Christian behavior can only be produced by the nearness of Christ experienced in resurrection events.

In the previous chapter of “Resurrection Events,” we began with an apple, a tomato, and a rose. If I was to ask what the fruit of an apple tree was, you would probably say an apple. If I was the asked what the fruit of a tomato plant would be, you would say a tomato. If I was to asked what kind of a flower does the rose bush produce, you would say a rose. The fruit of all of these could be given without any degree of difficulty.

I am finding out, however, when I raise the next question it seems to be more difficult to answer. For example, we are trying to see the similarity between the rose, the apple, and the tomato. If I put a human being up beside the other three as a fourth entity, the question would be, “do we as an apple, as a tomato, and as a rose also go through the same cycle?” Do we humans go through the same process as the rest of the living created world? What is the fruit of a Christian? How is Christian behavior manifested in our lives?

What is the fruit of a Christian?

It can be said, you cannot have a rose without the planting of a rose seed. You cannot have a tomato without the planting of a tomato seed. You cannot have an apple without the planning of an apple seed. In addition, the morning will never come without experiencing a night. Springtime will never arrive unless the winter occurs. Since we are a creative entity as well, do we have to go through the same cycle as a rose, a tomato, and an apple?  Do we go through that same process of which God has created all living creatures? Is there a progression by which Christian behavior can be seen in our lives?

Christian behavior occurs in life through resurrection events.

There are many references in the Scriptures that there is a way by which that which has no life within itself can continually experience life. It is the way of everything in the living created world. God has so arranged that life, true Christian behavior, for man only occurs, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians,

But we have this treasure [Life] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh (2 Cor. 4:7-11).

In the last chapter, it was illustrated that the physical realm must continually die if the spiritual realm is to be continually renewed (2 Cor. 4:16). The rich, full, contented life is really all about many resurrection events, many spiritual resurrection experiences. Christian behavior is a product of the Spirit of God.

The difference between those early followers of Jesus and many in the church today was also illustrated. What radically changed their lives to enable them to accomplish the things that were seen in their lives? How was Christian behavior produced in their lives? The Scriptures, especially the book of Acts, clearly record that the early followers of Jesus had a profound spiritual experience, a resurrection event. They experienced Jesus even though he had previously died. It is clearly seen in the life of Paul on the Damascus road where he experienced the risen Christ and it profoundly changed his life. All of the early followers of Jesus had an event of the resurrection that enabled newness of life to be experienced. The resurrection events in their lifes produce the correct Christian behavior.

I have come to believe that we all have had these same resurrection events. It is just that we were often not aware of them. When they do occur and we are not aware, I am wondering do we fall into the same trap as Paul wrote to the Romans saints:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness . . . . . . Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Rom. 1:18-21).

Christian behavior is manifested in your life with the proper understanding of the ways of life.

To illustrate, one of the great stories in the book of Daniel is the handwriting on the wall that appeared to the Babylonian king Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar. What the writing basically said, as we used to say back in Oklahoma, “your chickens are going to come home to roost.” Belshazzar is going to reap what he is sowing and had sown in his life.

Daniel recorded that Belshazzar had seen what God had done to and for his father: his father had been given a great kingdom and he erroneously assumed that the kingdom had come by his might and his power. Belshazzar had seen Nebuchadnezzar being taken down and his kingdom taken away from him.

In reality, the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar was not actually taken away from him. What was taken was the privilege and the honor to experience life as a king. Even though he was still the king, he experienced life only as an animal would think and feel, as a beast of the field (Dan. 4:1-37). The Scriptures then stated, when he lifted up his eyes to heaven recognizing that God did rule all things, he was again restored to rule and experience life as a king.

The entire book of Daniel is the story of how God rules in the kingdom of men. The name Daniel itself is interpreted as “my God is judge.” God consistently directed everything that occurred in the book of Daniel. It is the meaning of “to judge.” Throughout the book, the stories tell how God is recognized as he who rules in the kingdom of men.

We probably would not have any problem if the Scriptures would say, “yes, God rules in the kingdom of God.” God rules the kingdom of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God rules in the people who are following him, the people who are dedicated, committed, and are doing what they should do for God.

We probably would not have too much of a problem with that understanding. The story of the Bible, however, is the record that God rules in the kingdom of men. Probably, what causes us to often struggle in understanding how God rules the world is when evil occurs. Nevertheless, the story that is told in Daniel is that God rules in the kingdom of men.

