In this sermon, the preacher talks about the Apostle Paul and how he was chained to circumstances he couldn't change. The preacher shares the story of a pastor whose ministry was also chained when his wife became bed-fast. The message emphasizes that no matter what circumstances we face, God remains faithful and will see us through. The preacher encourages listeners to have faith and trust in God's plan, even when it seems uncertain or difficult.

God is good. I said God is good. We greet everyone in Costa Rica who belongs to the Samuel Church. We invite everybody. Hallelujah. Now this afternoon, or this morning, as I was praying about this service, the Lord began to speak to my heart about some of the situations and burdens and cares that you brought to the meetings. We have people from all over this country, and we have people who have come from other countries to join us here. Now, when you look at me, and I come in here, and I smile, you don't know what I'm going through. You can't begin to know the burdens I carry on the hurt that is in sight, and the concerns for tomorrow. And so it is with you. Those sitting next to you, those who even know you the best, they can't know what you're going through. Even if they told you something of what they're going through, they really don't know the deep hurt and burden of your heart. And in this service today, I believe the Lord, by His Spirit, wants to locate every person in this building that's hurting. Every one of you that has a situation that God has to undertake, there has to be a miracle. Now, God so loves His church. God so loves His servants. He will arrange meetings like this. He will speak directly to your heart. And I believe God wants to speak directly. Before this service is over, God wants to, by faith, lift this burden from your back. Think of the holiest person you know. Think of the godliest person in this building that's in your mind. You think, there's a godly man, there's a godly woman. And I can tell you this, they're going through some of the same things that you go through. In fact, the godlier they are, the closer they walk to Jesus, the more possible it is for them to be suffering more than you could consider. My subject now is trusting God with all your tomorrows. Trusting God with all your tomorrows. God, give us ears to hear what the Spirit has to say in Christ's name. Bring forth an anointing in Jesus' name. In Matthew 6, starting in verse 31, take no thought saying, what shall we eat, what shall we drink, or where shall we be clothed? For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself, sufficient unto the day as the evil thereof. God appeared to Abraham one day. He was not a young man at this time. He had an extended family. His nephew Lot traveled with him, lived with him rather. And God comes to him one day, and He says, get up from your country, from all your kindred and relatives, get up out of your father's house to the land that I am going to show you. And by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out to this place, which he should afterwards receive as an inheritance, he obeyed God, and he went out not knowing where he was going. He's called to go to a place that is not named. He's given no map, no destination. He's told just to go. And God was going to lead him one day at a time. In other words, what God is saying to this man, and it's an incredible thing to say to a man, to any man or a woman, I'm going to call you to a different kind of life. I want you to lay down all your plans, everything you've conceived for your future, every plan you've made for your family, every plan you've made for the retirement of your elders. And I want you to just get up, and I want you to go. I have a place I have in mind. He's not told how he will be financed. He said, you just go, and if you will start out, I'm going to bless you. I'm going to take you a place beyond anything you have ever known. Now, certainly he had made plans. He had plans for the future. But you see, he's a pattern man. God says, I want to raise up a people that are going to live wholly dependent upon me, a people who will give every tomorrow into my hands. They will live one day at a time, and they will fully trust me. The Bible says Abraham believed the Lord, and the Lord counted that for righteousness to him. We have all kinds of ideas what a righteous man consists of. You know, we call a righteous man who doesn't do this, he doesn't do that, he's separated from the world. That is part of a righteous holy life. We're denied the world and the places thereof. But God said, this is what I'm going to call righteousness. This total dependence on me. This trusting into my hands every tomorrow you have. The Apostle Paul goes on, and he said, we who are of faith, we are the children of Abraham. And as he was counted righteous for his faith, as he lived giving every tomorrow into the hands of the Lord, God said, if we do that, Paul said, God accounts us as righteous because we've received the same call Abraham has received. He's called us out of a life of self-dependence. God said, I want to take you to places you've never been. Most of us think we live by faith, but we have such fear for the future. We're very quick to give God our past. We give him our past sins, all of our failures. We delight in the victory of the cross. We say, what a wonderful thing. My past is forgiven. My past is under the blood. It's all gone. But you see, we want to