You. There's a course that must be finished. There's a race that must be won. There's a mission to accomplish and a battle to be won. We've been called to take our challenge by God's bargain through His Son. He will give us grace to complete the way, moving forward, treading on. Calling for the promise we've received With the strength that we've been given As we march in victory And for the one who's rocking for us As we wage war on life Till the ring we found, till the prize we found, till we reach the finish line, we're sold. There's a faithful cloud of wisdom sent to inspire us in our task. They have fought the fight. They have won the ring. They have won the crown at last. And the light they give reminds us that all our age and times before God, thou bidst us praise to complete the praise and the courage to advance on. For the home of our high glory, for the promise we received, with the strength that we've been given, we're beyond to victory. and join the one who's gone before us as we make clear our drive. Till the rain is gone, till the fight is won, till we reach the finish line, for the home of our bright colleagues. With the strength that we've been given, Proudly on to victory, victory! Till the race is won, till the prize is won, till we reach the finish line. I look to the shepherd He reads all my needs Beside the still waters he faithfully leads, bringing peace to my soul. As his love makes me whole, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. Follow me all the days of my life. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. ♪ All my life ♪ And when in the valley of deepest despair ♪ I look to the shepherd, his presence is there bringing peace to my soul. As His love makes me whole, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. Follow me all the days of my life. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all my life. Praise you're with us this morning that if you do not know God's goodness, mercy and his peace that in this hour you open your heart and say, Lord, I long for that. And he will show you how you can know that peace. But you take your Bible, First Peter, chapter five, and we've titled the message this morning, Anxiety Busters and Panic Attack Evaders. When I was growing up and I guess probably even into my 20s, maybe even my 30s, I don't know that I really was that much aware of anxiety. And then panic attack. I think that's something in recent years, like the last 10 years. And most of us would probably said, well, you know, I didn't know what it was 10 years ago, but I think I've already had one of those. I'm praying that this morning that God is going to bless your heart and you're going to see that there is an answer for anxiety. Now, it doesn't mean that you're not going to have times of anxiety, but when you do, there is a pill that you can take. And that pill is 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 7. Now that's the cheapest prescription you're ever going to get right there, right? And yet it came at an eternal cost. Anxiety busters, panic attack evaders. I want to begin with a thought and it is this. One's happiness in life is as much about perspective as it is reality. Allow me to illustrate that for a minute. One of my great heroes that I love reading about in history, I've read several biographies about him, is Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of our United States. If ever there was a man that went through a cataclysmic time in life, it was President Lincoln as he was dealing with a nation that was torn by civil war. Pressures on every side, criticisms. Everything was being sent against Lincoln. Then to add a little insult to injury, there was one day that there was a man, and I want to tell you this story and get the facts right, a man of extraordinary forbidding countenance, that means ugly, drew a revolver and thrust the weapon into his face. In such circumstances, Abe at once concluded that any attempt at debate or argument was a waste of time. Lincoln, with the calmness that he could bring forth and muster, asked, what seems to be the matter? Well, replied the stranger, who did not appear at all excited, some years ago I swore an oath that if I ever came across an uglier man than myself, I'd shoot him on the spot. A feeling of relief came over Lincoln and he looked at the man and he said, then shoot me. For if I am an uglier man than you, I don't want to live. All about perspective and reality. You know, your perspective may not always be right. In fact, I find so often that my perspective can be way off. especially if I'm not in God's Word and having what I call a true spiritual reality check. Romans 12, verse 2, Paul wrote, "...and be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Have you ever wrestled with stinking thinking? Have you ever had the battles of your whole thought processes being a challenge to you? Let me add with that as we go through this introduction, we yearn for our lives to have meaning. But far too often, our perspective on life