Thriving in Babylon | Pastor Randy Freeman | Northplace Church

Hello, my name is Brian Jarrett, and my wife Haley and I have had the privilege of pastoring North Place Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for almost 20 years. We're one church that meets in multiple locations, even on multiple continents, and today you are one of those locations. The church is not about buildings, it is about people, and we have the privilege today of sharing the hope of the gospel with you right where you are. There is no way I can know exactly what you're going through or dealing with right now, but for almost 30 years I have preached about a God who I know, I am confident, knows you, your struggles, knows the very hairs on your head and the thoughts that you think before you think them, and He is passionately in love with you. And our prayer today is that in our time together you feel our love for you and His presence, and we pray that this time together gives you hope. Thank you for joining us. Come, let us worship our King Come, let us bow at His feet He has done great things See what our Savior has done See how His love overcomes He has done great things He has done great things O Healer of Heaven, You conquer the grave You free, recapture, and break every chain O God, You have done great things He hears You, You're free, awake and alive O Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high O God, You have done great things You've been faithful through every storm You'll be faithful forevermore You have done great things And I know You will do it again For Your promise is yes and amen You will do great things God, You do great things O Healer of Heaven, You conquer the grave You free, recapture, and break every chain O God, You have done great things He hears You, You're free, awake and alive O Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high O God, You have done great things Hallelujah God, above it all Hallelujah God, unshakable Hallelujah, You have done great things Hallelujah God, above it all

Hallelujah God, unshakable Hallelujah, You have done great things You've done great things O Healer of Heaven, You conquer the grave You free, recapture, and break every chain O God, You have done great things He hears You, You're free, awake and alive O Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high O God, You have done great things You have done great things O God, You do great things It's so good to see you this morning. I don't know what you walked in with today, but I do know one thing that our God is faithful and we can sing of his great things that he's done in the past. And this next song is going to talk about the things that we can look forward to in the future. We serve such a faithful God. When that makes a way when there seems to be no way that all we have to do is call upon his name and he will show up. So we're going to worship him this morning. Jesus, we love you. We trust you. You're so faithful. You are here, moving in our midst. I worship you, I worship you. You are here, working in this place. I worship you, I worship you. You are here, moving in our midst. I worship you, I worship you. You are here, working in this place. I worship you, I worship you. Cause you are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper. Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. We'll sing it to him this morning. You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper.

Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. You are here, turning lives around. I worship you, I worship you. You are here, healing every heart. I worship you, I worship you. You are here, Lord. You are here, turning lives around. We worship you, God. We worship you, Lord. You are here, healing every heart. Oh, I worship you, and I worship you. Yes, I worship you. You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper. Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper. Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper. Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. Nothing can stand against you, Lord. You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper. Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are. That is who you are. That is who you are. And that is who you are. And that is who you are. Oh, that is who you are. Thank you, Jesus. You made a way where there seems to be no way. And that is who you are. This is the truth, right here.

Even when I don't see it, you're working. Even when I don't feel it, you're working. You never stop, you never stop working. You never stop, you never stop working. Even when... Yes, come on. ♪ Even when I don't feel that You're workin' you never stop ♪ ♪ This is our rhythm this morning, Lord ♪ ♪ Even when I don't see that You're workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't feel that You're workin' you never stop ♪ ♪ You never stop, yeah ♪ ♪ Even when I don't see that You're workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't feel that You're workin' you never stop ♪ ♪ You never stop, yeah ♪ ♪ You never stop, no way, my girl ♪ ♪ Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ Light in the darkness, my God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ Light in the darkness, my God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ That is who You are, that is who You are ♪ ♪ That is who You are, that is who You are, that is who You are ♪ ♪ That is who You are, way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ That is who You are, that is who You are, that is who You are ♪ ♪ Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ Light in the darkness, my God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ That is who You are, that is who You are, that is who You are ♪ ♪ Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ I was rich, I remember who I was ♪ ♪ I was lost, I was blind, I was running out of time ♪

