He Goes Before You

Footprints

I want to turn your attention to the screen for a second, take a look at this little graphic. These are footprints, and I want you to fix this image in your mind because I think it’s going to help us to take some of this message to heart. But I’m not going to stop there guys - I know, I know, I’m a harsh taskmaster - I have one other thing I want you to hold on to as we go through this message. It’s this phrase, “He goes before you, seek Him where He may be found.” And I really tried to make that sound a little more conversational and not use the word “seek,” but it just didn’t have the same impact so this is what we’re going with.

Now there are some things about the footprints that I want to draw your attention to. What do footprints tell us? And I mean average people like me, if you’re some sort of tracker or hunter, I admittedly don’t know everything that footprints might could tell you. When I see footprints, I can see that someone has been there before me, I can maybe play a silly game trying to walk in those same footsteps, and I can follow whoever made the footprints. And as we hear the Easter story, maybe for the first time, maybe for not the first time, this image and this phrase can hopefully give us something to carry with us.

He Goes Before You

So there’s this guy, probably an angel, sitting in the tomb when Mary, Mary, and Salome walk up. And, among other things, he tells them to “tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee.” And if you’re paying attention, that’s where part of our phrase comes from. “He goes before you.” I mean, we could really dive into it and I could point out things like “He was born before you” and “He experienced being a teenager before you.” But when He goes before the disciples, He goes to prepare a place for them, to get ready for them.

Just three days ago, counting inclusively, we were in this same space remembering that Jesus died for us. He went before us into death, into hell so that we didn’t have to. And He goes before us into new life. He goes before the disciples to prepare the space to meet them, He goes before Peter to prepare for the conversation of forgiveness they will have. He goes before the disciples and us into eternal life to prepare our place there with Him. ANY IDEAS TO FLESH THIS OUT NARRATIVELY WOULD BE WELCOME

So we look at this picture and this phrase. And just like footprints tell us someone has already been there, these footprints remind us that He goes before us in our trials, in our temptations, and into a perfect new creation. We know that He went before us, and we know because He went before us that He has a place for us as well. He goes before you, seek Him where He may be found.

Seek Him

Not only does Easter remind us that Jesus goes before us, it also reminds us to seek Him. As I was getting this message, I kept thinking of a song by The Script called The Man Who Can’t Be Moved and I want us to listen to the beginning of this song.

The lyrics tell the story of a man who is heartbroken and he has decided he’s going to sit on the street corner in case this woman he loves misses him and thinks to go back to the corner where they used to meet. And if you think about that story, it’s tragic. He’s waiting for a woman that might never miss him and if she does, what are the chances that’s where she thinks to look for him? But he stays there, waiting for her.

And I kept thinking of this song because that’s the kind of love and dedication Jesus has for us. If that’s all it took, He would sit at a street corner for you and for me forever. In the reading today, the angel in the tomb shares something even more incredible, he says “You seek Jesus, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here.” We can take an example from the women - seek Him!

So we look at this picture and this phrase. And just like footprints give us a way to seek someone out, these footprints remind us to seek Jesus because He promises to be there for us. He goes before you, seek Him where He may be found.

Where He May Be Found

But standing here saying we should seek God, we should seek Jesus doesn’t exactly give us a strategic plan. If I were to leave it there, I wouldn’t be doing a very good job of equipping anyone to seek Him. That’s where the second part of this phrase comes in, “seek Him where He may be found.” The angel in Mark’s Gospel doesn’t tell the women that they shouldn’t be seeking Jesus, but he does tell them that they shouldn’t be looking for Him there. “He has risen; He is not here.” So where do we look for our risen God? We look for Him where He promises to be.

Galatians 3:27 (ESV)

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

We find Him in our baptism, and if you aren’t baptized I would be happy to take care of that today. He promises that when we are baptized we have put on Christ, He will be with us.

1 Corinthians 11:24–25 (ESV)

and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

We find Him here, in Holy Communion. He promises that this bread is His body, that this wine is His blood. He promises to meet us here with forgiveness whenever we approach the table.

John 1:1 (ESV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

We find Him in His Word, in the Scriptures that are more accessible than ever. If you want to seek God, His Word is available on your phone, on your computer, and I would imagine at most book stores - definitely on Amazon, which is where I do most of my shopping.

Matthew 18:20 (ESV)

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

We find Him in Christian community, when we gather for Bible Study yeah, but also when we gather for cookouts, for breakfast, for bingo night. He promises to be with us when we gather as brothers and sisters in Christ.

So we look at this picture and this phrase. And just like the footprints show us where someone is, where they’re headed, and how we can follow them, these footprints remind us to seek Jesus where He has promised us to be. He goes before you, seek Him where He may be found.

Carry Easter With You

So Jesus goes before us into eternal paradise, a perfect new creation and He invites us to join Him. And that doesn’t require a thing from us, His Holy Spirit puts faith in our hearts and that is all we need to join Him in heaven. But while we’re here on this earth, we have the chance to seek Him. So remember this image, remember these words - if you want you can go to Edgewater’s website or Facebook page and set this image as your background - use them to carry Easter with you, use them to remember that Jesus goes before you, to encourage you to seek Him where He may be found. Amen.