and not reality drives our lives and decisions. In other words, our perspective that might be driving our life may not be the same is our reality. Here in Tampa Bay, it is not unusual. In fact, I think it is almost an everyday occurrence, either opening the newspaper or listening to the radio news or the evening news. And invariably, you're going to hear the story about suicide or murder, suicide. It seems to take place every day. The sad thing is often it is among the elderly that the murder suicides are being recorded. This past Friday, I was driving somewhere on the road and I was listening to the news and I heard something that has been a regular occurrence since the Sunshine Skyway Bridge has been built. In fact, in this year alone, six lives have been taken by suicide, jumping off that beautiful span that goes from Pinellas County to Southern Hillsborough County. What was unusual about this Friday, though, was this, that two women, only an hour and a half apart, had each taken a leap off the bridge. One was a lady in her 40s from Tampa, and I'm not sure what the note that she left behind said, but she despaired of life so much that at the center span of that bridge, she leaped over and fell to her death on the rocks that were down below. But add to that an even more amazing one is that an 84-year-old woman made her way over from Pinellas County and she too climbed over the bridge railing and leaped. The amazing thing is she lived. For an hour and a half, she was treading water. I don't know how an 84-year-old woman treads water for an hour and a half. I don't know that I can keep my bulk up for an hour and a half. The sad thing, though, is this, isn't it? That whether it's a woman in her 40s or a lady in her 80s, that they would so despair of life that they would choose to take their life. Want to encourage you with something I've shared with our church family on Sunday nights. The first thought is this, your life has eternal value. I cannot place a greater price upon your life than God himself placed upon your life, not in his creation of your life, but the very fact that he sent his son to be the sacrifice for your sins. that you might have an opportunity and might have the hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ. Your life has eternal value. The second thought is this. To be fulfilling your life must be purpose driven. Pursuing God's plan and God's will for your life. That is my goal today, is to take you to the Word, and in God's Word, you're going to see very plainly laid out God's plan. Let's pray. Father, we would pray now that we've left this introduction and we go into the heart of our message, that You would encourage us with three very simple thoughts. Yet, those simple thoughts, like so much of life, can be so profound. Father, it is our prayer today that lines will be changed because hearts have been challenged. Wills have been broken, and we have humbled ourselves before You. Bless now, Lord, the reading of Your Word and the preaching of it. I pray that our hearts will be tender in Christ's name we pray. Amen. 1 Peter 5. Let's go back and look at the Scriptures. Verse 5 there. We read today in chapter 5 these words. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder, yea, all be subject. one to another and be clothed with humility, for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble." I want to challenge you with three attitudes. Three attitudes that can give you meaning to life and cause you no longer to despair of life. Another thought that goes with that is this, that these three attitudes are the antithesis, that is the very opposite of the world and worldly philosophy. Many of us are from backgrounds in our education where in psychology or in some other social driven subject, we were taught all about the concepts of man. And yet I would encourage you today that the Bible says that the natural man, his mind is reprobate against the heart and the mind of God. Notice with me, if you would, this morning, three fundamental attitudes for lasting hope. And here's the first one. I hope you'll write these down in your notes or in your Bible. The first one is this. Be submissive to authority. Be submissive to authority. Look with me again to the first part of verse five. Likewise, the younger. Submit. Submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another. Let me challenge you with this thought. Submission is the foundation of all relationships. I don't care whether you are a teenager or you are someone up in the prime time years. You're in your 80s or you're in your 90s. The issue and the subject of submission is a lifetime challenge for all of us. The natural man, that is the natural heart of each of us, is one of rebellion, rebellion against God, a desire to rise up, to have our own way. And yet God here, as we read his word in verse five, says, now listen. Submit, submit yourselves unto the elder, yea, all of you be subject one to another. You know what you see in that passage, the word elder there is the word