Even though Belshazzar knew what had happened to his father, he was having a great feast and much wine was being served. During the feast, Belshazzar ordered the vessels taken in the raid of the temple in Jerusalem to be used in toasting their gods. Using the stolen Temple vessels, they “praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.” Then, hand writing on the wall appeared and judgment was passed on Belshazzar: “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it . . . Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Dan. 5:26-27).

Daniel went on to reprove Belshazzar,

thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified (Dan. 5:23).

Could life be so simple that all that God wants of us is to recognize that he is the source of our life? Is all that God desires of us is to know that he is our breath and to know all of our ways are by and in him? Does God just want us to know that Christian behavior is actually produced by him?

If all that God wants us to understand is he is the source of our lives, what is all of this stuff that I have been doing for years in the organized church? What were all of those things I did trying to get the favor of God? What were all those things I did trying to escape the terror of God?

Amazingly, God just wants me to understand that he rules the world. He is in control of the world. He just wants me to know that he controls my life and for me to experience that life accordingly. It is as Daniel recorded of Belshazzar’s father after he had been taken down and restored, “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment . . . (Dan. 4:37).

Christian behavior can be seen in our lives when we understand what the fruit of a Christian is.

Using the same theme as I illustrated in the last chapter with the apple, the tomato, and the rose, let me ask you what is the fruit of a human being? You know the fruit of an apple tree. You know the fruit of a tomato plant. You know the flower of the rose bush. What is the fruit of a human being?

What should be seen in our lives? For example, an apple tree produces apples. An apple tree does not produce apple pies. It does not produce applesauce. It produces apples. You can make apple pie and applesauce out of apples, but the tree does not produce apple pies and applesauce.

Failing to grasp that simple truth, we often struggle in life because we do not understand the ways of Christianity or the way of life itself. We keep thinking, as in the illustration, life is about apple pies and applesauce. Apple pie and applesauce can be made by using apples, but the apple tree does not produce apple pies or applesauce. The analogy needs to be raised, can we make apple pies and applesauce in our lives? Can we produce true Christian behavior?

We are talking about the fruit of a human being. What we keep trying to think, what we keep trying to do, is that we can take the fruit that God produces in our lives and then make an apple pie with it. We imagine that our responsibility in life, using our analogy, is to make applesauce. We try to take life itself and produce something with it. But, can the apple tree produce apple pies and applesauce? What is the real fruit of a human being, the real fruit of a Christian, true Christian behavior?

There is another story in Daniel that is probably the most precise description of the fruit that should be seen in the life of every Christian. First, let me introduce that story, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, with another story. It is the event of Daniel in the lion’s den.

Christian behavior can actually be seen in the Old Testament.

The story is recorded in Daniel Chapter 6. My paraphrasing version has the king setting up his kingdom with presidents, princess, and counselors to help control his kingdom. Basically, there were three presidents of which Daniel was one of the three. He soon became the favorite of the king.

As Daniel went through the daily routine of fulfilling his role as one of the presidents of the kingdom, jealousy soon began to be cultivated in the other presidents. They knew that it would be foolish and dangerous to go to the king to inform him that he had wrongly set up his kingdom. Likewise, it would not be wise to complain about Daniel being the favorite of the king. They also knew that they would come up lacking in any comparison between their presidential work with the work of Daniel. Thus, they would attempt to diminish Daniel’s influence by setting up  a perceived discrepancy between Daniel and the king.

No doubt, playing to the ego of the king, they suggested that he should decree, a royal statue, that no one should petition any God or man except to the king for the next 30 days. The penalty for violating this royal statue was to be thrown into a den of lions.

If that was to happen today with the current mentality, Daniel would immediately get Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to form a committee. They would then get a petition to get this latest decree of the king reversed. They would need to get as many as they could to sign it to try to influence the king to change his degree. I am wondering when that is done, if we are not basically fighting causes that are really not relevant to what are the real issues of life.

What did Daniel do? He did the same thing before the law was passed. He went to his house, got in front of his window, and knelt down to pray. When the people who were opposing Daniel saw that he was praying to his God, they went to the king to inform him that Daniel was violating his royal statue.

The king probably became upset when he knew he had been tricked. He may had tried most of the day to get out of enforcing his degree, but he could not get out of the law that he himself had passed. Basically, the king told Daniel that Daniel’s God was able to protect him and then threw him into the lion’s den.

Again, paraphrasing somewhat, perhaps quite a bit, the king went home. He could not sleep, could not watch TV, and could not listen to the radio. Sleep just would not come throughout the whole night. He was tossing and turning wondering what was happening in the lion’s den.

