The following sermon was presented by the Reverend John W. Howe, Rector of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 26, 1985. The title is, God's Plan for Your Life. 

How many of you have ever heard of the four spiritual laws? Goodly number. How many of you actually came into a living relationship with Christ because somebody presented the four spiritual laws to you?

Quite a number, actually. They're a marvelous summary of the gospel, usually presented in a little booklet like this one, that gets to the heart of the matter in four very simple, direct statements. It summarizes the gospel in just four sentences.

Let me paraphrase. The first law is God loves you, and he has a wonderful plan for your life. But secondly, your sin has separated you from this loving God.

And thirdly, Jesus Christ has come and died to bridge that gap, to overcome that separation. But firstly, you need to receive him in a personal way. You need to receive him as your Savior.

Just that simple. And thousands, undoubtedly millions of people around the world have come into a living relationship with Christ because somebody has finally presented the gospel to them just that simply. By the way, these little booklets are available in the bookstore and would be very helpful if you want to try to share your faith with someone else.

But I want to think for a few moments this morning with you about that first so-called spiritual law, the first one of them. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. How many of you believe that?

God loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life. Scripture proclaims that from one end to the other. The Psalms say, a man's steps are ordered by the Lord.

You may think you're in charge. You have a certain degree of freedom, but a man's steps are ultimately ordered by God. They're held in the palm of his hands.

Jesus said, no matter how hard you work at it, you cannot add a single cubit to the span of your life. That's in God's control. David said, in thy book were written the days of my life, every one of them, when as yet there was none of them.

And Solomon put it this way, he said, A man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established. God loves you, and he has a plan for your life, and it may be very different from your own plan.

It's a cliche to say that God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform, but I'd like to ask you this morning to dare to believe that in all your circumstances, whatever they might be, whether they involve confusion or disappointment or frustration or illness or bereavement, whatever they might be, in all your circumstances, God has a plan, and it's a plan based on his love for you. That doesn't mean it's always going to be pleasant. But it does mean that if your attitude is right, God will use it for good in your life.

Let me give you a couple of examples. God wanted to confound the Egyptians with a demonstration that he was mightier than all of the deities they worshipped put together. That was part of his plan.

At the same time, he wanted to liberate his people Israel with a miracle so great that they'd never ever forget it. And at the same time, he wanted to bring them into the land of Canaan as a nation intact already. not just as one man's family that would inevitably intermingle with the folks already living there and be lost but as a nation already intact think of how you would do that how do you have a nation that doesn't have its own land and transplant it intact into another land so you had to develop a plan first of all to get them out of Canaan because that's where they were living in the first place transplant them into northern Egypt, turn the hearts of the Egyptians against them so that they'd become a ghettoized people longing for freedom, allow several centuries to go by so that they could multiply numerically from 70 to approximately 3 million, raise up a pharaoh who would oppress them, and then raise up a shepherd and deliverer who would lead them out of Egypt for 40 years in the wilderness.

and, oh yes, by the way, open up the Red Sea so they could walk across Dry Shod. That was God's plan. But do you remember how it all started?

With a young man whose brothers hated him so much that they sold him into slavery in Egypt. And from there he ended up in jail. And from there he became Pharaoh's right-hand man when God showed him a plan how to save Egypt from famine.

And because of that he was invited to bring his whole family down to Egypt to live with him. You remember that story? And one of the older translations says that when Joseph, this young man, was in jail for a crime he never committed, having been sold into slavery by his own brothers, while he was in jail, God was nevertheless with him, and because of that, it says, quote, he was a lucky fellow.

And when Joseph's father died many years later, his brothers, who had sold him into slavery in the first place, feared that he would take revenge on them for what they'd done to him. but this was Joseph's comment you may have meant it for evil but God intended it for good God loves me and he has a wonderful plan for my life and because Joseph trusted in that even in the midst of appalling circumstances he was a lucky fellow God was with him the burning desire of St. Paul's heart in life was to personally take the gospel throughout the whole of the Mediterranean world and specifically to Spain and Britain. Only that didn't happen because he got clapped into jail and lived several years under house arrest and was eventually beheaded.

And all he could do was write a few letters. Oh yeah, and while he was chained to various soldiers, he shared the gospel with them and they got converted and some of them ended up taking the gospel to Spain and Britain at the expense of Caesar. God has a wonderful plan.

And Paul knew that he loved them. Do you know what he wrote to the Philippians while he was in jail? He said, I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard, and to the rest, all the rest, that my imprisonment is for Christ.