for a shepherd or pastoral authority in a church. Now, I'm not the pastor that would lord over and be a dictator. Neither are any of the men on our staff. You can go to churches in Tampa, Florida, like I said last week, and they're going to give you a good old hard spanking on a Sunday morning that'll make you feel like, OK, I'm glad that's over with. Kind of like a dad getting a spanking from his son. You know, boy, I did wrong. I got caught. All right. I'm paid the price. Glad that's over. But I want to encourage you the heart of this pastor and the heart of this pastoral staff is to exhort you not just thank you on Sunday morning. And so with that thought in mind, Peter writes and he says this submitted to the elder. That is the elder rule. Another way of looking at the word elder is this. It is someone who is older in age or in spiritual maturity. Notice again, the verse there, it says ye younger. I thought today, Sheila, when I was introducing the Bowmans, looking out and they're about the same age we were when we came to Hillsdale years ago and looking at the difference. I don't feel older, but he sure looks young, you know. Ye younger, what does it mean to be young in that passage? It is the idea of one who is, let's put it in a diplomatic way, lesser in age, one who is less in the sense of maturity or experience or knowledge of having walked with God. I hope that as you are growing older, those of you that know Christ as Savior, that there is a maturing to your life that is evidencing the grace of God. It is the idea also of lesser in rank. Now consider then, if you would then, likewise ye younger, Submit yourselves unto the elder, not just that he's older, but that there is a spiritual responsibility that a pastor has over his people. And you praise God that the Lord's allowed the Bowmans to be here. Pastor Barber. and his ministry and influence here as a man with years in ministry. Pastor John Tracy now, several years of ministry, to not only lead us in music ministry, but to also lead us with our college kids as they're coming. And praise the Lord, a lot of you Clearwater kids, we're so glad to have you at Hillsdale. Consider the latter part or the middle part of that verse. It says, be subject one to another. Let me add a third thought with that that's not on your outline. Submission to spiritual authority is the duty of all in the church. You know, God has allowed us not only to have pastors on the staff, that is the elders, but God also has appointed here by your vote men that are deacons, men that are to be serving, men that are not necessarily old men, But men that have built a pattern in their lives spiritually, that you and I have confidence in their choices and in their way of life. Consider another verse. Hebrews 13. I think it's on your outline. Verse 17. Hebrews 13 and verse 17 says this. Obey them. Who is them? It's the spiritual leaders of the church. Obey them that have the rule over you. And they're very in a very pointed way. God is declaring the shepherds of a ministry. And I would add to that the deacons who had that spiritual role in your life, obeyed them. They had the rule over you and submit yourselves. Boy, we struggle with submission. We might struggle with the submission of some civil authority. Sometimes there's people in an office, an elected office, And I don't respect them, but I have a responsibility of respecting their office. Sometimes a wife would have to admit that she might struggle submitting to her husband or maybe children struggling with submitting to mom and dad. A struggle of submission with authority is a lifelong challenge for us. But there is also that submission one to another. Notice the last part of verse 17. The verse says this, they, those that rule over you spiritually, they watch for your souls. It's they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. Interesting phrase there. It is this. It's carrying the idea that a church family that is unsubmissive in their spirit and their attitude, they actually forfeit God's blessing. Show me a church where there is an underwriting spirit of rebellion or cynicism, a negative spirit, and I'll show you a church that is difficult to pastor, rebellious in its nature, and listen, and forfeiting God's blessing. You know, I've known churches like that. Some of those churches have closed their door. When people came to visit, there was no spirit of God that was there. There was a deadness that was there. Why? Because there was a lack of God's blessing. I don't know about you, but I long for Hillsdale to know God's blessing, don't you? So we have one, be submissive to authority. Number two, be humble. Humility, that's a challenge. I whispered in Dan's ear up here before he got up to sing Dan Waring. And I like his voice, the masculine bass voice. And here I've got my little high-pitched tenor voice. And I whispered in his ear. I said, you know, God didn't give me your voice because I would have had too much pride. You know, the booming voice. Well, there's some things