Most Christians don't have a problem with salvation of the spirit. We recognize that Jesus died for our sins and saved us from eternal, spiritual death.
But, this is only one of the curses we were redeemed from. Jesus redeemed us from the three-fold curse of the law. Obviously, the most important part is eternal life through Jesus. But, we were also redeemed from the curses of sickness and poverty.
These two promises seem to be difficult for many of us to grasp. Many Christians tend to think that God chooses on a case-by-case basis whether or not it is His will to heal or to prosper.
Hand-in-hand with that is the prevalent belief that if we can only get enough people praying, we can persuade God to change His mind and do what we want. Well, my Bible says that He doesn't change. That there is no turning or shadow, and that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
My Bible also tells me that God sent His word and healed them. Notice, this is past tense. It doesn't say He sent His word TO heal them, or that if we pray long enough and loud enough and get enough people together He may decide to do that. It says He already did. He sent His word. His Word was Jesus, the Word made flesh that dwelt among us.
Our prosperity must be pretty important to God, because it is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. Now, there are conditions that we have to meet.
Deuteronomy 5:33 tells us: "Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." God expects us to follow His ways. In fact, that is the only way we can truly prosper. If we are not walking in God's path, then we are walking in the path of the devil, and that leads only to destruction. So, it isn't that God punishes us for our lack of obedience; rather, there is a natural consequence to our disobedience.
Think of it as a spiritual law, similar to the law of gravity. If you violate that law, you will fall, just as surely as you will fall if you violate spiritual laws.
Chapter 28 of Deuteronomy lists the blessings and the curses. If you haven't really studied this chapter, I recommend you do so. Many times Christians concentrate only on the New Testament, thinking that the Old Testament applies only to the Jews.
But, remember, we are told that we are the seed of Abraham; we are his heirs through faith. That means, I am heir to all of the promises of Abraham--and God promised Abraham some very awesome things.
Deuteronomy 28:11 says: "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." In other words, my avenue of income (livestock and crops) will prosper, and so will my children! Not just prosper, but prosper abundantly.
How do we claim the promises of God? Joshua 1:8 tells us: "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful." We are to meditate on God's promises. We are to speak God's promises. Don't speak what you don't want in your life. No matter what circumstances you may find yourself in, say what the Word says about you. Don't let that depart from your mouth.
I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. Feed yourself on God's Word and promises to you, and you cannot help but prosper!