What Jesus did to Deut. 28 for us.

Jesus has delivered us from the curse of the law. True?

What I have done is focused on what Jesus has provided for us by virtue of us being in Him. All the blessings mentioned in Deut.28 are now ours. True?
Jesus purchased them for us.

So, I have personalised Deut.28:1-14 into a prayer/proclamation.

Can we make this a living document (let's see what it finishes with) - take it and add what you think adds value to it. I know there will be more scriptures that I could have used, or a better way I could have worded it, but the gist is true I believe.
We can do it through Facebook.
Here's my page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001648787149&sk=wall

I am listening diligently to the voice of my Lord Jesus Christ(Jn.10:27), being watchful to do His commandments - to abide in His love and to love one another (Jn.15:9-17; Rom.13:8-9).

The Lord my God has set me high above all the principalities and powers of the earth. (Eph.2:6 & 1:20-22)

And all these Blessings have come upon me and overtaken me because Jesus heeded the voice of His Father and I am trusting in what he did for me (Jn.17:1-26).

I am Blessed in the city and blessed in the field.

Blessed is the fruit of my body and the fruit of my ground and the fruit of my beasts, the increase of my cattle and the young of my flock.

Blessed is my basket and my kneading trough.

I am Blessed when I come in and blessed when I go out.

The Lord has defeated my enemies (Col.2:9-15; Heb.2:14; 1 Jn.3:8) and I stand in that victory over them in the armour of Christ (Matt.28:18-20; Eph.6:10-18).

The Lord has commanded His blessings upon me (Gal.3:13-14; Eph.1:3; 2 Pet.1:3) in my storehouse and in all that I undertake. And He has blessed me in the land which the Lord my God has given me (Ps.115:16; Heb.2:6-8).

The Lord has established me as holy to Himself (Act.26:17-18; Eph.2:18-3:1; Heb.2:11; 10:10-14; 1 Pet.1:22; Rev.1:5-6), as He had sworn to do, because Jesus kept the commandments of the Lord our God and walked in His ways (Jn.14:31 & 17:4 & 26).

And all demons on the earth shall see that I am called by the name [and in the presence of] the Lord (Christian), and they shall be afraid of me (Lk.10:19; Acts1:8).

And the Lord has made me have a surplus of prosperity (Eph.1:3,11,15-21), through the fruit of my body, of my livestock, and of my ground, in the land which the Lord has given me.

The Lord has opened to me His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain on my land in its season and to bless all the work of my hands; and I shall give to many, but I shall not borrow (Lk.6:27-38; Rom.13:8).

And the Lord has made me the head, and not the tail (Isa.9:6-7; Matt.28:18-20; Rom.5:17); and I shall be above only, and I shall not be beneath, because Jesus heeded the commandments of the Lord our God did them (2Cor.5:18-21).

And I shall not turn aside from any of the words which Jesus has commanded me (Jn.15:9-17; Rom.13:8-9; 1Cor.6:20, & 7:22-23; 2Cor.5:14-17; Gal.5:13 & 16; Col.3:1-5), to the right hand or to the left (Mk.4:16-20; Lk.9:62), to go after other gods to serve them (1Cor.6:9-12 & 10:23-24).

What Does Walking In Biblical Faith Look Like

The Bible tells us a definition of what faith is...

Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified Bible)
NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

Footnotes:

1. Hebrews 11:1 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament.

Faith brings about what we are hoping for. Faith isn't hope. We have a hope of seeing something happen and it is our faith that brings that into being.
But faith isn't just something we have within ourselves. It's not just an attitude.
We have faith IN A PERSON - Jesus Christ and what He said. Faith in Jesus and His Word means we have faith in Him as being a Person of integrity, someone we can trust, someone we can rely upon to do what He said He'd do. Never put your faith in the fact that you have faith. Put it in the person whom you are trusting to be true to His word.

The Apostle Paul said it this way...

2Cor.1v19For the Son of God, Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who has been preached among you by us, by myself, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not Yes and No; but in Him it is [always the divine] Yes.
20For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.

This is how it reads in the NKJV...

New King James Version (NKJV)

19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. 20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

This says all the promises of God are found in Christ Jesus. Everything God wants for us has already been provided for us through what Jesus has done. Everything! But notice, the promises of God today now work out "through us". This is where we walk in faith/trust/believing in what Jesus has said and done. For example, "These signs shall follow them that believe...they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover". If you believe, you will have signs follow the preaching of the truth of the Gospel.