in my life that bring me to humility. There's some things in our life that sometimes God brings us to humiliation. One of the things I've learned about humility is this. If I humble myself before God gets around to dealing with me, it's far better to be humble than to be humiliated, right? We've experienced that. Look at the verses there, the latter part of verse five and verse six. Be clothed with humility. For God resisteth the proud and he giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, unto the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." A couple of thoughts that go with that verse. The first is this. Enduring greatness will be clothed in humility. Enduring greatness will be clothed in humility. Every one of us would like to be successful. We would like to be in the position that our deposit, if you would, that our place in a life or in a ministry is something that has value to it. But, you know, as you look at the Scriptures, if we are to be great, we have to be humble. I love the story about George Washington. The story is told during the Revolutionary War that one day he was riding on his horse and wasn't readily recognized by his rank. As he was riding along, he came to a place where a group of soldiers were working to move a large tree out of a roadway that they were building. Well, these men were wrestling with this tree, and standing apart from them was a corporal, and he was given the orders of how to move the tree. And so he's yelling, Heave! Heave! And the tree was not moving. Not knowing the rider on horseback, the rider on horseback says to the corporal, he says, sir, why don't you help them move the tree? And the reply of the corporal was, why, sir, I'm a corporal. The story goes that George Washington dismounted from his horse. He went over and he put his shoulders to the tree as well. And then he said, heave, and wouldn't you know it, the tree began to move out of the way. Mounting back on his horse, George Washington said to the corporal, Sir, the next time your men need help, send for the commander in chief and I'll be glad to assist them. The greatness is always accompanied by humility. Your desire is to be successful. God will bless you. If you're willing to be humble. Let me add to that this thought. If submission is the foundation of a happy and joyful life, humility will be the pillars that that life is built on. Consider another thought that goes with that. The illustration, if you would, comes from be clothed that you find in verse five, be clothed with humility. It's interesting. The word, two words, be clothed is actually coming from an original word that was a word used for the apron of a slave. A slave would, in order to protect himself and his clothing that he was wearing in the household when he was carrying out the dirty duties of his task, He would take upon Himself an apron and wrap it about Him. It is that apron that is the words be clothed. So what is God telling us in verse 5? He is saying this, humility is the apron that God's people should wear. Do you remember the story in John chapter 13? The setting is that of the Last Supper. And Christ is with His disciples. And apparently, none of the men that were in the room had taken upon themselves the slave's task of washing the feet of others. Do you remember the story that Christ arose from where He was with His disciples? The Bible says that He set aside His robe and He took into His hand, what? A towel. And He wrapped it about Himself. He then began going from one disciple to the other, washing their feet. He actually came to Peter, the author of this book, and Peter said, no, not my feet. And Christ insisted that he wash Peter's feet. Now, the application of that is in John 13, verse 12. Well, we'll read verse 15 through 17. Christ says to his disciples, I have given you an example, a model, a pattern that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sends him. If you know these things, read the last phrase with me, happy are ye if ye do them. Say that again. Happy are ye if you do them. You know who the happiest people at Hillsong Baptist Church are? Are the ones that are serving others. If you're not serving others, if you're not involved in an area of ministry, if you're not touching other people's life by having a dirty towel and a picture, if you would, then you're the most unhappy, miserable person. I can't help but wonder of all those that have tried to take their life off the Sunshine Skyway Bridge this year, did any one of them serve and care about others? You see, when we are so depressed and we're struggling with so much anxiety within ourselves, perhaps even thinking of taking our own life, we realize that we are in a rut of selfish, self-centered, thinking. I told you before that over the years, one of the things I've learned when I am struggling with woe is me is to find somebody else that I can minister to. And I've shared with you before, I think of the phone sometimes and I call people just to encourage them. Now, every time you get