Finally, the next morning he went back to the lion’s den and said, “Oh, Daniel has your God protected you.” We know what Daniel said, but I wonder what would happen if Daniel hesitated a moment or two. Again, the king asked, “Oh, Daniel has your God protected you.” The king still does not hear anything. Then, Daniel cries out, in light of the last chapter and this chapter, “You dirty rotten dog you try to get rid of me, you tried to feed me to the lions.”

In the light of what was discussed in the last chapter, “just what is the fruit of being human?” Many today would probably try to justify the anger they felt over what had been done to them. Of course, Daniel’s response to the king, even after he had been thrown into the lion’s den, was, “O king, live forever.”

I told you the story to say that after Daniel had been taken out of the lion’s den, the king then passed a decree that Daniel’s God should now be recognized and that any petition could be made to him. Do you see the story that we have miss? The king is tricked into passing a law that you cannot make an appeal to anybody but the king. What did Daniel do? He did not get up a petition. He did not get a group together. He did not try to change the law. He did not try to lead a group to march on Babylon.

What did he do? He did the exact same thing he did before the royal statue was passed. After it was all over with and done, the degree was changed. The God of Daniel was recognized as being well able to protect Daniel.

Christian behavior can be produced by God when we walk in innocence of mind.

We are struggling to understand what exactly is the fruit of a Christian. Let me ask the question in another way. If you could pick out a single event in the Scriptures that would best describe New Testament Christianity, what would it be? Would you say Romans Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8, which are powerful truths of Christianity? Perhaps, you might say 1st Corinthians 15, which is also a powerful statement of truth. Maybe, you might even say the entire letter of Ephesians, where the preeminence of Christ is proclaimed. You could probably get a little closer to the fruit of a Christian, proper Christian behavior, by examining the book of Acts.

I want us to consider what I believe is the most precise description of New Testament Christianity that can be found in the Scriptures. It just happens to be in the Old Testament. There is a major problem we have to overcome in grasping that a description of New Testament Christianity can be found in the Old Testament. We have failed to emphasize that we all are a product of what has happened to us in the past. When God breaks through to anyone, he breaks through to them in the realm of where they are. We cannot grasp, we cannot understand anything but where we are at the moment. If true Chrsitian behavior is not being manifested in our lives, it is not occurring simply because our behavior is exactly what and who we are.

We read the writings of the New Testament and fail to recognize the writers were coming out of a particular mindset. They were coming out of an understanding that had been formed by the Old Testament. At the time of their writings, they were who they were based upon everything that had happened to them in the past and how they had responded to those things. The New Testament writers, when they were preaching and proclaiming the gospel, where coming from where they were at that moment. Yes, it was Jesus breaking through to them, changing their lives, but Jesus was breaking through to them where they were at the time of their writings. They wrote from a background of which they were familiar.

For example, you are what you are right now based upon everything that has happened to you in the past and how you responded to those things. There is nothing else you can do. There is nothing else you can be. The truth of the matter is a very simple yet very profound truth. Although you often think if you had made different choices in the past, your life today would be different. While that is true, you must understand that in every moment of your life the choices you made at the time are the only choices you could have made. You do not have the capability to make a choice contrary to what you are. You are going to produce in your life exactly what and who you are. There is nothing else you can do. Christian behavior will only occur when you are truly Christian.

If that is true, then you need to understand that it is “okay” where you are. It is okay where you are, not that God would want you to stay where you are. You cannot change where you are in any moment of time. You cannot go back a week ago, two weeks ago, or years ago and say if I would have done, would have acted  differently, it would be different today.

Again, that is true. If you could have done it differently, then it would be different now. But, you did not have the capability to do it any other way than how you did it. You did what you were. If you could make a choice contrary to your nature then there would not be any need for Jesus to come. Christianity, true Christian behavior, would be a shame. You are what you are based upon who you are.

Again, the New Testament writers, when they were preaching and proclaiming the gospel, were coming out of an Old Testament background. Jesus was breaking through to them but Jesus was breaking through where they were at the time of their writings. For example, when I share the gospel with you, I cannot share the gospel as a rocket scientist. I do not have that capability. If I was a rocket scientist, I probably would reflect the fact that I was a rocket scientist as I shared the gospel with you. God always breaks through to us where we are.

The New Testament writers reflected their Old Testament familiarity in the sharing of the gospel. Coming out of that understanding, I think there is a very profound description of what life is really all about, the fruit of a Christian – Christian behavior, in the Old Testament book of Daniel.

