Indomitable: Unshakeable in Identity, Unstoppable in Purpose

Indomitable: Impossible to discourage or defeat.

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Here's where we are going in these six weeks: not just to live undefeated for the sake of living undefeated, not just to survive, but to live with purpose and make a kingdom difference in this world.

We are reading the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. Daniel and his Hebrew friends are deported and immersed in Babylonian culture. The question is, will they conform or stay faithful? Will they shape Babylon, or will Babylon shape them?

Sounds familiar, right?

Following Jesus creates cultural tension.

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2 (MSG)

Here's how I know that the Holy Spirit is leading me: something just doesn't sit right in my heart.  In my ordinary life—sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life.

These moments are about God developing me, forming me, bringing out the best, shaping my identity, about who I am becoming.

I  believe with everything in me that every person is created by God on purpose, for a purpose

Many people think that God can't use them, but God has this way of taking the most unlikely people and using them in extraordinary ways.

Some think that following Jesus is just about saying a prayer, getting your ticket to heaven, and holding on until the rapture. But that's not what Jesus had in mind at all.  He said

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves."  Matthew 10:16 (NIV)

Think about that - sent, into a dangerous, hostile environment! He told his disciples that they would be light and salt in the world.

Daniel & friends weren't removed from the Babylonian culture. Rather, they were sent into it, and increased influence as they honoured God, rather than conforming to culture.

As much as God loves you and wants to use you to live with purpose and make a difference, the enemy hates you and would like nothing more than to discourage and defeat you.

• Discouragement and defeat steal a sense of purpose

• Victory and encouragement solidify purpose

Last week we spoke about the power of pre-decision, this week, here is the truth I want you to carry

"When we're unshakable in our identity, we become unstoppable in our purpose."

Daniel and his Hebrew friends are removed from their culture and immersed in the Babylonian culture. They were put in a training program for three years to serve the foreign king. And their names were changed...

Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. Daniel 1:6-7 (NIV)

Hebrew Name	Hebrew Meaning	Babylonian Name	Babylonian Meaning
Daniel	God is my Judge	Belteshazzar	Bel (chief god) protect his life
Hananiah	Yahweh is gracious	Shadrach	Command of Aku (moon god)
Mishael	Who is like God?	Meshach	Who is like Aku?
Azariah	Yahweh has helped	Abednego	Servant of Nebo (god of wisdom)

Even though they were renamed from the outside, they never took that on the inside.

 And God used them in tough circumstances to make a kingdom difference

The enemy will do everything he can to rename you, dragging you down, discouraging you, and keeping you feeling defeated.

• Some of us wear the label of our past that says: You’re disqualified.

• Others are shaped by pain and trauma that says: You’ll always be broken.

• Many of us live in the comparison trap, which says: You’re not enough.

• Still others try to self-create an identity that says: Be whoever you want — but it never lasts.

But God says something better.

"You are My child."

"You are chosen. You are sent. You are Mine."

He invites you to live in your true identity, a Child of God.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,  Galatians 3:26 (NIV)

You are accepted, approved of, and loved.

When you are certain of true identity, everything flows from that.

 You might go through hard times, and the enemy may attack your circumstances, but he cannot steal your indomitable identity as a child of God.

When we know who we are in Christ, we walk with an indomitable identity — unshaken by criticism or failure.”

I want you to cultivate an indomitable identity, built on acceptance in Christ, not one of approval from people

Relationships shape and reinforce your identity.

The right people around me help me live out my true identity

That's why I think that being in some kind of dynamic, like a Life Group, is so powerful!

Here is a declaration for you:

• “I am not what I’ve done. I am who God says I am.”

• “I am chosen, I am sent, I am His.”

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Life Group Reflection Questions

1. What stood out to you most from this week’s message?

2. Have you ever felt like you had to “fit in” with the culture to be accepted? What was that like?

3. Read Romans 12:1–2 - What does this passage say about how we relate to the culture around us?

4. What would it look like for you to “not conform” but still live within your everyday world?

5. Read Daniel 1:6–7. Why do you think the Babylonians renamed Daniel and his friends

6. In what ways does our culture try to "rename" us today?

7. Which of these false identity labels have you struggled with (or seen others struggle with)?

   1. Appearance-based: Your body defines your value

   2. Achievement-based: You must earn your place

   3. Culturally imposed: Defined by gender, race, background

   4. Comparison: You're less than others, not as successful, not as together

   5. Performance-based: If you fail, you're a failure

   6. Past-based: You are what you have done

   7. Self-created: Just be whoever you want to be

   8. Trauma-based: You'll always be broken

8. When do you feel most confident in your identity in Christ? When do you feel most unsure?

9. What truth about your identity in Christ do you need to hold onto right now?

   (e.g. I am a child of God, I am chosen and sent, I am forgiven, I am not what I’ve done)

10. How can you support others in your group to remember and live out their God-given identity?