hold on our rights for tomorrow. We want God to bless our plans. We plan our future because we live in an unusual day. We live in a day of striving now. There's a philosophy and a doctrine now. Big is better. Go for the gold. And there's a striving. There's a competition. And we make our plans for the future. Now, God is not against planning for the future. The Bible said a man who doesn't provide for his own house is worse than an infidel. In all thy ways acknowledge the Lord and he'll direct your path. But most of us, we live under this cloud. Two little words. What if? Yes, I thank God for my faith. But what if I lose my job? What if the economy collapses? What if I lose my income? What if I can't pay my rent or my mortgage? What happens? What if my children fail God? What if my marriage fails? And we have a thousand what ifs. Very few Christians have given their tomorrows to the Lord. And some come what may and say, come what may, Lord, I give you my tomorrow. Jesus comes along in the midst of all of our turmoil and all of our cry and all of our preaching that we have to do big things for God. You know, we have people going around prophesying. They call it giving words. And in meetings, people have lined up and they're giving these wonderful words. You're going to be a great evangelist. God is going to use you mightily. You're going to win many souls for the Lord. And I meet these people that have been in those lines. And they have been told things that God didn't say. And it's put expectations in their minds. And two years later, ten years later, fifteen years later, they're still waiting for something in tomorrow. And they were never told. Very seldom will they be told the truth, just the same truth that Paul received when a man prophesied over him and Ananias laid his hand on him. The Lord has called you. And this is what's going to happen to you. You're going to suffer the rest of your life. You're called to suffering. Have you ever heard that? Has anyone laid hands on you and said, you're going to suffer? You're going to have problems. You may have financial problems. Many of the afflictions of the righteous. But the Lord will deliver you out of them all. I do believe God gives words. I will not believe a man say anything to me unless it confirms what the Holy Spirit has said to me. Because you can live your life in a fantasy world, imagining great tomorrows. If anyone lays hands on you. One woman came to me. She said, he told me I'm going to get married and have a wonderful family. I've been married ten years. I've been married ten years. He's telling me I'm going to get married. I'm not mocking the process. But I'm telling you, that's not what God has called us to. God has said, you don't know what's coming tomorrow. Your plans, your dreams, your visions, these great things that you can see, can be snatched away from you in a moment. Can be taken away from you in a moment. Abraham's future, his own plans, were taken from him in a moment of time. One word from God, I'm going to change your life. But if you give it to me by faith. And the faith of Abraham was not some great vision. The faith of Abraham was that tomorrow when I wake up, God will be with me. God will take care of my problems. God will lead me. He will feed me. I'm going to rest in him. That was the call Abraham had. Why would God search the whole world? Every heathen nation. To find one man. To set up an example. Why would he call a special people like Israel? With the same call. Saying, I'm going to just take you one day at a time. I'm going to get a cloud on top of your head. And a fire by night. When that moves, you move. When it stays, you stay. But you won't know what's happening tomorrow. I just want you to keep your eye on the glory. And that's the call of Paul the Apostle. And that's the call of every pastor. It's the call of every Christian worker. To say, God, I know what I'd like to do. I want to win souls. I want to do your work. God said, are you willing to do it the way I want you to do it? What if God suddenly puts you in circumstances. And chains you. Absolutely chained. Like binds you to it. He makes it impossible for you to continue your dream. In fact, he stops everything in its tracks. And that's Paul the Apostle. He's in Rome. And he's chained between two guards. And according to the historian Josephus, they had different shifts. So the 24 hours a day, he was chained. Night and day. This man's circumstances changed overnight. Think of the indignities and humiliation. These are hardened soldiers. They see everyone as criminals. And they see Paul as nothing more than a criminal. Here's a man who loves to travel. Here's a man who likes to refresh the Christian church. He's always going here. He's going there. He's ministering. He's preaching. Evangelizing. And overnight, he's chained. He's chained to circumstances he can't change. You've heard it said, bad things can happen to good people. There are people listening to me now. You are chained to circumstances. There's a pastor that I know in Europe. His wife has been bed fast for six years. And overnight, his ministry was chained. He has to be with her night and day. And I asked his son-in-law, ask him how he finds the courage. A man who loves to travel and preach. He can't travel. He is chained. He is chained by love. And he loves this wife. And he brought the word back to me. This man said, this is my ministry. This is my tomorrow. And I rejoice in the