a phone call from me doesn't mean, oh, preacher's depressed and he's just looking for a little upper today. But it is something that I've learned that when I serve others, There's so much more joy. God's Word does not lie. He says this, if you'll follow my pattern and do as I have done, what are you going to be? You're going to be what? Happy. Notice again, and I loved as I came to the latter part of verse 5, and it really encouraged my soul, a submissive attitude and a humble spirit bear the fruit of Divine grace. You want to bear grace in your life? Hey, be humble and be submissive. What is this grace? It is, and I think it might be on your sheet of paper there, it is God's favor. You ever known someone that as they're going through life, it seems like the wheels of their wagon is always falling off? You ever met anyone like that? Maybe some of you have got wheels in your wagon that are falling off. Or maybe the motor's falling apart or the transmission's falling out. Or maybe the job at work is just not going well and everything's going south and you're struggling to keep it going. It's kind of like the old Ed Sullivan show. where the acrobat, he has all of these sticks and then he has plates on the sticks, right? And they're spinning. And he starts one spinning and two spinning and three spinning. And then he goes back to the beginning and he gets that plate going again. And sooner or later, he's got a bunch of plates going and all the plates are spinning. Now, if he's not careful, what begins to happen to the plates? They begin to fall and crash and crack. Some of us, Wait until the plates that we're balancing and spinning are beginning to crash before we humble ourselves and say, God, I need your help. Let me ask you this morning. How many plates can you keep going before you've got too much going? If you look at the verse there, it says this, God resisteth the proud. But He gives a wonderful fruit to our life, and that fruit is His grace. I'll give you a couple of thoughts that go with that on your outline. The first is this. Grace is a requisite for salvation and God's gift to the humble. The Bible says in Ephesians 2 and verse 8 and 9, For by grace are ye saved. Now, I grew up in a church that said, do enough and it's good enough, And you'll be assured of heaven. The problem, though, is I got older and started to get into my early teen years was I became rational enough to start saying, well, how much is what? How much is enough? And, you know, there was no verse in the Bible that said how much was enough. I can remember a vacation Bible school, the teacher teaching and she says, if you're good enough, you're going to go to heaven. Well, that verse is not in the Bible. That was her idea. For by grace are you saved. Be brave. What is grace? Grace is God's divine favor. It's his unmerited favor. It is something you've not earned. You cannot in any way merit it. For by grace are you saved. What's the next word? Through what? Faith. Faith in what? Faith in my abilities? No, because I've already read. For by grace. And that grace is God's grace. For by grace do you say through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is not your church membership. It is not how kind, how good you are. It's not how great a mother you are. It's not what your wife says about you or what your children says about you. It's not what your mama says about you. It is all about what God has said about you. And do you know what God has said about you? He has said there is none righteous. No, not one. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. He has said that all our righteousness, all my activities to do right are as what? Filthy rags. At the end of the day, everything that I have done apart from God's grace is worthless. It's wood. It's hay. It's stubble. It'll be burnt up by God's judgment. For by grace, then, God's divine unmerited favor are you saved through faith. That out of yourselves. It is the gift of God. God's gift. If you're here today and you know Jesus Christ as Savior, it is not about what you've done. It is about what God has done for you. It is everything about what he has accomplished through Jesus Christ. My friend, if the preacher and the listener, if we give what we are due, it is hell, fire and nothing less. Not of works, lest any man should boast. Let's go back. We've started with two words. The first was this, to be submissive. The second word was what? To be humble. Not of works. Some of us today, we've had too much pride to come to God. We've had too much pride to come to the cross and see there hanging on the tree the one who has been sacrificed for our sins. The Bible says, "...but God commendeth His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ, died for us. The idea then of grace, grace is a requisite for salvation, but also again, notice grace is God's gift to the humble. God resists, resists the proud and giveth grace to the humble. I love to be around godly, elderly people that are still serving God. Sometimes all they can do at