Gold From A Barren Mine

GOLD FROM A BARREN MINE

INRODUCTION--- Have you ever been told that you wouldn’t achieve something because of where you came from or where you are now? I should hope not, but unfortunately, a lot of people have.

· We are told that we are a product of our environment.

· We are told that our background shapes our lives to such a degree that how we were raised will determine how we will live.

· We bring with us certain traits, habits and characteristics from the homes in which we were raised.

I once heard a story of an older man that lived during the gold rush of a couple centuries ago. He had a large family. This man couldn’t find regular work because of his age, and he was a recent immigrant so communicating was always a problem, but people always saw that his family would always be provided for. This man would follow behind the armies of miners the scalped the mountains for gold and he would patiently sift through the debris and left over mounds of earth that might have been ignored…This old man would always find something extremely valuable where others have overlooked it….This reminds me of God.

· The “world” has a way of forming a pattern of what is deemed acceptable or valuable.

· Through circumstances in life humans create a chaotic and disastrous wake in their path.

· This wake leaves some in horrible situations…

· God can make people, who everyone else wrote off, into treasured additions to his kingdom.

· You see, we who have been overlooked, are also pieces of gold waiting to be added to God’s kingdom.

We will see today, that God often chooses people who no one else would have given a chance…and we will see that, Salvation has come from places that the world would have never looked, but God chooses to use….Today we look at a man that should have never lived, because firstly, he was born of a barren womb, and then lived a life that even the most optimistic person couldn’t have prepared him for…No matter our position, hopefully he can show us how we can be GOLD MINED FROM A BARREN WOMB…

I. THE GOLD THAT HAS BEEN SET ASIDE (Genesis 37:18-27)

A. He was the favorite son of Jacob. Jacob loved him more than all his brothers. Jacob made a coat of many colors for him.

B. His brothers hated him for this reason and could not even talk with him well.

C. His life was changed in a moment, from being the beloved son to the slave in an unknown land, Egypt.

D. For being a faithful and beloved son, he was hated and betrayed!

II. THE GOLD THAT HAS BEEN SET UP (Genesis 39:7-16)

A. God was with him and made him prosper and successful.

B. Potiphar, his master had entrusted him with charge of all of his house affairs.

C. Due to false accusation of Potiphar’s wife, he was cast into prison. (Gen 39:20)

D. Once again, he paid the price for being faithful and righteous servant!

III. THE GOLD THAT HAS BEEN SET APART (Genesis 39:22-23; 41:41)

A. Once again, God was with him in all his trials.

B. The Lord again blessed him in all his work. The Jailer gave him charge of all the other prisoners. (Gn. 39:22-23)

C. The Pharaoh made Joseph the Head of state to implement his plans for upcoming famine. (Gn. 41:41)

D. He was 30 years old. So, after 13 years of suffering and struggle, God made him the most influential person in all known world at that time.

CONCLUSION--- Joseph shows us that because of his faith, his diligence, and his strength of character that no matter his situation….GOD WAS WITH HIM….God had sifted through the terrible situations in Joseph’s life, had found a man EVERYONE had looked over and because of Joseph’s worth to God…it was impossible for ANYONE not to notice now…Today if we learn something from Joseph, we need to see that regardless of where we started, where we are or anyone else’s opinion of us….as long as we are faithful to God we too can be GOLD FROM A BARREN MINE.