Lord. I'm allowing my experience. I'm allowing my condition to glorify Christ by my reaction to my circumstances. The issue with Paul the Apostle is not why God. There's a Paul that's preaching to crowds. My own sons in the faith. They're not chained. They're winning souls. They're evangelizing. Can you imagine the lies the devil would try to tell this man? Your ministry is over. You're chained by your circumstances. Your ministry is over. And some of you here now, the Holy Spirit is going to locate. He's going to speak to you. You may be chained into a marriage that you have tried to bring healing to. You have fasted and prayed. And you're in a situation. You may be married as a pastor to a woman who's lost her faith in God. You may be in a financial bind. And you're in bondage. You look around. There's nothing you can do. You are chained to a circumstance. And often these circumstances happen suddenly. You can get a telephone call. Oh, that's happened many times in my life. One of the first times it happened. My wife and I headed for a vacation. But she had a lump on her breast. She said, David, I think we need to see a doctor before we go. Ten minutes later, she said, I must remove this lump and freeze it and get you a quick analysis. Two hours later, cancer. She's operated on immediately. And we're not on the way to a vacation. She's in the hospital. And everything changes. Circumstances change. Tomorrow changes. The tomorrow we anticipated is not the tomorrow we received. It was another kind of situation. I was in a doctor's office with my wife last week. She was being examined. I was waiting in the outer office. And someone came up to me and said, are you Pastor Wilkerson? I said, yes. Then she passed on. But an elderly woman sitting nearby, knowing I was a pastor, she felt free to unburden her heart. And there was some bitterness in her. She said, about six years ago my life changed. My husband was healthy. Strong. He loved life. And we traveled. We had a marvelous time. I come home one day, and he's almost unconscious. He had a stroke. For the past six years, I've been his caretaker. All my tomorrows, all my future, is now wrapped up in this man. She said, I loved him. And I cared for him. I had no plans of my own. My whole life was wrapped up in caring for this man. And she said, he died a few months ago. But before he died, he called me in the room. He was crying. He said, wife, I want to tell you. I have been robbed of my future. All my plans went up in smoke. All my strength was gone. All my hopes, all my financial dreams, everything was taken from me. And he said, you never will know how much I hurt. And this woman said, pastor, you know what I told him? You're forgetting something. I was there also all the time. I was by your side. All my tomorrows were taken. Now see, Paul has two options. The first option is taken by so many Christians. You can spin out in a spirit of morbid doubt. Why God? Why me? Why now? When I'm here to give you everything. And I'm living a righteous life. Why are my tomorrows being taken from me? Why this condition? Why these circumstances? It's not fair. And the devil will come to you and say, it's all over. You're useless. You're no good to the kingdom. And lie after lie will be pounded at you from the devil. And you can give in to that. And you can feel robbed. And you can become depressed. And then everybody around you begins to suffer. Because all they hear is why. Why me? Now, God is a loving father. He heard that from his own son. The first impulse. When this is coming upon you suddenly. When you hear that word cancer. When you see the financial turmoil ahead of you. When you fear you're going to be locked into a situation the rest of your life. There's a natural reaction. Why Lord? And why now? But you see, you can't stay at that place. The place that God brought Abraham. This place of giving every tomorrow into the hands of the Father. Paul took the other option. He said, no. I'm going to use my experience. I'm going to use my affliction to preach the gospel. To be a testimony to the faithfulness of my God and my Christ. He said, I am set for the defense of the gospel. I am going to validate the gospel that I preach. And he writes a letter to the Philippians. He said, I want you to know the suffering. Yes, I'm suffering. And in so many words, this is what he said. You don't have to feel sorry for me. For this gospel that I preach is bringing comfort to my soul. And I'm in a school of training. And he said, actually, I'm in jail for your sake. I'm chained to these circumstances for your sake. Because the comfort he gives me, I'm going to learn how to comfort you. So it's not about me. It's about the church. Some have to suffer. Some have to go through deep waters. So they can minister to the body of Christ. He said, I'll tell you what's happening. You may think Paul the Apostle has ended in his gospel work. There were false teachers that had come into the Philippian church. And Paul said, they despise my affliction. He said, what they're saying is this. If he's a man of God, why is he suffering? If he's such a man of prayer, why does he not free himself out of prison? If he's such a strong man of God, why is he not free? Why is he bringing reproach on the church? All that false doctrine used to go through the church of Jesus Christ. If you're sick or if you're afflicted, it's because you live in sin. It was said, if you had faith, you wouldn't have to