♪ Sin, separated, the breach was far too wide ♪ ♪ But from the far side of the chasm, You had me in Your sight ♪ ♪ So You made a way across the great divide ♪ ♪ Left behind Heaven's throne to build it here inside ♪ ♪ There at the cross, You paid the debt I owed ♪ ♪ Broke my chains, freed my soul, for the first time I had hope ♪ ♪ Thank You, Jesus, for the blood applied ♪ ♪ Thank You, Jesus, it has washed me white ♪ ♪ Thank You, Jesus, You have saved my life ♪ ♪ Brought me from the darkness into the glorious light ♪ ♪ You took my place, laid inside my tomb of sin ♪ ♪ You were buried for three days, but then You walked right out again ♪ ♪ And now death has no sting and life has no end ♪ ♪ For I have been transformed by the blood of the Lamb ♪ ♪ Thank You, Jesus, for the blood applied ♪ ♪ Thank You, Jesus, it has washed me white ♪ ♪ Thank You, Jesus, You have saved my life ♪ ♪ Brought me from the darkness into the glorious light ♪ ♪ Darkness can choose to throw us alive ♪ ♪ There is nothing stronger than the wonder working power of the blind ♪ ♪ The blind that calls us sons and daughters ♪ ♪ Running through the blind, the blind ♪ ♪ There is nothing stronger than the wonder working power of the blind, the blind ♪ ♪ The blind that calls us sons and daughters ♪ ♪ We are ready to fight above the proof, the blind, the blind ♪ ♪ Thank you Jesus for the wonder of the blind, thank you Jesus ♪ ♪ The blind, thank you Jesus, you have saved our lives ♪ ♪ You brought me from the darkness into glorious light ♪ It's a privilege to be here today, to be able to share with you and we are so grateful,

my family and I are so grateful for the opportunity that we have to leave North Place Church in Durban, South Africa. It's amazing the way that spiritual family and spiritual DNA works, isn't it? I don't know if you guys noticed, but I'm wearing the pastor uniform this morning. Pastor David, Pastor Brian and I. It's just the way the Holy Spirit works. I didn't know, I just put it on. That's how spiritual DNA works. Yeah, it's okay, it's okay to laugh. We are grateful that we get to serve and we're grateful for you, we're grateful for the investment that you've made in the city of Durban, the investment that you make on the continent of Africa. As pastor mentioned, Deser and I lead the project there in Durban, but we lead Urban Tribes, which is focused on planting churches in the gateway cities of Africa and really what has happened in the city of Durban has become sort of a test kitchen, if you will, for us, in which we're multiplying that same concept around the continent and seeing God do incredible things. And it's as a result of your giving, it's as a result of your prayer, it's as a result of the culture of this church and our belief in the mission of God and his purpose to advance his kingdom around the world

that Urban Tribes is able to go forward, that North Place in Durban was able to be planted and the lives that you saw on the screen were only a small representation of the people's lives that are being changed. So again, I wanna say thank you for your generosity, thank you for your giving, and only eternity will tell the full story of what your giving has accomplished around the world. I want you to know that every time that we gather with new believers, every time that I sit down with a young business person or every time we have a service and we baptize people in water, everything that we do on the continent of Africa, we do with you, you're in the room with us because we are spiritual family. Isn't it good to be a part of a spiritual family? Isn't it good to be a part of a spiritual family? Amen. North Place, you haven't just supported the work, you've shaped the work because you are culture shapers. The vision and the mission that God gave this church 100 years ago exists in every one of us. And not only are we confident in the calling that God has placed in our life, we're confident that in the 100 years to come, God's gonna continue to move forward his purposes and his plans through us together as the body of Christ. I want you to see this morning just how important you are.