their age and frailty might be just to pray. But you know, that prayer is such a wonderful spiritual fruit. And God heaps grace upon grace. Notice too, though, a warning. The warning is this. A proud sinner is at odds with God. He's at odds with God. I heard years ago, and I can't remember the name exactly, of somebody that was out on a boat And it was a beautiful, clear, blue day. And they were shaking their hands up towards heaven, towards God. And suddenly, out of nowhere, came a bolt of lightning. God resists the proud. He gives grace to the humble. Another verse that goes with it. James 4 and verse 6. But He giveth more grace. The idea there is more and more and more grace. Wherefore, he saith, God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace unto the humble." What is the idea of resisting? It is that idea of where one is opposed to another. It's where everything that individual does is frustrated. It is where God has said, I am at odds with the proud. Let me ask you this morning. You be honest before God. How much of your life It's frustration. How much of your life is is almost like I can't take it anymore, I can't do this anymore, I can't keep going, I can't I can't keep going in my marriage, I can't keep living at home, I can't keep going down this path and everything is frustration, frustration, frustration. God resisted. The proud. But he gives grace to the humble. Thirdly, if you well, another thought, too, I think on your outline, humility is the command of a sovereign God. It is not just submit. Now it's be humble. It's not an option. This is what God is. Humble yourself. Look at verse six, if you would humble yourselves, therefore, into the mighty hand of God. That he may exalt you in due time. You know what the problem of a lot of us is? We're so interested in being exalted that we haven't realized the necessary steps of being patient and being humble. Look, if you would, on your outline, the key to this whole concept of humility is patience. God's wrestling with your soul and difficulties are impacting your life. And you cry out to God and say, God, I've done the salvation check. I know. I've put my faith and trust in You. And yet, everything's going wrong. And you know, God allows us to go through suffering times. And in the midst of those times, He's working out through us in His process that which is for our good and for His glory. In fact, on the outline, it's not original with me, but God is as interested in the process as He is in the results. You know, when I've gone through some hard times, I've been very public about them sometimes. My attitude a lot of the times was, get me out of this. You know, back when it took us two and a half years to get this building built, I've shared it so many times, but there's visitors here. And I was on my face and I would tell my wife, I'm going to quit. I'm going to quit. And she'd say, you can't quit. You sold the house. They don't have a church. You can't quit until it's finished. But you know, I wanted to quit. My pride was hurt. My plans were hurt. Everything was going wrong. Some of you are thinking, well, that's why we've gone through all this trouble. Hey, we've gone through it together. Let me rush on. Lastly, be submissive. Are you submissive? The authorities that God has placed in your life. Let me say this to you today, teenager and college students, especially young single adults. I know you struggle with authorities in your life. It's natural. You want to fly. You want to get out of the nest too early, teenager. And God has said, be submissive. The college students, you're saying, hey, I'm a young adult. I've got liberty. I've got freedom. And God says, but I've got a task. Sometimes young couples get married. a young husband and wife. They're in their 20s, maybe mid-20s, even late 20s. And for the first time in their life, they're setting up their own home, their own household. And they're saying to themselves, you know what? I'm out from under Mom and Dad's authority. Hey, listen, you're not out from under all authority. God says submit yourselves to the elders. God wants you to be submissive to His spiritual authorities. Be trusting, though. Look at verse 7. Boy, if there's something that could be an encouragement. Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. Be trusting. Let's give you a math problem. Here's a spiritual math problem. And some of you are like I am. In college, math wasn't a great resounding victory, okay? But you can handle this. Here it is. God's spiritual math for overcoming worry. And knowing hope and joy is this. One, be submissive. Two, be humble. And three, don't worry. And what does that equal? It equals joy and hope. Now, if you ever wanted to pass a math test, And I told you this morning, take out a half sheet of paper, which you already have in your hand, flip that paper over and you do the math. You ever had anyone tell you do the math? I was on the phone with Sprint. What was it? Friday. And I've done the math and they are wrong. But, you know, it