have cancer. And the reason that doctrine died, because when time went by, and so many began to suffer, and they found out that God's people do suffer, and the afflictions of the righteous are many, that all passed away. But the issue today is how you're going to react. Paul said, even as in the past, so also now. Let me read it just as he said, with all boldness. Just as in the past, so right now also, Christ shall be magnified in my body, either by life or by death. He said, chances are I'm going to die here. I may never get out of here. But I'm not going to murmur. And I'm not going to complain. I'm going to live Jesus. I'm going to glorify Christ. And I will allow this, my countenance, my speech, everybody going to see Christ in me. And he writes to the Philippians. He said, the soldiers that I'm chained to. And he says this in so many words. And I'm paraphrasing. He said, these soldiers that I'm chained to, when they change their shift and go home, they're telling everybody in the barracks what I preach. They're telling them how I react. They don't hear me murmur. They don't hear me complain. And when people visit me, I tell them God has everything under control. I'm here for the glory of God. They go home and tell their families. He said, I'll tell you something else. If I came here without chains, if I was not in these circumstances, there's not a chance in a million that I could get into the palace and preach Christ. But now, while I'm chained, and I'm in these hopeless circumstances, they're talking about my gospel all through the palace. He said, I hold forth. I hold forth. I am set for the defense of the gospel. Christ is being preached through my afflictions. Therefore, I rejoice, and I do rejoice. Hallelujah. You see, it's not just accepting your condition. It's not resignation. It's not saying, well, this is the hand that God has dealt to me. I'll do the best I can. No, no, it's much more than that. Paul said it's being able to rejoice. That people will know that the gospel you preach, that gospel of healing, that gospel of guidance of the Holy Ghost, that gospel you've been preaching to everybody, is working. He said, I'm an example. All my suffering is bringing out in me more of Christ, more of Christ-likeness. I have a question for you, and I ask it in love and with the compassion of Christ. Is Christ being preached in your afflictions? What does your family hear? What do your friends hear? What do your co-workers hear? Is it constant murmuring, complaining? Do they hear any rejoicing? Paul the Apostle is saying this. Everybody knows what I'm going through, and they think I have a right to complain and murmur. And they think I have a right to go around with a long face. And they think that in the flesh I have a right to question every situation I'm in. He said, don't feel sorry for me. Christ is proving himself faithful. And I may not be able to get out of this prison, but I'm preaching through my afflictions. And your affliction is preaching. It's preaching either death or life. Your financial condition. Are you saying thank God? He made me a promise. He said he's going to see me through. He said I'm going to be able to eat. I'll have a roof over my head. I'll have clothes on my back. He said the heathen can talk about it. The Gentiles can worry about it. But Jesus said, I'm your father, and I want to see you through. Turn it over to me. Stop worrying about it. You keep worrying, it will give you ulcers. I have my doctor friend on the front seat. He'll back every word I'm saying. You can get every kind of disease. You can have a nervous breakdown. Because you are Christian. And you have all this testimony of how great Jesus is. But you're so worried. So stressed. You're preaching the wrong message. Paul said, no, I hold forth. In defense of the gospel. That every unbeliever will see Christ. And he will be preached. And Paul said, I rejoice. Let me tell you what he's rejoicing about. He's giving his tomorrows over to the Lord. He said, it doesn't matter to me if I die here. It doesn't matter if I ever see a crowd again. It doesn't matter if my name is forgotten. He said, soon, one day, I'm going to stand before my Christ. He said, and in that day, our eyes are going to be opened. Folks, when you and I get to glory, We stand in the presence of our beloved. Our eyes are going to see things. Things we preached about. We preached for years. The angel of the Lord encamps around about them that fear Him. And delivers them. And suddenly, we're going to look. And there they are. All around us. The warrior angels. We're going to see all those angels. That we said were with us. But we didn't believe it in a crisis. Paul said, I rejoice. Because when I stand there, before Christ, I'm not going to have any regrets. I'm not going to say to myself. All that power. All that protection. And I wasted my worries. He says, not me. I'm going to rejoice. And then suddenly, we're going to recognize The glory of the Holy Spirit. He that abides in us. The comforter. The guide. And Jesus is going to reveal. This was me. This was my coming back to you. This was my spirit. And when we see the glory. And the power that was available. Paul says, I'm going to rejoice. Because it was made available. And I believed it. And I walked in the spirit. Hallelujah. Holy Spirit. You were real to me. Ah, the best of all. He's going to show us the Father. And all the majesty. And all the power. He, the living word of