I want you to see how important this church is, not just in the city of Durban, not just on the continent of Africa, but here in the city of Dallas, here in Sachse, here in your neighborhood, for your neighbor across the street, or your coworker, or your parent, or your sibling, or that family member that you've. enjoyed spending so much time with this week over Thanksgiving. Okay, maybe it was just my family. No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It was our first Thanksgiving together in a lot of years. So we had a wonderful time. Did you enjoy the food? Yeah, I had so much pecan pie, I can barely walk straight. But we all have places that God has called us to. We all have people that God has called us to do. Some of our lives look very, very different. We're called to different stratas, different spheres, different places in life, different gates of influence. But that's really at the heart of what we do in Urban Tribes. We believe that God has called all of us to different places, different gates of influence. And in those places he's called us, he certainly equips us to be effective for his kingdom's purposes. This morning, I want us to look for a few minutes at the life of a man named Daniel.

How many of you remember the book of Daniel in the Old Testament? Not the weird part, but the opening part where it was really interesting about Daniel's life. Daniel, of course, was with three other young men, were caught up in the exile that took place as the book of Daniel opens up with probably one of the saddest verses of Scripture that you read in Scripture. In Daniel 1, verse one, it says, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. Now, I said that was one of the saddest verses of Scripture about Israel really up until this point because you gotta understand, you can blow past that really quickly. You can read past it hundreds and hundreds of years later and not understand the violence that took place, not understand what it must have been like to be Daniel or one of the other followers of Yahweh in that situation in which Babylon came and Babylon absolutely took over the nation of God's people. You see, Babylon didn't negotiate. Babylon annihilated. Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple was destroyed. Thousands upon thousands of people were exiled and Israel's brightest young leaders were forced into service. Israel had ignored all the prophetic warnings

that God had given her. Israel had ignored God's call to renewal and revival and restoration, and as a result of her rebellion, as a result of her sin, she was given over to Babylon for judgment. She was given over to Babylon. And Daniel, with three other young men, found themself in that situation. It wasn't through their own choice. It wasn't through their own relationship with God. It was as a result of the denigration of the culture around them that they found themself in this place of great turmoil. And in this place, we see Daniel not just surviving, but we see Daniel thriving. And this morning, I wanna take a few minutes and I wanna talk to you about how you and I thrive in Babylon. Now, I want you to understand something. Babylon was more than just a nation or a city at a particular time in history, but biblically and historically, Babylon represents something. Babylon is a system designed to reshape identity, to reshape thought, behavior, worship, and ultimately, loyalty. Babylon, as its goal, when it would go and it would capture new nations, not just to conquer the nation,

but to conquer the worldview, to conquer the identity of the people, to literally absorb the identity of the people that it would overtake. Let me say this again because you need to understand it. Babylon is a system designed to reshape identity, thought, behavior, loyalty, what we worship, and ultimately, our worldview. See, David was only 15, or excuse me, Daniel, was 15 to 17 years old when this, when Babylon besieged Jerusalem and took over the nation. Imagine what it must have been like to be a young teenager and be in a situation in which a foreign nation comes in and they overtake your land, and when they do, they make you subservient to your land and seek to absorb every part of everything that was familiar to you, everything that you held onto. Through hostility, they replaced the entire culture of God's people, and yet, in spite of that, in spite of what Daniel faced, in spite of what the other three Hebrew boys faced, Daniel would not allow his soul to be overwhelmed. Maybe he was physically overwhelmed, maybe he was taken into slavery, maybe he had a job that he didn't choose, maybe he had a new title that he didn't want for himself, but Daniel never allowed his soul to be defeated by Babylon. And this morning, I wanna talk Let's talk about how we thrive

when we are in these situations. The first thing that I want you to see is this, is the way that Daniel thrived in Babylon is that he knew exactly who he was. Everyone say, know who you are. Know who you are. Daniel knew exactly who he was. One of the first things that happened when Daniel and the children of Israel were taken into Babylon is that the officials of Babylon said, okay, we're gonna change Daniel's name. It's very fascinating. They took Daniel, whose name meant God is my judge. They took his name and they said, okay, your name is no longer gonna be Daniel. Instead, your name is gonna be Belt Shazar, which means bell protects. Now, again, we can read past these things as modern readers and not fully understand what was going on. When Babylon chose to change Daniel's name, it was messing with, it was seeking to change his identity. His name, meaning God is my judge, Daniel meaning God is my judge, really was a statement of identity. Many of us are triggered by the word judge, and when we hear judge, we have a negative connotation. But this word in this context wasn't a negative connotation.