And most of the brethren have been made confident in the Lord because of my imprisonment, and are much more bold to speak the Word of God without fear. God loves me. And He has a plan, and He's working out His plan.

It's different from my plan. not what I planned but God's in control Oswald Chambers whom I've quoted many many times wrote a wonderful little devotional and part of one of the meditations for this week says God is not concerned about our plans He does not say do you want to go through this bereavement this upset He allows these things for his own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler men and women, or they're making us more captious and fault-finding, more insistent upon our own way.

The things that happen either make us fiends or they make us saints. It depends entirely upon the relationship we are in to God. today is pentecost sunday on that first pentecost sunday god poured out his spirit in power upon his infant church and it's right and it's good to celebrate that and it's right and it's good to be excited about the power and to rejoice in it and to seek it in our own lives but i want to remind you this morning that it is empowering with a purpose.

And the purpose is you shall be my witnesses. Wherever I send you, here in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the earth, I've poured out my Spirit that you might be part of my plan and be available to me. And wherever you go, be my witness.

He wasn't pouring out His Spirit just so that we could have a spiritual high. He was pouring out His Spirit and laying claim to our lives for His plan. Are you available to Him this morning?

Here I am, Lord. Where you send me, I'll go. What you ask me to do, I'll do.

Where you lead me, I'll follow. if that's not your attitude you really miss the point of Pentecost take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee take my moments and my days let them flow in ceaseless praise take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee. Take my voice and let me sing always only for my King.

Take my intellect and use every power as thou shalt choose. Take my will and make it thine. It shall be no longer mine.

Take myself and I will be ever, only, all. for thee. I'd like to press this issue in three specific ways this morning for just a moment.

Tuesday night is our annual meeting. The nominating committee has done its job very thoroughly. It has put forward ten men and women who are willing to stand for Vestry who have said, I'm available.

of course there may be other nominations from the floor as well that's a huge responsibility and I believe God has a plan for this church has a plan for this vestry and we need his wisdom as we elect the six who will be his choice for this particular year I'd ask you to pray that we would know His mind, that we would elect those of His choosing. It's not a popularity contest. It's a matter of who do you want, Lord, at this particular point.

And those folks need to be available. And I'm going to ask that vestry to come away together and seek the mind of Christ that we might know the plan of God based upon His love for us. please plan on coming Tuesday evening being part of that annual meeting and just bathe it, surround it in prayer because God loves us and has a plan for us.

Secondly, this touches every aspect of service and ministry and each of us needs to be asking Lord, where would you have me? What would you have me do? But I want to mention one very particular one this morning.

For whatever reason once again we have a tremendous need for church school teachers this summer tremendous need we have two sessions we know people go away for vacations so we've broken it into two sessions a six week session and then a five week session we have an excellent curriculum you will not be at a loss to know what to teach by the middle of June we anticipate having the whole education building air conditions So praise God, it'll be a much more pleasant place in which to be. And in order to do all that, we need 50 teachers and aides. And at this point, we have six.

Are you available? Would you let the Spirit of God empower you to share something of His love with these little ones. Let me put it very baldly, if we don't have the teachers, we will not have the classes.

Would you consider that possibility? God loves you. Does his plan include your sharing some of that love in church school this summer?

Jody and Neil would love to see you right after the service. They'll be downstairs. Two footnotes on that.

C.S. Lewis said, if you can't explain it to children, you don't understand it. And anybody who has ever taught anything will attest that you get much more than you give.

And God will bless you if that's part of his plan for you this summer. Seek out, where can I minister? Where can I serve?

The empowering is for a purpose. And thirdly, finally, just to broaden it out, brighten the corner where you are. Brighten whatever corner you're in.

Here, in your place of business, in your home. Do you know how many days you have to live? One.

This day. That's the only day we have to live is today. You have today and you can live it to the glory of God available to Him for whatever His plan includes for this day.

Or you can waste it regretting the past or fretting over the future. Today is the day. Jesus said, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

As the Scripture has said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. The day of Pentecost is a day in which we remember the invitation to come and drink of God's Spirit. let it so saturate us, let it quench our own spiritual thirst so fully that we begin overflowing to others and meeting their needs.

Let Him quench your thirst and then flow forth from you to refresh those around you. People may think you're a little bit mad, but you'll be in very good company. God loves you.

enjoy the wonderful plan that he has for your life amen