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Unstoppable: the Church On Mission - Week 18

by The Crossings Community Church
on Jan 06, 2026

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Unstoppable: the Church On Mission - Week 18

Devotional

Day 1: Integrity that shines when lies surround you

There are moments when faithful people face smear campaigns, rumors, and half-truths. Stephen stood in that storm with a calm face that reflected heaven, not panic. Integrity matters because when it collapses, communities fracture; when it holds, people glimpse the Kingdom. You do not have to scramble to defend every accusation; you can rest in the One who brings hidden things to light. Let your peace and honesty be the open book that points beyond you to Jesus. [06:13]

Matthew 10:26–27 — Set aside fear of your accusers; what is concealed now will be uncovered. What I share with you in quiet places, declare in the brightness of day; what reaches your ear in a whisper, let your voice carry.

Reflection: If a misunderstanding about you surfaces this week, what practical step—inviting a clarifying conversation, choosing silence, or seeking wise counsel—will help you keep a clear conscience before God?

Day 2: Conscripted and commissioned: living under a holy assignment

Like Abraham, believers are led by divine purpose that is often not fully explained. In Christ, you are enlisted into the Lord’s army and sent out with orders to love, teach, and baptize. This calling is not about rank or title; it’s about obedience shaped by grace. Free will remains, but joy grows where obedience replaces hesitation. Ask for courage to step onto the field today, trusting that the One who sends also goes with you. [12:41]

Matthew 28:19–20 — Go and make learners of Jesus from every people group, immersing them into the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Teach them to practice everything I’ve commanded, and remember: I am right there with you, every day, until the story is complete.

Reflection: Who is one person in your weekly orbit you could intentionally begin discipling, and what first step—an invitation to coffee, reading Scripture together, or praying for a need—will you take in the next three days?

Day 3: Resting in divine protection when anxiety wakes you

Joseph’s pit, slavery, and prison did not feel protected, yet God was weaving rescue through every valley. Followers of Jesus still face nights when worry sits heavy at 3:00 a.m. Protection often looks like presence, strength, and guidance rather than the absence of hardship. Looking back, we can trace the faithful hand that upheld us when we felt lost. Practice remembering, and let that remembrance quiet today’s fear. [29:46]

Romans 8:28 — We are confident of this: for those who love God, He is coordinating every thread—pleasant and painful—into a good that matches His purpose.

Reflection: What specific fear most often wakes you at night, and how could you respond this week with a concrete practice of remembrance (for example, writing a brief timeline of God’s past faithfulness before bed)?

Day 4: Courageous witness over credentials and comfort

Stephen’s bold speech flowed not from status but from a Spirit-shaped courage. The world’s pushback is real, yet the gospel advances through ordinary people who speak with wisdom and gentleness. Your calm, radiant steadiness may preach louder than any argument. Ask the Spirit to fill your words and your face with the light of Christ where pressure is highest. Let courage, not convenience, set the tone of your witness today. [06:59]

Acts 6:15 — Everyone in the council fixed their eyes on Stephen and saw a face bright with otherworldly calm, like that of an angel.

Reflection: Where do you anticipate pressure or scrutiny this week, and what single, simple sentence of witness could you prepare in advance to say with peace when that moment comes?

Day 5: Guarding your heart from Egypt and embracing Jesus

Israel was rescued through wonders, yet soon craved the old life and shaped a golden calf with their own hands. Hearts still drift toward familiar idols—comfort, control, applause—even after grace has delivered us. The Most High does not live in our boxes; He invites us to Himself in Jesus, the true dwelling place of God. When expectations of what God “should be” crumble, worship becomes real and idols lose their pull. Ask God to reveal any small altars in your life and to re-center your trust in Christ alone. [37:43]

Acts 7:39–41, 48–49 — Our ancestors refused to obey and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, telling Aaron to make gods for them; they molded a calf, offered sacrifices, and celebrated what their own hands produced. Yet the Most High does not live in structures humans construct; heaven is His throne and earth His footstool—what house could we possibly build for Him?

Reflection: Which specific habit or comfort has been tugging your heart back toward “Egypt,” and what boundary or new practice will you adopt this week to turn your affection toward Jesus?

