Is There Hope Beyond the Grave?

At Fellowship Reformed Church in Mt Pleasant, MI, we welcomed Ben Preiser as a guest preacher. Preiser is a Pastoral Fellow at University Reformed Church in East Lansing. And he preached from Genesis 23, regarding Abraham, the death of his wife Sarah, and the purchasing of land in Canaan as a burial plot. And this narrative, of Abraham finding a grave, provides us with great encouragement in life.

Preiser asserted that believers in the God of Abraham have great hope for the future. And then he walked us through three features of this hope. Like Abraham, those who are trusting in God have hope in God’s promise. Abraham’s believed God’s promise that the land of Canaan was intended for him and his posterity. And so Abraham earnestly made it his intent to acquire land in Canaan for the burial of his wife. He purchased a grave there from the Hittites.

Preiser also asserted that believers are provided with hope in sorrow. The hope Abraham had, in the fulfilling of God’s promises, didn’t die with his wife. Instead, after Abraham mourned, he got up and chose to throw himself into action, in accordance with what God had promised. Abraham’s faith and hope in God were ultimately greater than his grief, and they overpowered and outlasted his sorrow.

Preiser then explained how believers have hope for the greatest inheritance. Like Abraham, the inheritance we look forward to isn’t just a narrow geographical strip of land in Canaan, but a city built by God, as referenced in Hebrews 11. In that city, we will be with God. And as we wait for that promise, God has already given us a “deed” to that inheritance. He has given us a guarantee of the coming inheritance we have, to live in his place, amidst his presence. And that guarantee is the down-payment of his Holy Spirit.

Christians can thus face unknown difficulties and dangers with hope. What God has promised, he will be sure to deliver. To hear more, I’d encourage you to listen to the full recording of the sermon that Preiser gave at Fellowship Reformed Church in Mount Pleasant.