I have come to recognize that the book of Daniel is one of the great writings of the Scriptures. I am not the only one who evidently placed a high value on its importance. The prophet Ezekiel in the same breath mentioned Daniel with Moses and Job (Ezek. 14:14). It is just that the book of Daniel in the recent past has been so limited to end-time prophecy foretelling the future, we miss what Daniel is really all about. We miss that it is one of the greatest account for Christian behavior anywhere in the Scriptures.

It is a very powerful book that is actually all about life. In the telling of its story, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, had a vision, and Daniel interpreted it for him. He told the king that God has given him a great kingdom. He was a king of kings, the head of gold in the great image of the vision. Then, after Nebuchadnezzar had the dream and heard the interpretation, he built a huge image, a golden image. After constructing the image, which was probably an image of himself, he set forth the decree that everybody must bow down to worship the image when they heard the playing of much music.

When we fail to recognize what exactly is the fruit of a Christian, true Christian behavior, we fail to recognize that this story in Daniel is actually a great story about life in every generation. Again, I think it is the greatest example of New Testament Christianity ever written, even though it is in the Old Testament.

Daniel recorded,

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up (Dan. 3:1-2).

Nebuchadnezzar called all his people together to dedicate this building . . . uh-h-h-h . . . I mean this image. What exactly is this image? Is not this image a product of his work? He is dedicating it, but when he dedicates it who is actually getting the glory. Is it the image or even the god of this image that is receiving glory?

Coming out of my background, which comes out of a very poor segment of society, non-educated, not much money, poor people meeting on the wrong side of the track, and often in storefront buildings, we begin to consider it a major success when we begin to build buildings. It was not long, however, until I begin to recognize that every building that was built by our ministry actually was a monument to the one who built it. In my past, we certainly had a warp view of Christian behavior.

Nebuchadnezzar dedicated the image. It sounded like a pretty good thing to do. They needed to dedicate what their god had done, but did their god really do it? Did their god create the image?

Again, Daniel recorded,

Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up (Dan. 3:3-5).

It sounds like a great worship service, and it was a great worship service. Unfortunately, they were religiously worshipping. Just how much religion is involved in the worship of God today? When God is being worshipped as most are worshipping him today, God is made the object of that worship. I wonder if God gets a little tired of being the object, rather than the subject of our lives. Even when we attempted to live as we thought we were supposed to live,  we had an eroronous view of just what Christian behavior was. Worship sounds like the thing man ought to do but, unfortunately, as it is often performed today, like the Babylonian people in the past, it is most often a religious act.

You might ask if I am against music? I can say no, however, we should sing because there is a song in our heart. We should not think that our singing is some kind of an act honoring God by what and how we are singing. If we think we can honor God by what we are doing instead of how we are responding to what he is doing, then we miss understand the ways of life and how God is actually worshiped. Our Christian behavior becomes religiously motivated. When we fail to understand the ways of life, we will create a lot of imagery, a lot of forms and methods, to try to make up for our actual failure to understand how God is worshipped correctly.

Daniel stated,

That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up (Dan. 3:5-7).

They fell down and worshipped the golden image the king had created. What is the difference between religious worship and true worship? What is the difference between religious behavior and Christian behavior. Is it only the object of which we are worshipping that makes the difference? Is the difference of true worship only the right object that is being worshipped?

They were falling down and worshipping a golden image. Most would say that is faulty worship simply because they were not falling down and worshipping the true God. Is that the only difference? Would not even falling down and worshipping the true God still put man at the center of worship rather than God?

They fell down and worshipped the golden image that the king had set up. Listen closely to what Daniel is saying,

Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king (Dan. 3:8-13).

The book of Daniel from Chapter 1 to Chapter 12 is actually about a continuing dialogue between the men of God and the men of the world. It keeps revealing to us the response of the men of God and the response of the men of the world. It shows us what happened to the men of God: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It also reveals to us what happened to men that are involved in the kingdom of the world: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar.

As you read Daniel 3:10-13, notice what is happening to the people who are involved in the kingdom of the world:

Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

What happens to people who are not experiencing the kingdom of God? They will at some point become jealous and angry. They get mad when things do not go the way they think they ought to go. Daniel is not a book about isolated truths that are in the Old Testament. It is a book about life, about Christian behavior, even though it is in the Old Testament.

Again, this chapter contains probably the most precise statement of New Testament Christianity that you can find. Daniel recorded,

Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? (Dan. 3:14-15).

In the light of what we often hear today, it could have happened in this manner. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego heard the command of the king, one of them cried out in great lamentations, “Oh-h-h-h, what am  I going to do, what am I going to do? Oh-h-h-h-h, how could God let this happen?” Am I the only one who has ever responded in such a manner?