took me 30 minutes for her to come back to the phone and say, there seems to be a mistake here, Mr. Smith. I said, yeah, the mistake is your mistake, not mine. And I'm not paying for it. I did the math before I made the phone call. Let me ask you to do the math, spiritual math. In order to have joy and hope, you've got to have the three minus one. You've got to be submissive. And some of you today are not submissive. A teenager struggling with mom and dad's authority? You're struggling with God's authority. Mom and dad, if they're going to struggle with Pastor Bo's authority, guess whose authority they're struggling with also. Over my 17 years in youth ministry, any time I was wrestling with the heart of a teenager, I knew mom and dad were wrestling with the heart of a teenager. They just weren't being honest. College students, you're going to have times this year where you're going to run into a faculty member. The question is, are you going to be submissive? Number two, are you going to be humble? The idea of humility again. It is one that takes his place. There is this humility that ends up evidencing in grace and kindness. And then don't worry. I love this story. It's told, I think, in one of the counseling books by Jay Adams. And he writes this about a guy named Joe. All of Joe's friends knew that Joe always worried. He was always worried. Everything going on in Joe's life, there was always a problem, always a catastrophe. It was always on the brink of disaster. But then one day, Joe wasn't worried. Everybody noticed he's kind of happy-go-lucky. He doesn't have a care in the world. And so his friends started wondering, what's going on with Joe? And so finally somebody was brave enough to say, I don't understand, Joe. What is going on with you that all of a sudden you're happy-go-lucky? And Joe said, well, I've hired somebody to do all the worrying for me. Hired somebody? How much are you paying them? And his response was, I'm paying them $1,000 a day to handle all my worries. And the guy says, Joe, you know you can't afford $1,000 a day to pay somebody to worry for you. And the guy, Joe, said, hey, it's not my problem, I'm not worried about it. Let me ask you this morning, who's doing all the worrying in your life? What does worry cause? It causes ulcers, depression. Spiritually, it causes us to lose sight of God and what God is doing. It weakens us spiritually so that we end up being that kind of person that we have no strength left. Some of you are there. Peter says then in verse 7, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. The word casting is this, to throw it away once and for all. To cast it aside, never to see it again. Some of us are pack rats. Raise up the garage door and everybody wonders, how can you even get a car in there? And for some of us, we're not going to raise our hand. We can't get our cars in our garage because we just packed it all in there. I've seen people in their garages. They have this little narrow space. You almost have to go down sideways to get through it because they've got all this junk there. And then it's interesting when you finally move. How much do you begin throwing out? You almost see the dumpster, right? Deliver a dumpster to where I live because I'm getting rid of everything. I want to encourage you this morning. You can give it all away. Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. Close with a thought. The thought is this. He cares and he keeps on caring for you. Story is told, and I'll close with an illustration and a verse. The story is told of a man, his name is Derek. He was a 26 year old Briton. He was scheduled to run in the 400 meter race, was a favorite for the gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Spain Olympics. Halfway into the semifinal, Derek suddenly fell to the track. A searing pain was going up his leg. He had torn a hamstring. And the people that ran by him were not the favorites. He was the favorite. And now he was in pain that he could hardly endure. And coaches and medics ended up running out on the track to where he was lying. But then Derek stood to his feet. He began pushing away all the coaches and the medics. And he slowly and with great pain began struggling down the track. And finally, as he's coming around the curve, it is the final stretch. It was as though he could not go on any longer. And suddenly there was an older, heavier man that comes out of the stadium stands. And he comes over towards this boy. His shirt says on it, Have you hugged your child today? And the hat says, Just do it. And the man goes over to the young man and he says, Son, you see, it was the father of Derek that came. He says, Son, you don't have to do this. Let's just stop. Stop right now. The boy looked at his dad and he says, Dad, I've got to finish. And then the dad said to his son, son, we're going to finish together. And he took the arm of that son and wrapped it around his neck. And he began to make his way down that last stretch, the crowd was standing, there was cheering