal union with and constant dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

N.B. To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled
with Jesus.

2. The Holy Spirit cuts us off from the life of self and sin and brings us into a life of holiness, righteousness, and obedience.

Exodus 40:34-35 AMP – Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God’s visible presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle! 35 And Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
This is the picture of a Spirit-filled man—full of God’s glory—leaving no room for the flesh.

3. The Holy Spirit brings us into joy and fullness of joy.

John 15:11 KJV – These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
John 17:13 KJV – And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
After Jesus had spoken of the promise of the Spirit and that we should abide in the Vine (in Him), He told of the joy that would follow. He said, “My joy will remain in you and your joy will be full.”
The fullness of joy wipes out the pain, doubt, fear and sorrow.

4. There will be a release of the Fruit of the Spirit from the heart of the Spirit-filled man and woman.

Galatians 5:1-26 NKJV – Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. 7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off! 13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
The fruit of the Spirit springs spontaneously from the fullness of the Holy Spirit, in your spirit, working in and affecting spirit, soul, and body.
When your life is full of God your life will be full of godliness.

5. When you are full of the Holy Spirit, there will be an outflow of the Spirit of God—a tangible presence—affecting every area of your life.

Speech – Ephesians 5:18b-19 KJV – Be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
Actions – you are made a blessing unto many.
Circumstances – everything God’s presence touches is set in order.

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

Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery]. 9 [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. 10 Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].  James 4:8-10 AMP

“If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. If we say (claim) we have not sinned, we contradict His Word and make Him out to be false and a liar, and His Word is not in us [the divine message of the Gospel is not in our hearts].”  1 John 1:9-10 AMP

When you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you repented of your sins and asked Him to forgive you and wash you in his blood—which He did! As you may have realized—since then—you are by no means perfect. You may be a new creature in Christ, but you still make mistakes and do and say wrong or bad things. In other words—you still sin! Not to worry though—Jesus has provided for you. Because He died and shed His blood for you, ALL your sins are covered—the past, the present and the future. In order to receive this forgiveness, however, you need to do something to activate it in your life. You must humble yourself to repent.

You must humbly:
• Recognize and acknowledge you have sinned
• Confess it as sin
• Be sorry for your sin and tell the Lord you are sorry
• Ask Him to forgive you
• Turn your back on the sin and start to obey God

Yet I am glad now, not because you were pained, but because you were pained into repentance [and so turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that in nothing you might suffer loss through us or harm for what we did. 10 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].  2 Corinthians 7:9-10 AMP

According to God’s word, sin is serious business and we should not treat it lightly or think it’s just a joke. The only sin that can be forgiven is sin that is confessed from a heart that is genuinely sorry. Some people expect God to forgive them, even though they are not actually sorry for their sin. James admonishes us to humble ourselves, draw near to God, and be deeply penitent—even grieve and weep—over our sin. Without humility, we won’t feel sorry and we won’t come to ask forgiveness and therefore we can’t and won’t be forgiven —even though the Lord, Himself, longs to show us His mercy and grace. Paul tells us that godly grief, and the pain that results, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil.

Jesus, in Luke 13:3 AMP told everyone who would listen, “I tell you, No; but unless you repent (change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost eternally.”  And in Matthew 11:20 AMP “He began to censure and reproach the cities in which most of His mighty works had been performed, because they did not repent [and their hearts were not changed].”

Sometimes, people are sorry or repentant over the consequences of sin, but not the cause. They are not sorry they sinned, they are only sorry that they got caught or sorry that their sin created a problem for them. They have had a change of mind, such as to produce regret or maybe even remorse on account of sin, but not necessarily a change of heart. They are not sorry that their heart was wrong and selfish; they are not sorry for their bad attitude. True repentance is to change one’s mind for the better.  It is not merely forsaking sin, but to change your attitude toward it and your love for it. The Hebrew words for repentance mean: to sigh; breathe strongly; to be sorry; to turn back; to regret; to think differently; to reconsider. The Greek word means: to change the mind for the better morally; to change the attitude toward sin. In Matthew 3:8 AMP, Jesus told us to, “Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart].”  True repentance brings forth the fruit of repentance!

True repentance is:
• Feeling grief over your sin
• Having a true sense of your own guilt and sinfulness
• Acknowledging your helplessness and your need for forgiveness from God
• Having faith in God’s mercy in Christ
• An actual hatred of sin
• Turning from sin to serve God
• A persistent pursuit of a holy life
• Pursuing a walk with God; walking in the way of his  commandments

True repentance:
• Must precede forgiveness
• Must be more than admitting guilt
• May require a broken heart
• Is changing the behavior that produces sin
• Is revealed by changed actions
• Measures our spiritual integrity

Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, 20 But made known openly first of all to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the whole land of Judea, and also among the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works and live lives consistent with and worthy of their repentance.  Acts 26:19-20 AMP