They, however, did not respond in that manner:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up (Dan. 3:16-18).

They, profoundly, are saying. “Our God is able to deliver us, but we do not know if he is or not.” They added, “If he does that is great but if he does not that is alright also.” The point is this, God does not deliver us every time out of the fiery furnace, out of the actual circumstances of life. What this should mean, a mark of supreme Christian maturity – true Christian behavior, is that the fiery furnaces in our lives are actual not relevant to the real issues of life.

The circumstances of which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves were not relevant to experiencing the life of God in their lives. They are simply saying that the outcome of this event of their lives, as for as the event itself is concern, was out of their control. To put it where we can understand it, they would say I am not going to try to get in control of this situation. I am not going to try to control the happenings of this event.

The answer of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was, in essence, the same answer that Daniel gave in the lion’s den. He said to king Nebuchadnezzar that God delivered him because “innocency was found in [him]” (Dan. 6:22). It is a statement of what it means to walk in innocence of mind. In other words, They were not going to try to control the event they were experiencing. They knew God was well able to deliver them. In this particular event, he delivered them not by changing the circumstances but by changing their emotional response to the event.

Christian behavior is always produced by how we are responding to the circumtances of life.

The 11th Chapter of Hebrews, the great faith chapter in the New Testament, is relevant for us in understanding the events of life, the fruit of a Christian. The first half of the chapter tells us how God delivered the believers out of dangerous events. In the last half of the chapter, however, it reveals that God did not deliver the believers out of equally dangerous events. Whether they were delivered or were not delivered, they nevertheless were all called men of faith.

I think what this means is that the actually events of life are not relevant to the real issues of life. Being delivered out of the event or not being delivered, in regards to escaping the actual event, is not relevant. It only becomes relevant, the actual event, when our focus is on the earthly. It only becomes relevant in our lives when our focus is on the physical world. In the next chapter, we are going to try to understand what causes us to shift our eyes off of God onto the physical realm in these events.

In the last chapter, we tried to get across what radically changed those early followers of Jesus. Was it not a resurrection experience with Jesus after he died? The example of Paul, who was working on the job, going down to Damascus to arrest people was given to illustrate the point.

As he was working on the job, God confronted him. Out of that confrontation, his current job ended immediately. The very thing on which Paul was depending for his life was over. As it was ending, he did not know how he was going to live the rest of his life. He did not even know how he was going to get through the event as he was experiencing it.

We probably over-spiritualize this event of Paul on the Damascus Road. We know, by what occurred afterward, that it was a life-changing event. We perhaps, however, do not realize what he was actually going through in experiencing this event. I think he probably did recognized that his past life was now over.

I wonder how many resurrection events, like Paul, have we experienced? Unfortunately, most of the time we did not know what we were experiencing. Jesus actually came in and talked to us and we did not even know it was Jesus.

This is what Daniel said about Belshazzar:

[thou] hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified (emphasis added)(Dan. 5:23).

How could his desecrating the vessels of God be in “whose are all thy ways?” How could that be the hand of God at work in his life? How can the hand of God be at work, “whose are all thy ways,” when it looks like bad things are happening?

I may not understand how it could be the hand of God, but I do understand Daniel said it was the hand of God. So, why then not just accept it as being the hand of God even though I cannot understand how it is hand of God? Instead of trying to come up with an explanation that actually destroys it from being the hand of God, why cannot we say I do not understand what is going on but I know it is God at work. We struggle with it because our mind will always try to control of our lives.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not know what God was going to do, but notice the peace and the rest they evidently were experiencing. They seem to be in a state of serenity even though  they had just been threatened with their lives. If they did not bow down to the image, they would be cast into the fire. They were going to burn.

I have went through some tough things in my life but I have never been faced with being thrown into an actual fiery furnace. I have to say that a whole lot less pressure than they were facing upset me big time. I fail to recognize that my being upset was actually God telling me something, but I could not understand what he was telling me. I was too busy trying to justify my being upset.

The Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace story is actually revealing what the fruit of a Christian is, true Christian behavior. It is simple, yet very profound. In any event in life where one is becoming angry and mad while the other is staying calm, cool, and collected does reveal in whom both are trusting. Amazingly, the fruit of a Christian is revealed when even though we do not actually know whether God is going to deliver us or not, we stay calm, cool, and collected. We do know that God is able to deliver us from burning, fiery struggles in life. If he does or does not deliver us from the actual event, however, we will not bow to the temptation of our mind to try to take control of the event.