Sermon Summary

Stephen’s trial becomes a sweeping retelling of God’s faithfulness and Israel’s repeated resistance, pressing listeners to face the present moment with courage, integrity, and allegiance to Jesus. The scene opens with hostility: sharp, educated leaders mount a smear campaign because they cannot overcome the wisdom and Spirit by which he speaks. Yet there is no panic—only the calm brightness of a face that knows where true treasure is kept. The call is clear: do not merely believe privately; proclaim and live publicly with courage when pressure mounts.

Tracing Israel’s story from Abraham, the argument unfolds in three movements. First, the Christian life is led by a divine purpose. As God called Abraham out with no map but God’s promise, so believers are conscripted into the Lord’s army and commissioned in the Great Commission. This is not optional spirituality; it is a summons to obedient witness. While no one can be forced to obey, refusal is not neutral—it forfeits joy and fruit that only come through obedience.

Second, the Christian life is marked by divine protection. Joseph’s descent into a pit, slavery, and prison did not feel like protection, yet God’s hand was shaping a deliverer. Israel’s agony in Egypt and Moses’ exile reveal the same pattern: protection does not mean immunity from suffering; it means a sovereign God weaves trials into good. This requires a practiced discipline of resting in God’s care, especially when anxiety assaults at 3 a.m. Scripture, prayer, and remembrance train the heart to sit under Isaiah’s promise and Romans 8’s assurance rather than spiral in fear.

Third, the Christian life is folly without the divine Messiah. Israel often rejected God’s deliverers—Moses included—and turned back to Egypt in their hearts. The golden calf, and later the fixation on the temple, expose a desire to control God rather than surrender to Him. Stephen exposes the pattern: the Righteous One has come—Jesus, the prophet like Moses who fulfills the law—and is rejected by those guarding their power and preferences. God does not live in houses made by hands; His presence is found in Christ, the true temple. The summons is to repent of remaking God in our image, resist the slow drift back to old loves, and yield to Jesus in faith and obedience.

Key Takeaways

1. Christian life led by divine purpose Obedience flows from being both conscripted and commissioned. Like Abraham, believers walk by promise more than by detailed plans, trusting the Caller more than the map. Evangelism is not a specialty; it is the family duty and joy of all who belong to Christ. The choice is not whether one has a calling, but whether one will answer it. [12:41]
2. Protected through trials, not from them God’s guarding often travels undercover through pits, deserts, and long waits. Joseph’s story teaches that providence can feel like abandonment while it is secretly arranging deliverance. The discipline is to rest—recalling Scripture and past mercies—when emotions argue otherwise. Protection is presence and purpose, not the absence of pain. [23:16]
3. Resist the pull back to Egypt Hearts drift home to old habits by inches, not miles. Small compromises, unguarded inputs, and nostalgia for past comforts can reattach the soul to former chains. Vigilance means naming triggers, practicing quick repentance, and reordering desires toward Christ. Freedom is maintained by worship, not willpower alone. [37:43]
4. Jesus, the true and greater Moses The pattern of rejecting God’s deliverers culminates in rejecting the Righteous One. Moses foretold a prophet like himself; Jesus fulfills and surpasses him by bringing grace and truth. The temple points to Him—God with us—not to a building or ritual. Wisdom is to surrender to the Messiah we are given, not demand the one we imagined. [37:14]
5. Witness with integrity and courageous calm When misrepresented, fear multiplies; when rooted in heaven, faces shine. Integrity refuses secret dealing and coercion; it tells the truth and trusts God with outcomes. Calm courage under pressure preaches louder than self-defense, revealing where the heart’s treasure rests. Such witness makes Christ credible in a cynical age. [06:13]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:41] - Scripture-heavy resolve
[162:00] - Opposition and smear campaign
[348:00] - Integrity matters in ministry
[373:00] - Stephen’s calm courage
[464:00] - Why retell Israel’s story
[570:00] - Abraham and divine purpose
[761:00] - Conscripted and commissioned
[1093:00] - Enslavement, Moses, and rescue
[1366:00] - Divine protection unpacked
[1786:00] - Night anxiety, remembered peace
[1969:00] - Idolatry and stiff-necked hearts
[2263:00] - Don’t turn back to Egypt
[2406:00] - Jesus, not the temple, is home

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

- Acts 7:1-53

Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.

God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and they will be enslaved and mistreated. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

“Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers there on their first visit. On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.

“As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.

“At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’ But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.

“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’ This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.

“This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

“But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf; they brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

“‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? You have taken up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon.

“Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses according to the pattern he had seen. After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?’

“You stiff-necked people, your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

Observation questions

In Acts 7:2-5, what did God ask Abraham to do, and what did Abraham not receive yet in his lifetime?
In Acts 7:9-16 and 17-22, how does Stephen trace God’s hand at work through Joseph’s and Moses’ early stories?
“His face was like the face of an angel.” What is said about Stephen’s posture before his accusers, and how does the scene around him contrast with his demeanor? [06:13]
According to Acts 7:48-50, what claim does Stephen make about the temple and where God dwells?

Interpretation questions

Abraham steps out with promise but without a detailed map (Acts 7:2-8). What does this reveal about how divine purpose leads a believer’s life?
Joseph is “rescued…out of all his afflictions” (Acts 7:9-10), yet the rescue comes through hard places first. What does this teach about the nature of God’s protection?
“In their hearts they turned to Egypt” (Acts 7:39). What might it look like today for a person to turn back “in the heart” even while still attending worship? [37:43]
“The Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands” (Acts 7:48-50). How does meeting God in Christ as the true temple change the way someone thinks about buildings, rituals, and routines? [34:37]

Application questions

“We are conscripted…and we are commissioned.” Where is one place or one person God is putting on your heart to witness to this week, and what first step will you take in the next 48 hours to obey? [12:41]
“The Christian life is marked by divine protection.” When pain or pushback shows up, what would it look like for you to define protection as God’s presence and purpose rather than the absence of trouble? Name one hard situation where you will practice this definition. [22:46]
When “3 a.m. anxiety” hits, what is your plan to rest in God’s care? Identify one Scripture (for example, Romans 8:28 or Isaiah 41:10), one short prayer, and one past mercy you will rehearse the next time fear wakes you up. [29:46]
“They turned back to Egypt in their hearts.” What two triggers (inputs, habits, people, places, songs, shows) tend to pull you back toward old chains? What boundary or swap will you make this week to replace that pull with worship and quick repentance? [32:49]
“The Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands.” Where might you be trying to control God—through routines, buildings, or outcomes? What is one practical act of surrender (confession, generosity, reconciliation, unclenching a preference) you will take this week to meet God in Christ instead of in control? [34:37]
“His face shone…calm courage under pressure.” Where do you face misunderstanding or misrepresentation right now? What is one integrity step you will take (truth-telling, open books, no secret dealings), and how will you practice a calm, non-defensive response? [06:13]

Sermon Clips

we have to live with integrity, and these men who were coming after Stephen were not living with integrity. They're supposed to be the religious leaders, but they're lying on him. And not only are they lying on him, they're coercing other people to lie on him. So what's amazing though out of all of this is Stephen's response. With his life at stake threatened by powerful men, he didn't back down. He didn't get defensive. He didn't even try to save himself. Instead, scripture says his face shines like that of an angel. There wasn't any panic. There was only calm assurance of somebody who knew that their treasure was not here but stored up in heaven. [00:05:55]

Alright. Anyway, now listen. When I say that the Jewish people had protection over them in the Old Testament or when I say that Christians now have a divine protection over us, I am not saying that neither them nor us have ever faced trials and tribulations. On the contrary, what we just read was that the Israelites faced massive trials and tribulations. And I don't know about you, but when I got saved, my trials and problems did not magically disappear. As a matter of fact, certain parts of my life got exponentially harder. [00:22:46]

But as soon as Stephen's evangelism begins to bear fruit, pushback followed. A group from the so called synagogue of the freedmen, these were sharp educated men from across North Africa and Asia Minor. They came to not argue politely, but they began a a vicious campaign against Steven. They couldn't refute the wisdom and the spirit by which he was speaking, So they start, what amounts to a smear campaign. They secretly convince others to bring false charges, accusing Stephen of blasphemy against Moses and against God. And the accusation said more about them than it did about Stephen. [00:02:31]

So picture this, Steven is standing in the place of his greatest threat with his very life on the line. The crowd isn't interested in a gracious debate. They simply want him dead and gone. But before they can lay a finger on him, he lays into or he launches into the longest recorded speech in all of acts, a sweeping story of God's faithfulness to Israel throughout the generations. [00:07:41]