It was simply an expression that this was a person in whom God was their source, God was their life. Everything about their life was in God's hand. Now, notice this, this is so important. Regardless of whether it was good or it was bad, Daniel's identity was, I trust God. And you may say, Pastor Randy, why are you pointing this out to us? It's because many of us come from a theology of triumphalism, and our trust in God, our relationship with God is based on whether or not we win. And in this particular part of the world, in this particular time in history, the world, the theology that Daniel would have had, his trust, his confidence, his relationship with God wasn't based on whether or not he was winning. It was based on God's identity. In other words, Daniel says my identity is secure because God's identity is secure. What happens in this life, my set of circumstances, whether I'm financially doing well or not, whether my life is working out well or not, whether I'm in slavery to Babylon or not, it doesn't change who God is. And because God doesn't change who he is, I don't change who I am. Daniel was able to thrive in Babylon because his identity was secure in a God who did not change. But Babylon said, no, your identity's not in God, your identity is in Baal.

Baal will protect you. See, culture still has a way of trying to rename us. Some of you are like me, perhaps you're a little bit older and you grew up in a time, in an era where your identity was defined by your occupation. How many of you ever met somebody and you say, hi, my name is Bob, hi, my name is Joe. Hey, what do you do for a living? It's usually one of the first questions we ask people, right? Some of us were raised that way, why? Because some of us come under the impression and the idea that our identity is what we do. And many of us have struggled throughout the course of our life because our identity is wrapped up in what we do. Others of us grew up in a different time, in a different era. Some of us, we walk around and the label that we wear, the identity we wear is what broke us, right? Some of you grew up in an era where your identity wasn't wrapped up in what you did for a living, your identity was wrapped up in what hurt you, in what broke you, in what did you wrong in your life. Your identity became your scar, your identity became your wound, your identity became what triggered you. Some of us grew up in an era where we operate under a worldview or a mindset, their identity is based on what we desire.

Well, I desire this, so this must be my identity. Many of the questions and issues that we have around sexuality today are wrapped up in this worldly idea that our identity is our desire, that's not a kingdom identity at all. And yet culture tries to convince us that our identity is what we desire. Some of us grew up in an idea or we live from a worldview that our identity is our failures, that our identity is our past, that our identity is our mistakes. We could go on and on and on, but the reality is this, culture is always trying to get us to define ourselves in some other way than how God defines us. But Daniel did something radical, he made a choice and he made a decision, regardless of my circumstances that I cannot control, regardless of the fact that socially and culturally and politically, I've been brought into an area in which people are compromised. And so as a result of that compromise, my situation has changed. Daniel said that in spite of my circumstance, in spite of what foods you try to feed me, in spite of what education I may get, in spite of wherever I am, Daniel said, I will not. The word says, he resolved that he would not defile himself.

That word resolve means to set, to be fixed or anchored or established. It actually is a play on the idea of Daniel's name that his identity is fixed in his relationship with God. And so, because his identity is fixed in his relationship with God, he would not allow culture, society, peer pressure, circumstances, situations to define him. You see, identity is always the first battleground of cultural influence. If you study cultural revolutions throughout history, what you often find is this idea that there is an attack on identity, our belief about who we are, our belief about what we are. In fact, that's exactly how the enemy works in our life. He whispers in our ear and he tries to cause us to be compromised in the idea of who we are. And when he can get us compromised in the idea of who we are, then we start to walk away from God's purposes and plans for our life. Urban Tribes is a church planting movement, exists for this reason. We believe that God has called us to form communities in Africa's gateway cities in which people will find their identity rooted in Christ and as a result, it will not be changed by the culture around them, but instead they will begin to form and shape culture