going on as they were approaching the finish line. Those in the crowd began to cry even as they would stop at times and the son would bury his head in his father's shoulder because the pain was so incredibly great. But they finally crossed the finish line. The crowd erupted in joy and applause. It was one of those incredible life moments. But the question is this, why did the father do it? Why did he do it? Why did he come out of the stands? And why did he lift up this son that perhaps without him could have never made it across the finish line? And yet he chose to help his son. It was the pain of his son that moved him. Let me say to you this morning, why did Jesus Christ Die on the cross of Calvary and shed His blood for your sins. Why did God, who looked on, look at one He loved? His sinless, His only begotten Son, and He hangs there dying. Why would God do that? And the answer is what? Because he loves you. When he loves you so much, how can you do anything less than do this? Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. Close with a verse by David. David wrote these words, cast thy burden upon the Lord. And he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Do you know what the word moved is? The word move is the word suffer them to slip or to fall. I purposely put the Sunshine Skyway Bridge back up there. That bridge represents for most of us beauty, but for some it represents the last decision. I'm offering you today a final decision. The first is to you that do not know Jesus Christ as Savior. It is for you to admit that you're a sinner and to also accept the fact that there is not one good work that you're ever going to do that's going to merit God's favor. For by grace you say through faith, that not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. I'm going to ask you right now, for God to have done so much for you, how can you do anything less than turn from your sin and say, Father, forgive my sins and save my soul? It's about an eyes closed. How many of you today would say to me, Pastor, I know Jesus Christ is my savior, there's not a doubt. I know my sins are forgiven. I know that he is my Savior. I know that heaven is my final place. How many could say that with an upraised hand today? Pastor, Jesus Christ is my Savior, no doubts. Amen. Now listen, many hands were raised and yet there probably were some that were not raised. I'm going to invite you as the instruments begin playing in just a moment to quietly, in your heart, bow before God. And in that moment of bowing before God, I'm going to ask you to say, God, I know that I'm a sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ, He died for my sins. God's wonderful provision of grace. And now, Father, I'm asking you, save my soul. Forgive me of my sins. Save my soul. Bible says, whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Did you just pray that, Father? I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins. I confess that I'm a sinner. And now I'm asking you to save me. Jesus Christ is my Savior. If you just prayed that, would you Raise your hand up. He wasn't ashamed of you. Now I'm inviting you not to be ashamed of Him. Pastor, I just prayed and I trusted Jesus Christ as Savior. I see a hand there. You can put it down. Somebody else, just raise your hand and say, Preacher, I prayed this morning. I confessed I'm a sinner and I accepted Christ. Thank you. Another hand. Someone else. God's wrestling with you. Now I'm asking you to go to the cross and humble yourself. Anyone else? Along with these that have already raised their hand. So Preacher, I've accepted Jesus Christ as Savior during this time. My upraised hand is my testimony. Jesus Christ is my Savior. Anyone else? Anyone else? I'm going to invite those two, if you would, all other heads bowed and all eyes closed. Would you look at me? And I'm not going to look directly at you, but I'm going to trust you're going to look at me. In a moment, we're going to stand and sing. My wife and some of the other staff wives are here. And they would love to just step outside in a private place with you just for a few moments, open their Bible, and let you have that confidence of Jesus Christ being your Savior. I'm not going to force you to, but I'm going to invite you to. In fact, my wife is going to slip out and she's going to go up this back aisle, and then I'm going to invite One of the other staff wives, I'm looking about, Kim Tracy, the pastor of music, his wife. Kim, would you go up the aisle this way? And there may be a young lady that's going to meet you out there. My wife's going up the other way. And they're just going to quietly slip to a place outside here. And I'm going to invite you to slip out. Let's just stand to our feet, heads bowed, eyes closed. In a moment, I'm going to have us to sing. The believer, this message really, in many ways, is directed to you. I have Kim outside and Sheila's outside and she's waiting for you. That today, trust in Christ the Savior. We're going to invite you to slip out.