God. When we see him in his majesty. I want to be able to know. That day. I trusted him. I trusted his majesty. I trusted his power. Glory to God. You see, Paul knew that his grace was sufficient. For the situation. My wife has had 25 operations. Five for cancer. We were told. A few weeks ago. She now has what is called macular degeneration. She's already lost the sight in one eye. And the doctor told me bluntly. He said, it's advancing so fast. She's just going to lose her sight. And you see, I have conferences booked. Into the future. But you see, my first ministry. Is to my wife. Is to her. Please, no clapping. You see, under the direction of the Holy Spirit. We have booked our meetings. I know we have over 50 invitations to countries. And I had to face what I preached to you. And I asked my wife for permission to talk about this. First you cry. First you cry. I walk into a room and I see Gwen. Just rubbing her eyes. And tears. And the first question is. God, did I do something wrong? And I had to rush in. I couldn't hold it. I said, oh no, no, no. There's nothing you did wrong. Many of the afflictions of the righteous. I said, honey, I have. I can't tell you the pain I feel for you also. But one thing I know. I'm going to minister to you. I'm going to be here. And I don't care about tomorrow. Lord's going to see us through. You see, there was a day I had to put all my family. I took two daughters that had cancer. I had to put them in the Father's hands. Twelve year old granddaughter who died of cancer. Put her in God's hands. Way down in Texas. On a lonely road. For two hours. I had screamed at God. Everything in me just crying out. Lord, I gave you my life. I gave you my life when I was a child. Every day of my life has been given to you. But why? I cried it out. When I was done. The Holy Spirit spoke. He said, David, how many fathers does your daughter have? Her name is Bonnie. She was given a 30% chance to survive. And I had told God. My wife with cancer. My daughter Debbie. Now Bonnie. Where does it end? And after two hours of weeping. No tears left. God said, David. How many fathers does your daughter Bonnie have? I said, two. You and me. Which one loves her the most? You do. Which one knows what's best for the future? You do. Which one of us would never hurt you? Or her. I said, you would never hurt me. Which one knows the future? I did. And the Holy Spirit said. If you want to walk in the Spirit. If you want to walk in peace. Put all your tomorrows. Your future. In my hand. Right now. And believe. That I always do what is best for you. And one day you'll understand it all. Now. That was over 20 years ago. Bonnie and Debbie are still living. And I thank God for that. But now the Lord says to me. Yeah, you put your family. In my hands. And you said you put your ministry in my hands. All your tomorrows in my hands. Now will you. Get in my hand. Will you rejoice? If that's your future. And all your tomorrows are right here. You see, that's where it comes from. That's what it comes to. With all the hype. And all of this. Covering over with whitewash. That said everything. There's no suffering. There's no pain. You know better. Because you're in pain. But I'm telling you something. I have made that decision. And it has brought such peace to me. And I'm not boasting in it. But I'm telling you. I am going to react. By the help of the Holy Ghost. I'm not going to mourn. Gwen is going to see nothing but the Lord in me. With the help of the Holy Ghost. It's not going to be an easy job. And I don't know what's ahead for you. Oh, you might be one of those who doesn't have to go through the hard times. But by the tape. I don't get any money for it. And wait. One day you're going to need it. You're going to need to be reminded of the message. That if you're going to the fullness of Christ. You're going to make a decision today. My tomorrows. Whatever they may be. I surrender them. I give them over to you Jesus. You will lead me. And you will guide me. But take the fear out of my heart. And only the Holy Ghost can do that. You can't do it by your power or your human flesh. Give it to Him. And can I tell you something? My wife and I have the greatest peace we've had in 54 years of marriage. I've never known more peace than I know it right now. I have never felt more loved by Jesus than I do now. Because see, nothing matters now. But standing before Jesus. And say, I trusted you. I believed your word. Amen? Do you receive the word? Now I want you to know. There's being severely tested. And you're in a circumstance. Beyond your control. I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit to come now. And bring faith. And bring confidence. Folks, I told you the story about my wife. And what my wife and I are going through. And some of you just went down into sadness. And you say, isn't that awful? Folks, that's not what this message is about. And that's not what this service is about. It's about this. That no matter what happens. No matter what comes. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And our God is faithful. And He's going to see you through. This is not about the suffering that you're going to face. This is about a meeting of having faith. God wants to instill and implant faith in you. That you can look in the future. No matter what it looks like. And praise God. And give Him thanks. And say, the Gospel I believe is going to work in my life. Hallelujah. Blessed be the name of the Lord.