IMMEDIATE Results!

COME:
Matthew 17
17:24 After ⁴²  they arrived in Capernaum, ⁴³  the collectors of the temple tax ⁴⁴  came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn’t he?” 17:25 He said, “Yes.”When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, ⁴⁵  “What do you think, Simon? Fromwhom do earthly kings collect tolls or taxes – from their sons ⁴⁶  or from foreigners?” 17:26After he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons ⁴⁷  are free. 17:27 But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up,and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin. ⁴⁸  Take that and give it to them for me and you.”

HEAR:
Jesus and Peter are asked about a tax due at the temple. Jesus indicates that this tax (A religious tax not a government tax) is not something he owes, never the less he decides to pay it to avoid offending them, which is also funny because he offended them often with his words.

But here is what I see beyond that; Jesus didn't pray, ask God to help him pay his tax, beg, wait, pray some more, wait... He not only knew that God CAN, that God WILL, but he know exactly where to get it.

Go to the lake and get a fish and in the fishes mouth with be a coin worth enough for the two of us.

How did he get that exact knowledge? In fact, all through Jesus ministry his answers to situations were exact and immediate. Even when he sent someone to wash in a pool or show themselves to the priests they received their healing within that period of time. They didn't sit at the temple for hours, days, years waiting for their healing, it was (relative to our prayers many times today) immediate.

As I've pondered this there is only one time where a true delay could be spoken of in Jesus actions and words; that I can recall anyway. That is the fig tree. But in this case it seems different.

1. No people involved waiting to receive.
2. No immediate need or reason for an answer.
3. He didn't say "Die" he said "No man eat fruit of you again". That tree could have just as well sat there for 3,000 years and not produced fruit, but to show his disciples his words have power it died. 
1. Of course THE BLESSING is to be fruitful. To say "Don't be fruitful", is to curse the tree. The BLESSING is derived from Life and the Curse derived from death. So in essence to tell the tree not to be fruitful is to curse it, which is of death, which does kill the tree. 
4. It was a sign and prophetic act for Israel of His time and specifically for the religious priests of His time. 
5. It happened after a time of meditation and action regarding the disgraceful way the priests had misused God's house. 
6. He concluded by telling his Disciples that they could do the same if they had faith. 
7. If you read all accounts of this you see that he cursed it one day and the next day it was dead and the disciples called that immediate results!

So here we see a different sort of act. This is not an answer to prayer but a decree from a man under the Authority of God, and that authority was given to us. We see that although the results were not seen in that five minute period they were seen the next day and Jesus considered it done the moment he said it. 

Why do I bring this up? Because we have been used to praying for days, weeks, months, years, decades, to see something come to pass. WHEN?! When will it come to pass? God is NOT the one holding this back or up. Jesus conquered the enemy and gave angels the right to occupy earth again, so it's not the delay like the one that happened to the angel Daniel was waiting on. 

There are only two types of delays now, as far as I can tell, and both have to do with people. 

1. God uses people, most times, to meet your request. The person He wants to use has to hear and obey. God wants to BLESS that person just like he does you and he is just as interested in their harvest as yours. So He gives them some time to comply before moving on to another person. 
2. YOU. You delay by changing you mind several times, diluting your faith with words that are contrary to your request, and lack of Faith. 
1. Faith is words spoken from the overflow of your heart. If your words were not out of the overflow they lack conviction. At that point you are not speaking faith out but building faith up within. 
2. When you have put the word in your heart, day and night, until it becomes the overflow, it becomes more real to you than anything or anyone around you, that is the day Faith will come out of your mouth and the substance is released for answers. 

Like Joshua, commanded to meditate day and night so that he may observe to do... so we must meditate the word of God and pray in with Holy Spirit so that we may observe, through Him, the action we must take regarding a situation. The only action we should take is the one we are shown. Acting outside of that, however great the intentions is not Faith. Making a confession apart from the leading of Holy Spirit is just a page of words. 

Jeremy Pearsons summarized this well one day when an accident caused some damage to the car. He decreed that the devil would not steal from him, not even the $500 deductible. What he DIDN'T do was go around saying "Devil you owe me seven times, and I get seven cars back...." and then rant scriptures at the wall for hours. What he DID do was go into Low Slow, pray for a bit, then asked: "God, how do you want me to believe for this?" Then he received an answer and acted on it. Within a week it was paid for double and the he was able to help someone else with their car payment. 

"God, how do you want me to believe for this?" 

That is the correct way to act out a situation. Jesus had spent time praying with His Father. He ONLY spoke those things which he heard his Father say, through Holy Spirit. So when he said "Go catch a fish..." He was speaking what he heard! That is what we have been missing. THAT is why our prayers seem delayed many times. We are speaking all sorts of good things, Word principles, etc, but are we speaking what we HEARD and ONLY what we heard?

DO:
I'm going to practice today, speaking only what I hear, especially regarding situations that require my attention.

PRAYER:
Holy Spirit, Here I am, I am listening. What instruction do you have for me to carry out your assignments today?

Darrell G. Wolfe