And and we're about to read that. Before we do, we have to answer why. Why is Stephen gonna go through this entire history of the nation of Israel? Well, for one, Stephen knows that nothing done in the darkness stays there. Integrity is the bedrock of faith. He wants these leaders to see their own story for what it truly is. Over and over, God raised up leaders and prophets and judges, and they were rejected by the very people that God was trying to save. [00:08:10]

Stephen isn't just teaching history, what he's doing here as he's giving this sermon is he's holding up a mirror to the religious figures and and to the the Israel at large, and he's saying every generation has had its chance to listen or to turn away, to respond to God's truth, or to protect their own comfort and reputation instead. [00:08:42]

So as Stephen continues his sermon here, he's recounting for these very religious Jewish men their very own history and the history of their religion. And not because he thought they were dumb and didn't know it, but was exactly because he knew they were familiar with their very own history and that he was going to use it to point them directly to Christ whom they were persecuting. [00:21:06]

We love to say, God is good all the time. There we go. I knew if nobody else was gonna get it, Samaya was. But we love to say God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. While life is really going well, but when when we're having a hard time and when life isn't going well and and and and and things are going wrong, we seem to forget about that. And we we have got to work on discipling ourselves to remember and truly believe that mantra when life gets rough. [00:32:05]

But so Stephen was going out and he was he was sharing the gospel with anybody and everybody that would listen. He wasn't an apostle. He wasn't an elder even. He started out as a servant. One of the original seven deacons chosen to lead not lead to to serve tables, so that the elders can focus on prayer and preaching. But also as we discussed a couple weeks ago, just because he held the office of deacon didn't make him exempt from going out and proclaiming the good news of Christ and his kingdom here and now. [00:01:51]

So just as Moses was sent by God but refused by is Israel, Jesus came as the ultimate redeemer, but was likewise rejected by the religious leaders of his day. The the parable the the parallel, I'm sorry, is unmistakable. God delivered God's deliverers are so often turned away by the very people they are sent to save. Then in verse 37, Stephen points directly to Moses' own prophecy. [00:36:26]

And listen, that's easier said than done. Can I tell you guys that last night, last night at 03:00 in the morning, I sat straight up in bed and I was racked with anxiety? At 03:00 in the morning, I was I was not sure whether I've done anything right in my entire life. I was second guessing everything. Am I planting a church that is destined to fail? Did I leave Colorado and all my family and abandon them to go take a pastor in Tennessee? Was I wrong in doing that? Was I my mom is is in Colorado, and she's not doing well, she's got dementia, I'm not there with her. [00:29:48]

So the Israelites are in in Egypt and and they have populated so much that that that the Egyptians got worried, and they enslaved them. And then said, the way to do population control, the way to do birth control is we're just gonna start killing their infant sons. Every time they have an infant son, we're gonna kill the infant son. And so Moses was born in secret, and for three months, his mama and his sisters raised him, and then they sent him down the river where he ended up in the pharaoh's household. [00:18:48]

And by the time we get to the end of the story, looking back with with twenty twenty hindsight, it's clear to see how God's hand was moving in Joseph's life that entire time. He he went from that boy that his family was angry at, and they didn't like the dreams he was telling him about, and they thought he was full of himself, and he got a fancy new coat when nobody else did. All the hardships he went through, and then he ends up in Egypt being the second man in charge and having favor over anybody else in the land of Egypt. [00:24:08]

We are going to be scripture heavy this morning. This look this week, we're going to look at Stephen the Martyr's trial as Maggie told the children. But before we move into that, let's let's take a look back as we always do to what had just happened so we have some context and we know what's going on. Steven, as we read, a couple weeks ago, was full of power and full of grace, a man whom God used to do, signs and wonders among the people. And when we read in scripture that signs and wonders were being done, that means that miracles were happening. [00:00:50]

So we are conscripted, do not have a choice. You get saved, you don't have a choice. You are now a member of the Lord's army and you must act accordingly. And we are commissioned. Again, you don't have a choice. We are told that it is now our job to go out and tell other people. Just as we were told, we are to go out and share that with other people. And just as Abraham was led by divine purpose, so are we. We just have to respond to our divine purpose. [00:12:39]

These were supposed to be men of integrity, religious men, the people who were the the the priests or the pastors, if you will, the the elders of the Jewish synagogues, and and basically, in essence, they they were living without any sort of integrity. So and we know when integrity collapses, communities fracture, and that was true in Jerusalem as much as it is for us today. That's why here at The Crossings, we strive to to to live out integrity. [00:03:19]