Christian behavior is quite simple.

Life is really pretty simple. In the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego story, Nebuchadnezzar is full of fury. He is becoming angry because certain people were not doing what he said they should be doing. I wonder if every time I get angry, the real reason why I am getting angry is somebody is not doing what I thought they should be doing. Behaior is being produced, but it definately is not Christian behavior.

All that God wants you to do is to understand that he created you and to experience the free flow of his life in your life. It is that simple. You might say just show me one person who actually lived or lives in the free flow of the life of God. It is a simple answer, only one, Jesus Christ. With Jesus freely flowing in and through you, what it actually means to be a Christian, you will then see in your life exactly what was seen in the life of Jesus as he walked upon the earth, the free flow of the life of God. It is how true Christian behavior occurs.

When we do not understand that Christianity is really Jesus living in and through us, we will then try to live for Jesus. In the final analysis, there is no one that can do what Jesus did in spite of how often we have been challenged to do so. There might be someone, thorough sheer discipline, that can do a six, a seven, or maybe even an eight on a scale of ten being perfect. However, keep dealing with the real issues of life and after a while an issue that is really an issue will come along and they also will find themselves becoming angry and mad like other people.

Since we do not have the capability to live as we should, I say, again, that where you are in any moment of time is okay. It is not okay in that God desires you to stay there, but it is okay in that moment because that is all you could have done. Again, we need to realize that while it is true that if we would had made different choices in the past it would be different today but the choices we made in the past were the only ones we could have made at the time. You could not have done it any differently than you did because you did what you were. It is actually the height of religion, the height of self-righteousness, to believe you could have done it any differently than what you did.

Again, God does not want you to stay where you are but he does not want you to beat yourself up over where you are. Usually, we keep beating-up our self because of what we think we should had done as opposed to what we actually did. Because we keep thinking that we could have done it differently, we will come up with various gimmicks, diverse teachings, different doctrines, or special instructions of which we try to convince ourselves that we are okay because of what Jesus did 2000 years ago. “I” am okay because “I” now believe and practice some kind of teaching or doctrine.

Christian behavior is tied directly to where we are in Christ Jesus.

What is needed is the simple understanding that we are where we are because that is where we are. The gospel proclaims that Jesus will come into exactly where you are and he has the capability to do a work in your life where you are to change your life. In addition, we also need to understand that what he does at that moment in your life is only good for that moment.

The same Jesus that came into your life at any given moment will also have to come into your life in the next moment as well. It is erroneous to think that because you were saved fifty years ago you can live the good life today based upon that experience. Such a belief, or understanding, just will not work no matter how much you try to believe it.

It does not matter how many times you are told to write down the day, the month, and the year when you were saved. Write it on a sign, drive it into the ground, and keep telling yourself over and over again that is the day God changed my life. He did change your life at that date but it was only good for that date. He does not want us to try to live off of an experience, an event, that happened fifty years ago.

I think that God wants all of us to understand that you do not experience life today from any event you had in the past. You experience life today from only the living Jesus in your life today. Jesus said I am the one in which you live. I am the one who produces your life, which means he has to do it again and again in every moment, every event of life. What happened to you fifty years ago, as well as your entire past life, is a part of your life, your development. It will be forever a part of your life, but it was only good for that moment.

It is living in the innocence of mind as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They said that they did not know what God was going to do in the fiery furnace experience. They knew that he was capable to deliver them but if he did or would not they did not know.

Christian behavior does not depend upon being delievered out of an actual circumstance.

In the events of your life, the issue, Christian behavior, is not whether God will deliver you out of the actual circumstances. The issue is to understand that God is your breath. He is your heartbeat. He is the way of your life. So, what you actually go through in life is really not relevant to the real issue of life, experiencing the free flow of the life of God in every event of life.

The Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego story continues,

Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace (Dan. 3:19-20).

We must recognize that when rage, fury, and anger occurs in our life, regardless of our belief, our doctrine, or what we are riding to try to get us through the night, that it is a dead giveaway that something has happen to Jesus in our life. If rage occurs in my life, it does not make any different what I say I believe happened to me years ago, something is not working right at this moment in my life enabling rage, fury, or anger to be experience. These characteristics are the opposite to what should be happening: peace, rest, and a sense of not being forsaken and destroyed – all attributes of Christian behavior.

Nebuchadnezzar commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then, they were bound in their clothes, their hats, and their other garments and were cast into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. Because the king’s commandment was urgent and the flames of the fire were exceeding hot, the fire consumed the men that cast Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace.

