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During worship I sensed the incredible delight of God on this community. I know you have been going for 50 years, and I felt an overwhelming sense of the faithfulness of God. God is deeply committed to this community, and I saw the Spirit of God resting on the next generation in this church.
I got the phrase revival generation — the generation that will carry the spirit of prayer and prophecy, incredible signs and wonders. They are marked for a future time. But with that comes a great responsibility that falls on you as mothers, fathers, grandpas, grannies, aunties, and uncles: to shape, nurture, and guide this next generation into all truth.
We have just celebrated 15 years as a church, so with your 50 years we have a lot to learn from you. As we looked ahead, our creative team asked: "What does the next 15 years look like? What will the world look like in 2041?"
My twins who are six will be 21. What kind of world will they be walking into? What foundations have I laid in their lives? Is it enough? What pressures will they face — pressures to abandon their identity and faith that will most likely intensify?
We don't know the future, but there are clear trajectories visible today:
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Before we spiral into complete hopelessness, I found a boy named Daniel. He and his friends give us a blueprint for how to live in a pressured culture. The ruler who captured him had a four-tiered approach to make the boys forget who they were — and I'm in awe of their response.
In Daniel 1, King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, took the sacred objects from the temple of God into his own temple, and kidnapped the finest young men.
"Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men... well versed in every branch of learning, gifted with knowledge and good judgment... Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon." (Daniel 1:4–7)
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among those chosen — and the staff renamed them Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
The first approach was isolation — they kidnapped them. These boys were probably from privileged, noble backgrounds. Imagine Daniel torn from his family, walking 800 km over rough terrain, thinking, "God, where are you? Why have you abandoned us? What does my future look like?" The enemy's tactic was to isolate.
The second was redesignation. To take away someone's name is to seek to control them: "You belong to us now." The aim was to leave them completely hopeless and to assimilate them fully into Babylonian culture.
Look at what their names meant:
By renaming them, the king tried to override their God-given identity.
Before the enemy attacks your destiny, he attacks your identity.
I see this in Dubai when people leave their support structures, family, and accountability. They come to a glamorous city, see a table laid with temptations, and get lured in. Greed takes over, lust takes over, and then they forget: Who am I? I've forgotten who I am.
Even though they did their best to isolate and redesignate the boys, later in Daniel 4:8 the king admits:
"At last Daniel came in before me... He was named Belteshazzar after my god, and the spirit of the holy God is in him."
Babylon changed his name, but they couldn't change his convictions. Holy means set apart, pure, sacred, otherness. Daniel lived another life — not just moral perfection, but a life marked by God.
The king put pressure on him to conform. But what does God say?
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1–2)
The enemy's first strategy is confusion, and his voice sounds like: "Did God really say? Who are you? Define yourself."
But identity is not discovered by looking inward — it is spoken over us by God. It's impossible for my six-year-old twins and my five-year-old boy to look within themselves to discover who they are. It is my responsibility under God to mother them and speak God's identity over them. (They change their birthday party theme every day — Stitch, Frozen, Sonic!) We speak God's love and identity over them.
"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children. And that is what we are." (1 John 3:1)
You don't have to invent yourself. You don't have to brand yourself. You don't have to prove yourself. You are God's special possession, God's masterpiece. Identity begins with creation, not culture.
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:14)
Fearfully means in awe. God is in all of who He made. You are not an experiment. You are not a mistake. You were made with divine precision, and only God knows the power He's placed within you.
Sadly, this generation is constantly curating, constructing, and editing their own identity: I must define who I am. I must present the best version of myself. I must be approved to be accepted. If I stop performing, I might disappear. And so identity becomes:
As Christians, our identity is given, not proven. My value is not negotiated.
The king's third strategy was indoctrination — to brainwash them, erase the value system of their past, and make them follow the teachings of the Chaldeans, Babylon's intellectual, spiritual, and political elite. They seduced them with comfort and privilege, partnered with brainwashing.
But verse 8 says:
"But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king."
The chief of staff replied:
"I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin... the king will have me beheaded."
The fourth strategy is intimidation. This wasn't just being cancelled — this was being beheaded. In Daniel 2, the king threatens to cut people into pieces. That was the environment. Yet these boys had the courage to obey God even when the culture went the other way.
Babylon was known for splendor, beauty, and indulgence — but it didn't demand Daniel reject God outright. It simply invited him to participate quietly. Maybe you're not expected to reject God, but the pressure you feel from family or friends is: keep it private, don't be different, don't rock the boat. The real test is not persecution, but assimilation.
"Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water... then make your decision in light of what you see." (Daniel 1:12–13)
At the end of ten days, Daniel and his friends looked healthier and better nourished than the others. God gave them unusual aptitude in literature and wisdom, and gave Daniel the ability to interpret visions and dreams. The king found them ten times more capable than all his magicians and enchanters.
What amazes me is Daniel's attitude. He doesn't say, "I'm not having any of this," or "Stuff you." He comes with respect, submission, honor, and humility. His conviction came clothed in humility — and that's why God gave him affection, honor, and respect.
My little girl came home with a report card that had marks for subjects and marks for attitude. She wanted a four in everything, and got fours — except Arabic, where she got a two. She said, "It's so boring, I just want to sleep... the naughty kids get taken out of the class and I want to see where they go!" I told her, "If you want a four, you'll have to make that teacher look like the most interesting person in the room."
Some of us ask God for jobs and open doors, then show up with a lousy attitude toward the very place He's put us. God places His best people in the marketplace — you don't all have to be pastors. Look at Daniel advising the king. God has placed people here in HR, in schools, in business. Be excellent. Have an excellent attitude — because promotion comes when you change your attitude.
Daniel didn't withdraw from Babylon; he lived faithfully within it. What impresses me is his longevity. He served under four rulers — Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Great. Captured as a teenager, thrown into the lions' den in mid-life, and advising kings and receiving revelations toward the end of his life. He was faithful in every generation because he determined not to defile himself.
He started well and finished well. Your decisions now are sowing into your future. Don't be deceived into thinking, "One day I'll make good decisions" while living however you want now. Unhealthy habits will stay with you and haunt you wherever you go.
Daniel said, "Test me in this." He opened himself up for correction. How many of us would say: Take a look at my books, my phone, my history, my messages, what I'm consuming?
Integrity doesn't mean perfection. Integrity is acting the same way with everyone. You don't act one way in church and another way in business, on the padel courts, on the golf course, or in the pubs. You're the same person. The opposite of integrity is hypocrisy — wearing a mask.
Reputation is who others think you are, but integrity is who you really are.
My microphone is always on with God. The cameras may stop rolling here, but the cameras with God are always rolling. That's where Moses made his mistake:
"Seeing no one around, Moses looked this way and that, then killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand." (Exodus 2:12)
He looked this way and that — but he never looked up, because God sees.
"What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy — full of greed and self-indulgence." (Matthew 23:25)
Jesus was harder on hypocrites than He was on prostitutes. He never spoke to sinners in that tone — He drew them in with love, kindness, new life, and freedom, because it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance. But to those appearing one way while living another, He was very strong.
Why? Because this generation is allergic to hypocrisy. They're not asking, "Is Christianity cool or relevant?" They're asking, "Is it real? Are you real? Is the power of God real? Is your love for me real?"
"Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out everything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." (Psalm 139:23–24)
That's the secret to longevity and finishing strong: keeping short accounts with God. In our home there's room for my kids to make mistakes — that's not the issue. It's how quickly they repent and come before God knowing they are loved.
Some say, "I don't want to submit to any commands. I just want to live free." But I cannot think of anything more free than going to bed with a clean conscience and no secrets. As Craig Groeschel says, integrity is easier to keep than to recover.
So we must ask: What could be defiling me? It often begins not with rebellion but with small compromises — certain websites or social media, a certain beverage, a relationship, a friendship.
God rewarded Daniel's faithfulness in four ways:
Talents and abilities. "God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom" (v.17). God gives you ability to innovate, create, influence, write, sing, preach, articulate truth, create wealth, and pioneer businesses — all for His glory.
Divine favor and promotion. Through all the kings, Daniel's influence and favor increased until he was running nations.
Supernatural protection. His jealous rivals could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy, neither corrupt nor negligent. So they schemed a decree, and Daniel was thrown into the lions' den for continuing to pray to God. The king cried out, "Daniel, was the God you serve so faithfully able to rescue you?" And Daniel answered, "My God sent his angel and shut the mouths of the lions." If you walk in integrity, prayer, and closeness to Jesus, you can trust that God will silence your accusers.
Revelation. Daniel saw into kingdoms, generations, and the coming Messiah. That level of revelation is a reward of intimacy.
"As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you." (Daniel 12:13)
Daniel was not living for accolades or the approval of man. He lived for God, and for an inheritance not seen in this life. He has set a pattern for us.
I really feel that for the teenagers there is a new thing God wants to do. He wants to partner with you. It is possible. Don't let the enemy deceive you into thinking you can't live a life like Daniel in this pressured culture. By God's grace, it is possible — and He will reward you.
I believe God has called you, like Daniel, to key positions. He wants to keep opening doors for His glory. He has placed things within you, and He wants to multiply them. In Jesus' name.