Try this. Go out and tell someone "God has already forgiven you and already healed you of all your sickness and diseases". (This is the Gospel/Good News). Then tell them Jesus said you can lay hands on them and He would heal them. If you believe what Jesus said, you will do this. If you have any doubt or unbelief you will hesitate, or worse, do nothing. Or worse still, you will lay hands on them and just HOPE God will do something. (I've found that God works through faith, not hope. You don't have to have faith to hope God will do something.)
But don't fall into the trap of looking to yourself to see if you have the faith to do this. Look to Jesus. Look at who it is you are putting your faith in! He said He'd accompany the preaching of the Gospel with signs following. Step out and have a go. Believe, and you will find God is very keen to do super-abundantly far over and above whatever we could ask or think through His power that is at work within us. (Eph.2:20) So don't limit God with small mindedness. Expect God to do what He said. He can be trusted.

Here is an example of how a lot of so-called-believers try to walk in faith...
Faith in their mechanic:

"I believe he'll do a good job with my car because I'm believing he will. Jesus said that all things are possible to them that believe, so I'm believing. I have faith."

Same example but with biblical faith...

"I have faith in my mechanic because he has a great reputation. He's the best in town. He knows what he's doing & he can fix anything. Besides, he said he'd fix it".

The 1st believed that if he had faith, it would work.
The 2nd believed it would work because he was believing in the mechanic.

If I told you I had great faith in my Dentist, you wouldn't think I was amazing because I had great faith! You'd think "Your Dentist must be one amazing Dentist".

We have great faith in Jesus/God because of Who they are and what they have done for us; what they are renowned for; their reputation; their trustworthiness; their integrity; their great power; the fact that they know all things and always know what to do for our good; that they love us - it is these qualities that gives you confidence to believe in them and trust them.

Personally, I have trusted my spirit, soul and body into God's care because I believe He loves me and has the power to deal with whatever comes my way.

How To Stay Safe In This World

We, in the church, have believed stories about peoples experiences regarding Satan's attacks, and even believed them over what the Word of God says.

Such as stories about how the devil was able to get at them and harm them.

In Luke 10:19 Jesus told his disciples that they had authority and power over all the devil's power and that nothing will by any means harm them.
"Nothing" in the Strongs Exhaustive Concordance in the Greek means, "nothing". This verse can be taken literally. So meditate on this fact "nothing shall by any means harm you"! It's true. It's truer than what you have heard other Christians tell you they have experienced.

Safety is actually a part of the salvation package. Sozo, the Greek word for "saved" has these definitions in the online Strongs at Blue Letter Bible...

1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction

a) one (from injury or peril)

1) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health

2) to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue

b) to save in the technical biblical sense

1) negatively

a) to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment

b) to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance

and soteria (salvation) means...

1) deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation

a) deliverance from the molestation of enemies

b) in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the soul's safety or salvation

(1) of Messianic salvation

2) salvation as the present possession of all true Christians

3) future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.

Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for sōtēria (Strong's 4991)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2011. 28 Jun 2011. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm? Strongs=G4991&t=KJV >

I have emphasized the safety aspect of "saved" and "salvation" above in bold.

Jesus came to destroy Satan's works.(1Jn.3:8) He has defeated him and disarmed him and given us this same victory over Satan by us being in Christ Jesus. Our real life is now "hidden with Christ in God". (Col.3:3)

I believe some have been overcome by Satan because they have not believed and therefore received by faith the safety aspect of their salvation. ("If God be for us, who can be against us") Or maybe they just don't realise what their salvation includes. Read and reread the "saved" & "salvation" definitions from Strongs above until you know and 'get' what you have been freely given in Christ.

Satan is said to be roaming around seeking whom he may devour. He may only devour those who are not appropriating what Jesus has provided for us. (Act26:18; Heb.2:14-15)

Jesus came to:

Luke 4:18-19 (Amplified Bible)

18The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],

19To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.

Isaiah spoke of this as well:

10For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.

11O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in fair colors [in antimony to enhance their brilliance] and lay your foundations with sapphires.

12And I will make your windows and pinnacles of [sparkling] agates or rubies, and your gates of [shining] carbuncles, and all your walls [of your enclosures] of precious stones.

13And all your [spiritual] children shall be disciples [taught by the Lord and obedient to His will], and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children.

14You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

15Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you.

16Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastator to destroy.

17But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.

(Amplified Bible)

So, this is what God has provided for us through what Jesus has done:
- forgiven and cleansed us of all our sins
- set us free from the power of sin and its consequences
- set us free from the law of sin and death
- delivered us from the hand of the devil & translated us into His Kingdom
- healed us of all our sicknesses and diseases
- taken us into himself to keep us safe & sound
- adopted us into his Kingdom by being born again into his family
- guaranteed us eternal life by giving us His Holy Spirit as His down-payment

THIS IS SALVATION!

PRAISE GOD OUR GREAT SAVIOUR!