What a statement! It goes all the way back to God’s original covenant with Abraham. He said to Abraham that he was going to make of his seed a great nation. Abraham lived his entire life and did not see the great nation. Yet, Abraham is counted to be the father of the faithful. God said to Abraham, I am going to make of thee a great nations and I am going to bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you.

The original covenant between God and Abraham still stands today between God and his people. We are God’s people, everyone of us. Would it not be marvelous if we could actually live, really live in that covenant with God where he said I am going to take care of you? I will bless them that bless you and I will curse them that curse you. What happen to the people that cast Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire? They were consumed by the fire. It would be marvelous for God to work in our lives in the same way.

When those hot, fiery trials of life come our way, which is always going to come by people, we could actually rest in the knowledge that no one, absolutely nobody, gets away with anything. Unfortunately, most us want God to settle the score faster so we can actually see the people who are putting pressure on us get their “just reward.” We want to be able to stand there, when God is coming down hard on them, so we can say, “I told you.” But, if you have that attitude, you are not going to be experiencing peace and rest. You are going to be in the same hell with the very people who are mistreating you. They are  burning and being consumed.

Daniel continued the story revealing a very powerful truth that can occur in the lives of the people of God.

Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God (Dan. 3:21-25)

This is one of the most precise picture of New Testament Christianity, Christian behavior, that can be found. In the midst of the fire that is burning, the Son of God, a preincarnation form of Jesus, came into the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Jesus can also come into any fiery situations you might experience as a Christian. The power of the Son of God at work in your trials can be seen just as he worked in the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: they would not bend, they would not bow, and they would not burn.

Christian behavior is always manifested in the coming of the Son of God.

[Nebuchadnezzar] answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them (Dan. 3:25-27).

Miraculously, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were casted into the burning, fiery furnace but it had no adverse effect upon them. The fire had no power over them: their hair was not singed, their clothes were not burned, and there was not even the smell of smoke on them.

Then,

Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon (Dan. 3:28-30).

Let me close by simply saying this story is in the background of the New Testament. The writers of the New Testament were taught this story in their childhood and on into their maturity. I am wondering when Peter wrote about fiery trials, if he did not have the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego story in mind. I am wondering when James wrote about the fires of hell, if he did not have the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego story in mind. Maybe, even when John, who wrote about the lake of fire, also had the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego story in mind. Maybe, when Peter said,

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men (2 Pet. 3:6-7)

if he did not have Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego story in mind.

Christian behavior always occurs with the experiencing of the nearness of Christ.

More importantly than those statements, I wonder if the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego story that had three men thrown into a burning, fiery furnace into which came the Son of God is not what the New Testament writers were thinking when they penned the words “the coming of Christ?” Because in the phrase “the coming of Christ,” the word coming is not the normal word in the New Testament that means one is over there and needs to come here. Or, you are here and you need to go over there. The normal word for “to come” simply means, “come” or “go.”

Every time the phrase the coming of Christ occurs in the New Testament, however, it is never that normal meaning for “to come.” The New Testament writers in using the phrase “the coming of Christ” used a word that means, “the nearness of Christ.” They were always emphasizing the nearness of Christ rather than the coming of Christ from one place to another place. The nearness of Christ is the only means by which Christian behavior occurs.

The more I am coming to grasp this truth a major piece of the puzzle is becoming much more clear. As I have shared in the past, I was coming back from Curacao a couple of years ago where God moved in a special way during the ten days I was there. As I was in the plane coming home, I was reflecting upon what God had done. I prayed this prayer, “God I thank you for giving me another piece of the puzzle.” Then, just as clear as if another person spoke it to me, I was overwhelmed with a powerful impression. It was very clear to me: “I have not been giving you pieces of the puzzle. I have given it all to you.” I recognized that was exactly the words of Jesus, “For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad” (Mark 4:22).

Then, I thought, if you are not given me pieces of the puzzle, what is going on? I was once again overwhelmed with an impression: “I have been giving it all to you but your mind has been so active it is blocking out huge chuck of what I have been giving to you.” It only looked like I was getting pieces of the puzzle as God continually conquered more and more of my mind which was prohibiting me from understanding the full revelation.

It is always my mind that keeps me from understanding what God has been saying to me. It is my mind that keeps me form understanding what he is trying to reveal. It means that my mind can never be the answer. My mind is the always the problem in attempting to experience Christian behavior.

