Audio Messages:
Pastor Wade Burleson

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How a Believer Handles Death
A Different Kind of Grief

Genesis79.mp3 (13.7 MB)

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Genesis 23:1-4 (KJV)

1. And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
2. And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
3. And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
4. I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

This morning we begin a three part study on the subject of death. It is not something that is the usual topic of conversation for most people, but the old common saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes" should cause every person to contemplate the subject of death. The Bible is filled with good news for those who have trusted in Christ. "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope" (I Thessalonians 4:13). There is something we look forward to there -- in heaven!

1. Christians are strangers who arrive at their real home when they get there.
   There is nothing like coming home. Familiarity is what makes home so special to us.
   1. Death is a reunion with all those we know and love in Christ . . .
      When David's infant son died as a result of David's sin with Bathsheba, and after his time of greif, David declared, "But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me" (II Samuel 12:23).
   2. Death is a revealing of all we love about Christ in full glory . . .
      The Bible declares that when we arrive in Heaven, we will "be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (I John 3:2). It is really difficult to envision a person in Heaven who has a hard time loving, accepting and rejoicing in Jesus Christ here.
2. Christians are sojourners who arrive at their final destination there.
   I realize that the word "predestination" is one that causes some discomfort, but in my mind it is an absolutely beautiful word. It teaches that you did not come to Christ by accident, nor do you arrive at your final destination for any reason but God's kindness toward you. The greatest description of heaven is found from the pen of Paul where he writes that God saved us in order "that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).
3. Christians are sufferers here who arrive at the place of their comfort there.
   You may be a pauper here, but you will be a prince there. You may have no status here, but you are a child of the King. See the difference? Real riches are His. Hebron is most noted as a city located south of Jerusalem. The nation of Hebron was formerly Kirjath Arba ("Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim" Joshua 14:15). The Anakim were gigantic warriors of renown -- and Arba was the greatest of them all. Yet Hebron was where Abraham frequently stayed during his travels and it was here that he buried his beloved wife, Sarah (Genesis 13:18; 23:2, 17-20). Hebron was also where David was originally crowned king and where he reigned for his first seven and a half years (II Samuel 5:5). The things of this world fade in light of eternity.
4. Believers are stewards here who arrive at their reward when they get there.
   We are "stewards of the mysteries of God" and "ministers of Christ" (I Corinthians 4:1). We have been given the grace of God. We are a trophy of grace. Therefore, we are called to let the light of Christ shine through us in love and grace toward others.

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