in whatever arena God has called them to. North Place, we have the audacity to do this because it is exactly who you are. It is the pattern that you have set for us for 100 years. You've been bold and faithful to do the things that God has called you to do. You were not shaped by Babylon. You were sent into Babylon by God to shape it. We were sent into the dark places. We were sent to forgotten people from forgotten places and we've invaded the darkness with the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ because the gospel changes everything. And Daniel knew who he belonged to. The question is, do you, do I? Daniel refused defilement, not from a place of legalism, not because of fear, but he refused to be defiled because he understood to whom he belonged. I will not eat food from the king's table. I will not drink the king's fine wine. I will not do these things because that does not align with my identity. I know who I am. You see, when you know who you belong to, you stop negotiating with what can destroy you. I wonder how many choices and decisions we make in our lives economically or in our career or relationally or on our jobs. I wonder how many choices and decisions we make because we're trying to negotiate with the enemy.

Hear this, Babylon doesn't negotiate. Babylon only besieges. Babylon will never give you what's in your best interest. Babylon is only there to take. You never win when you negotiate with Babylon. Daniel said this, he said, listen, the guy from the king's court said, we want you to eat this particular food. We want you to drink this particular drink. Daniel says, I will not be defiled. I will not do this. Listen, you can feed us vegetables and you can feed us water and we're gonna be just fine. When the three Hebrew boys were about to be thrown into the fiery furnace, they said, listen, you can throw us in and whether we die or whether we live, we're still not going to bow to you. We will not be compromised. We know who we are. See, here's the thing. When God is your judge, when you know your identity, it doesn't matter if you're winning or you're losing. God's identity doesn't change. Therefore, my identity doesn't change. Therefore, my decision-making doesn't change. See, here's what we learned from Daniel's story. Every time that Daniel and the three Hebrew boys stayed anchored in God's word, God protected them. Babylon promised protection and it never delivered. God promised his presence and he never failed.

Whether it was with the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace or it was with Daniel in the lion's den, God never failed. Babylon could never do what it said it was going to do. It never delivered on its promise of protection from Baal. In fact, all it did was continually put place, put Daniel and the three Hebrew boys in a place in which their lives were at risk and they were being thrown. and yet God was always with them. Daniel thrived in Babylon because his identity was shaped by his integrity. I want you to hear me today. The word integrity means so much more than moral uprightness. Integrity means to live an undefided life. I wonder how often we go into the marketplace or we go into a relationship or whatever sphere of influence that God has called us to and we are not thriving. And it is because we are living a divided life. It's because we try to negotiate with the enemy. It's as though we're trying to play by the enemy's rules. And yet Daniel said, I won't play by the enemy's rules. I won't eat the food that defiles me. I won't bow down. I won't compromise who I am in my relationship with God. And as a result of his integrity, God continued to multiply his influence. My prayer for you as you finish 2025

and as you move into 2026 is that God will multiply your influence, that God's hand will be on your life in the same way that it was on the life of Daniel and the other three Hebrew boys, and that God will cause your influence to rise in the same way when Daniel knew who he was and refused to compromise who he was as you know who you are as children of God, as sons and daughters in this spiritual family, that the anointing and spirit of God, the same spirit of God that was on Daniel and empowered and enabled him to step into influence, God will enable you and I to step into places of influence. You see, we believe that God has called us as the body of Christ to step into places of influence and to shape culture. Daniel was able to thrive in Babylon because he allowed integrity to grow in his life and he also cultivated the gifts that God placed inside of him. You see, identity fuels formation. Daniel didn't develop his gifts to impress Babylon, he developed them because he belonged to God. When you know who you belong to, you start to develop what God has placed within you in the environment where he has positioned you. Let me say that again because it's so important. When you know who you belong to, you start to develop what he's placed within you

in the environment where he has positioned you. But if you hear me today, if you choose the identity of victim, you'll never develop the gifts that God has placed inside of you. If you're a victim, then you've always got an excuse. Daniel and the other three Hebrew boys could have very easily, while they were at the king's table, while they were in the king's court, while they were at the king's training ground, they could have said, nope, we don't belong here, we're slaves here, we're victims here. They could have easily checked out and yet that was exactly where God had positioned them. Is it possible, sir, that that very job you hate is the one God has given you so that he can use you for his glory? Is it possible, ma'am, that very class that you're taking right now that is so frustrating that you wanna quit, that you wanna give up on, is it possible that that line of education is exactly where God has you because he's trying to elevate you in 2026 and position you for his glory? You see, if you and I check out of the opportunities that God has placed us in to be trained and develop, then we will never reach the potential that God has for us. The Bible says in Daniel 1, verses 17 through 20, to these four young men, God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.