The “last bit of the puzzle” that seems to have broken through to me is what “the coming of Christ” really means. I now recognize that how I experience the coming of Christ in my life is in an event of death and resurrection. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were casted into the fiery furnace. In that situation, it looked like there was no hope, but Christ came into the furnace. The nearness of Christ was experienced. Ultimately, they would say, it does not make any difference whether I burn or do not burn because God’s grace is sufficient. If I do not burn, it will be by his enabling grace. If I burn, he is going to be there with sustaining grace. This is the reason why Christian behavior can occur regardless of the circumstances we face.

We actually have a picture in the New Testament that illustrates the point. Stephen, one of the early followers of Jesus, was preaching a message to a group of people of the nation of  Israel. He basically said to them that they had crucified the man who had been trying to deliver them. In doing so, he not only proclaimed that Jesus was their Messiah but he also gave a clue of how they came to reject him.

Stephen preached that in the wilderness, a tent tabernacle of God was established, but, then, David and Solomon desired to build a more permanent house of God. Many now realize that there is a major difference between a tent tabernacle and a physical temple. The tent tabernacle in the Old Testament could be moved from place to place as God led the people through the wilderness. It alway went with the people as God was leading them. The tent tabernacle was always where the people were.

With the physical temple, the people were required to go to the temple. Unfortunately, the temple, being a permanent physical building, could become a place where the people were no longer lead by God. Because it was a physical building you would still go to the temple but the possibility existed that you might not meet God in the temple.

The tent tabernacle was not established to be kept in one place. It actually travelled with the people as God was leading them. The New Testament would eventually reveal that God is always manifested, the true Tabernacle of God, in the interaction, the manifestation of Jesus, between people (Eph. 1:23) .

Stephen preached that Jesus was the Messiah and it reviled the people who were hearing it. They picked up stones from the ground and began to throw them at Stephen. As they began to stone Stephen, he looked up and saw Jesus in the heavenly realm. When he said I see Jesus, the people became even more angry but Stephen seem to become more peaceful exhibiting Christian behavior.

Christian behavior can be seen regardless if delieverance from a physical circumstance occurs or does not occur.

If God delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of the fiery furnace, or if Stephen does not get delivered from the stoning, the focus evidently was the same for both events. Jesus was the breath and the heartbeat of both occurrences. The essence of the Son of God came into both the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego story and the Stephen account. They both manifested Christian behavior although one is delivered from the circumstances and the other was delivered in the circumstances.

When Jesus comes into any setting, he has the capability to take you through any fiery trial with no adverse effect from the fire: the hair is not singed, clothes are not burnt, and there is not even the smell of smoke. This great enabling miracle occurs when we are in the innocence of mind. When we are able to say like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I do not know if God is going to deliver me out of this or not. He has the power to do it, but if he does not, we are still not going to bow down and worship any image. We will experience Christian behavior in whichever way he works.

In other words, if he does not deliver me out of the event of  the fiery trial, I am not going to turn to the workings of my mind to try to find deliverance. For I now know God directs every event of my life. They will occur every day of my life. They are how I experience the nearness of Christ in my life. Theya re how I experience Christian behavior in my life.

Amazingly, the nearness of Christ does not come from my many prayers, from my going to a physical place, from my physical act of worship, from my formula that I put into practice, or from any of my actions. The nearness of Christ comes every day of my life in the experiences of my life.  It is only in the circumstances of my life where Christian behavior is manifested.

My seed is planted just as the rose, the apple, and the tomato seeds are planted. The night comes and out of the night the morning is produced. God will take me through the many resurrection events in my life to manifest the nearness of his presence.

Let me pray: heavenly Father, I am certainly not such a capable orator to give a speech, to preach a message, or to write a lesson that can affect our lives with any durability. I might be able to learn the skills of speaking enough to play with people’s emotions. I might be able to develop the skills of public speaking to be able to be charismatic. However, if the people ever come to a place when they are threaten with the fires of life and they are enabled to say we know our God is able to deliver but if he does or does not I still will not bow to anything else, can only come from you heavenly Father. Only you, Jesus has the capability to do that work within us to produce Christian behavior. Only you, Jesus by the circumstances of life will keep breaking through to us in each new morning, in each new springtime, and in each new harvest. Our prayer, heavenly Father, is that you will help us glorify only you in the power of the morning, the power of the springtime, and the power of the harvest. My prayer is that we all come to know that you do rule in the kingdom of men and that you do rule in our lives. This we pray. Amen.

Listen to the truth of this message in a great song out of the past.

Now listen as comedian Tim Lovelace, sings this song with the Gaither group. It will help to put a smile on your face, a joy in your heart, and an eternal hope springing from Jesus Christ.