And do you know that there are a lot of churches who have an open book policy as far as their finances are concerned, except when it comes to the pastor's salary? And then that's redacted like the Epstein files. You know what I mean? So we are we are open and when we'll absolutely show you what I make. You can see all of that. We're not hiding any of that, from anybody, but, and we do that for a reason. We do that because integrity matters. [00:05:19]

They can call up the draft right now and throw us into the the army. They could throw me into the army, and they could throw me in the middle of a battlefield. But if I fall down in the middle of the battlefield and and start sucking my thumb and crying and I refuse to get up and go anywhere, there's not much they could do about that. Now I run the risk of getting shot and and and possibly by friendly fire. I'm not sure. But I I don't think they will take that too well, but there's not much they could do about that. But at the end of the day, Stephen, knew he was conscripted. [00:13:39]

So that's our challenge too, not to just believe but to proclaim, not to just hope quietly but to live out our faith publicly even when the pressure's on. You gotta remember, it's not our credentials or our comfort that will tell the old, old story of this generation. It is our courage in the face of the world's pushback, and that's exactly what is about to happen here. So last year, we we not last year. Two weeks ago, when I preached, I gave you guys some modern day examples of people who were pushing back against the world when they had everything to lose. And, we're gonna read this morning about how Stephen did that and paid the ultimate price. [00:06:50]

And what's funny is I I didn't want to wake up, Maggie, so I got up and I I snuck off into my home office and I fired up the computer and I said, well, if I'm gonna be awake, let me just review my notes for the sermon tomorrow. And so I start reading and I start reading and I get here and all of a sudden this peace washes over me. And I'm like, yes, I have a divine protection. I don't know why stuff is happening. I don't know why I am where I am or what's going on, but I do know that when I look back from where I came from, I can see God's hand in every step of the way. [00:30:49]

So instead of coming to Christ and being willing to lay all of themselves at his feet and to die to themselves so that they can be born again and made new in his image, they want the god of the universe universe to conform to their wicked and worldly idea of what they think he should be. They had an idea of what the messiah was gonna be. They had an idea that this messiah was gonna come in as a warrior, and he was gonna come in kick him butt. He was gonna take Israel, and he was gonna make Israel the the number one nation, and everybody else was gonna be in subjection to Israel. Right? They had a wicked and worldly idea of what he should be, and thus they they discounted him when he showed up and proved himself to truly be the Messiah. [00:40:14]

For those of you who maybe are not familiar with scripture and what's going on here, so Abraham had kids and they had kids and then there were the 12 the 12 patriarchs or or the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. But at this point in the story, they are just 12 brothers, and they got a brother, named Joseph. And Joseph, for whatever reason, they didn't really like him, and, they were gonna kill him and then decided against that, but instead threw him in a well and then sold him off into slavery, and he ended up in Egypt. And through God working in in his life in Egypt through many hardships, he raised ranks until he basically was pharaoh's second hand in command. And then, the Israel had a famine, and they heard there was was food, grain in Egypt that was stored up. And so they sent these 12 brothers to, to Egypt to go inquire about getting some of this grain. And and they run into Joseph, but it's been so long. They don't realize that that's their brother. [00:15:48]

When Joseph was thrown into that well and eventually sold into slavery, I'm sure in that moment, he didn't feel like he was being divinely protected. But we know that he was. Right? Like, we know the story. They wanted to kill him. And one brother thought better and thought, man, that's going a little bit too far. And and through god's divine protection, then instead said to his brothers, like, oh, we can just dip his his fancy, coat of many colors like Dolly Parton in blood lion's blood and send it back to our father, and he'll believe he's dead. Right? There was divine protection there. But I'm sure in that moment, he certainly did not feel as if he was being divinely protected. [00:23:21]

Scrap in and be prepared for that. There's gonna be a lot of scripture reading. And as I was writing this, I actually started getting a a little nervous about how much scripture there was that we were going to go into. And it was funny after several hours of like really worrying about it and going over the sermon over and over again and and and trying to figure out ways to to to shorten things, I I started to think to myself, well, how silly is it that I'm your pastor and I'm I'm worried about giving you guys too much bible. That's that's ridiculous. So I went back and every piece of scripture I took out, I put back in. So be prepared. [00:00:08]