And Daniel could understand visions and dreams and all kinds. At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king's service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. Imagine that. 10 times better. Can I tell you what I'm praying for you as I've been leading up for the last several weeks praying about this message and praying about you today. What I've been praying for you for 2026 is that 2026 would be the year of 10 times better. That, sir, you would be 10 times better than any other employee at your job. That, sir, your business, ma'am, your business would be 10 times better than any of your competitors. That you would be 10 times better a student than anywhere else. Listen, here's what we gotta understand. When we know who we are and when our identity is secure in Christ. and our identity is secure in our relationship with God,

we begin to operate at a different level that will cause us to operate at a different level in the culture that God has us in. You see, to the person whose identity and giftedness is rooted in the kingdom of God, they understand in Babylon, excellence is evangelism. I believe we are coming into a season in which we're gonna see a great harvest of people coming to Christ, but it's not gonna happen because we're on bullhorns and we're not preachers on bullhorns yelling at people. It's gonna happen because we walk into boardrooms and we do business that looks different than the way that Babylon does business. It's because we walk into boardrooms and we execute financial matters in a way that reflects the kingdom of God, that reflects justice, that reflects love and character, that reflects who God's kingdom is. It's because we walk into classrooms and we teach with love and compassion and grace and mercy. It's because we execute welfare and we execute health, mental health, and execute physical health of people with a compassion and a love and the great physician's hand, not just our own medical technology, but the capacity to pray and see the presence of God invade dark places. You see, in Babylon, excellence is evangelism.

In Babylon, excellence is credibility. In Babylon, excellence is how God positions his people in hostile spaces. In Babylon, excellence is the platform where God brings his kingdom to bear through the life of his people. See, you and I have all been called to Babylon. Yes, my Babylon may look like Durban, South Africa, and perhaps your Babylon is the office or perhaps your Babylon is your neighborhood. I don't know what your Babylon is, but we've all been called to places that are often hostile, places that are not necessarily of our own choosing, places that are difficult and troubling, places that are hard to understand oftentimes, and places that confront, and if you will, even offend our spiritual sensibilities. But in Babylon, God has called us to bring light and to reflect his kingdom. When you and I live with excellence, it opens doors that character alone cannot open. Sir, when you operate with excellence and you achieve your work with excellence, your coworkers will notice, even if they don't wanna hear your gospel presentation, they will notice when you're excelling 10 times better. Ma'am, when you're educating in a way that your students are executing and your students feel loved and cared for and their parents are coming to talk to your principal

about what's so different in your classroom, that principal who wants nothing to do with the church may have everything to do with whatever's different about you as a teacher. When, sir, you serve your customers with excellence and integrity, it makes all the difference in the world. When we live with excellence, we build trust in rooms where believers normally have no voice. When we operate out of excellence, we create influence where faith isn't welcome, but excellence is respected. I'm praying for you that 2026 would be the year of 10 times more that you're blessed, that your business, that your job, that your marriage, that your role as a husband, a father, a parent would be 10 times more. Because you understand who you are as children of God. And I wanna ask you to pray for us in Durban. I'm gonna share this with you and then I'm just gonna lead us in a time of prayer and turn the service back to Pastor Brian. In 2026, we've been working a long-term plan, really moving the church forward and the project forward and a big part of our expression in the city of Durban is not just a church on Sunday morning, but it's also several businesses that we've started so that we can create intersections and have interactions with people