The Lord's Prayer - Is This Already Fulfilled?

I'm curious to what others may think.
In Matthew 6:9-13 we have what has been called "the Lord's Prayer" and we have been lead to believe it is an appropriate prayer for us to pray today.
My thoughts on this are as follows:

Jesus told his disciples this before he had finished his work on earth. So quite appropriately he told them to pray "Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven".
"Our Father" was a change of thinking for these Jewish followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob - a God who had up till this time related to them through the law as given to Moses. "Our Father" also means Jesus was saying God was not only his Father, but also the disciples Father. Jesus continued to emphasize the need to see God's name hallowed.

Then Jesus said "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven".
Hadn't the disciples already heard Jesus preach "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" back in Matt.4:17? So what was he telling them to pray this for?
Because Jesus was bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth and he was asking them to pray that this would be done. I think it has been done. Jesus said "It is finished" meaning all he came to do to reconcile man back to God was done/completed. His kingdom has now come to earth through believers who carry the Lord of the kingdom within them to establish his kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven. Believers can now rule and reign with Jesus, on earth as it is in heaven. God has taken the dominion that Adam had forfeited to Satan, off Satan, and given it back to those who put their faith in what Jesus has done - "Jesus, the Son of God, came to destroy Satan's works." 1Jn.3:8
I don't believe we need to pray "your kingdom come, your will be done" anymore. To me that would be like praying "God, save me" or "God heal me" or "God forgive me". These things have already been done! 1Pet.2:24 "He personally bore our sins in his [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed". All in the aorist tense. From the Strongs Exhaustive Concordance, Aorist means:

• "The aorist tense is characterized by its emphasis on punctiliar action; that is, the concept of the verb is considered without regard for past, present, or future time. There is no direct or clear English equivalent for this tense, though it is generally rendered as a simple past tense in most translations."

Jesus has freed all mankind from their sins, sickness and diseases. But it doesn't happen automatically. Each person has to believe this and accept it for himself to receive the benefits.

The kingdom of heaven is within us because we have the King of the kingdom in us! Jesus in us wants to continue his rule and reign on earth, through those who allow him to by believing. That's why we believers are commanded to go and preach the good news of freedom from sin, sickness and disease and all forms of satanic oppression, so that supernatural signs and wonders can accompany what we preach. It is wrong today to ask God to heal, just as much as it is wrong to ask God to preach the gospel/good news! He has told us believers to go and lay our hands on the sick, knowing they will get well because Jesus said they would!

The rest of the "Lord's Prayer" is much the same...

...give us our daily bread - "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you". Jesus fulfilled this too.

...forgive us our sins... - Jesus took our sins in his body and died our death to fulfill the laws requirement. By faith, we died when he died. (Rom.6) God is no longer counting our sins against us (2Cor.5:19). Again fulfilled by Jesus!

...lead us not into temptation... - I don't believe this is suggesting that God had been leading them into temptation in the past because Jas.1:13 says God tempts no one. Here's another quote from Strongs:

• Referring to Mat 6:13: "Although the KJV renders this 'deliver us from evil,' the presence of the article indicates not evil in general, but the evil one himself. In the context of Matthew's Gospel, such deliverance from the devil seems to be linked to Jesus' temptation in 4:1-10: Because the Spirit led him into temptation by the evil one, believers now participate in his victory" (Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, p. 233).

Why would Jesus tell us today to lead us not into temptation. I believe Jesus was telling them to pray this for what He was about to go through, as said in the above quote.

...deliver us from the evil one...- Jesus has already done this for us. He disarmed Satan and gave us the keys of hell so we can effectively go right on in and set the captives free. Why ask God to do what he has already done?

...for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever... - God's kingdom is the ruling kingdom again over mankind. The devil has been overthrown. We are now seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named" (Eph.1:21-23 & 2:6) We are now "reigning as kings" (Rom.5:17) and are "more than conquerors" (Rom.8:37)

So my questions are:

"Do you think what the disciples were told to pray (Lord's Prayer) was just for them at that time, so God would work through the prayers of believers and fulfill his will on earth.? Was Jesus showing us how God wants to involve us in what he is doing, even when it was involving his Son?

Have we been fooled into praying what we have been taught these last 2000 years what was really only meant for Jesus disciples to pray so he could bring in the kingdom rule and overthrow Satans' dominion over mankind?

Is this praying the Lord's Prayer another sacred cow within the church?

Is it just another way for us to avoid any responsibility and just put it all back on God?

After all, anyone can ask God to do something and then leave it up to Him! You don't need any faith to do that!

But what if God is wanting to work mightily in the earth, "showing himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are right before him", but most of his children are still saying, "God, you do it"!

I hope you will comment.