who would not ordinarily be open to the gospel. So as a result, the building that we bought and we've remodeled, we've built it as an event space. We use it during the week and we rent it out as event space. And then recently this year, we opened a coworking space. We believe that God has called us into the marketplace. Like Daniel and the other three Hebrew children, we believe that the gospel isn't meant just to be in pulpits on Sunday, but it's meant for the boardroom Monday through Friday. It's meant for relationships with people all through the week in whatever sphere of influence. All of this work has led us to a big project, a big push for us in 2026. The coworking space is designed in such a way so that we can. Rent to people come for short-term rental, but our big dream with it was that God would give us the opportunity to launch entrepreneurship incubators if you don't know what that is It's basically a mentoring process where you bring people in for three six or nine months and you help them to launch Businesses and you may say well, what does that have to do with missions work? It has everything to do with missions work in South Africa, there's a 36% unemployment rate That's officially from the government among young adults This is a people ages 20 to 40. There's a 64% unemployment rate So if you're a young adult in South Africa Even with a college education the likelihood of you being able to find a job is very very rare Much less one that that will allow you to actually support your family We believe a part of our call to the city of Durban is That we're there not just to share the gospel with people on Sunday But we're there to see the gospel invade the marketplace and make a difference in the economy and the culture of that city

And so we believe that God is positioning us to equip young entrepreneurs that they'll know how to live out Marketplace principles that reflect the kingdom of God that will be able to invade Government that will be able to invade the marketplace that will be able to invade medicine and technology in all of these areas and bring kingdom principles into these places and as people incubate and start new businesses and Innovation is created that will go into spaces and spaces and make a difference And so I want to ask you as you pray for us as you pray for Durban Will you pray that God will open doors for this entrepreneurship incubator because we believe that there are Daniels in God wants to raise up to make a difference in a change as You pray for us. I want to pray for you That 2026 would be a year of ten times more that you would be Daniels in the classroom in the marketplace Wherever God has positioned you To see all that God has for you Lord. I thank you so much for your grace and goodness I thank you for your love for us and I thank you for the work that you're doing Lord I bless North Place Church in Sachse, Texas By blessed North Place Church in Wiley and Garland. I bless North Place Church in all the places She is God that this would be a year in which your people in which your people begin to practice the new apologetic of excellence of kingdom presence of invasion of kingdom reality into hard places Lord I ask it in Jesus name Amen Would you stand to your feet with me a man honor Randy for that word today All across our campus family standing to our feet I will say this before I speak blessing over you today Every time somebody leaves Texas and goes to Durban they always come back home when they go visit there for the first time It's amazing how something in Africa feels so much like home it's the power of culture, but that wouldn't happen if Randy and Desmond were not committed to be culture carriers and Reproducing that culture there what he's told you today is Very well written by the Apostle Paul in the book of Colossians that what I do in my workplace I'm doing unto the Lord and may we hear this call

To not be shaped by culture But to go shape the culture and may next year be a year of ten times more influence And we take ten times more territory and God does ten times more through us than he's ever done before Father, I pray you'll bless them and keep them that you'll make your face shine down on them That you'll be gracious to them That you'll turn your countenance their direction You'll give them peace and Lord may the end of this year in 2026 Truly help us walk in that promise of ten times more in Jesus name. Amen God bless you. Thank you pastor Randy Hey friends I just wanted to spend a second with you at the end of this message today and just encourage you if in Some way you've made a spiritual decision. Maybe you've given your life to Christ today You've recently given your life to Christ you want to talk to somebody about giving your life to Christ Our team would love to help you We're on the Pando app and have several ministries into various prisons because God has called us to you We have a heart for forgotten people and forgotten places And that means we serve widows and we serve orphans and we serve special needs kids And God has given us a heart for men and women in the prison system because I believe Jesus died for you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life, and we want to help you know that and discover that. There is an address on the screen that you can communicate with us. We have a team of people that would love to hear from you, especially if you've made a decision to follow Jesus so that we can resource you and point you to tools that can help you grow. Just know that we're praying over you, and we're genuinely honored that you've taken time to watch our channel and these messages

from North Place Church.