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In Olympia, Greece stands the ancient ruins where

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the first Olympic Games were held.

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There in the Olympian Stadium, the athletes competed

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for the prize, which was a wreath to

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wear on the head.

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When I was a young man, I visited

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that site and there on that athletic field,

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I ran a race for fun with some

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other men.

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I saw the bima seat, a stone bench

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where the judge sat, observing the participants who

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ran unencumbered because they ran naked in that

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competition.

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I ran on that field when I was

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in my twenties, when I still had physical

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strength and vigor.

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Now I'm an old man and looking back

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on my own Christian race for the Lord

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Jesus, and the prize is still before me,

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up yonder in heaven.

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I'm at the age where I have more

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friends up in heaven than I do here

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on earth, and it makes me reflect on

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how I want to finish my race for

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the Lord.

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The title of my message today, friends, is

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Finishing Well, and my text can be found

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in the book of Hebrews and chapter 12.

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You can turn in your Bibles there now,

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friends.

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We will be in verses one through three.

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Let me read this striking passage of scripture

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to us at this time, and may the

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Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of

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His holy word.

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Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with

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so great a cloud of witnesses, let us

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lay aside every weight and the sin which

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doth so easily beset us, and let us

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run with patience the race that is set

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before us.

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Let me pause here to say, in this

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passage we see a crowd in heaven watching.

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We see a race that needs to be

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run, and we see a sin that trips

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us up and hinders us in the race.

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Some scholars say that the cloud of witnesses

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referred to here makes reference to the worthies

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just mentioned in chapter 11 in that great

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hall of faith, and we are to follow

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their example.

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Other scholars say that those in heaven are

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observing our race and cheering us on.

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There is a painting by Raphael which pictures

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the clouds, and if you look closely at

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that painting, you will see the clouds are

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composed of little cherub faces, and it's a

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picture of those who have already witnessed and

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suffered for God as they gather around us

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as a great cloud like the amphitheater of

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the Olympian games, and we are still in

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the arena running and striving and sweating, and

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they observe our every strain and sigh as

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we run that race which is the Christian

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life.

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I believe both of those observations are true.

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They are our example, and they are our

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cheering section as well.

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We are told here that the race is

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set before us.

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God in his sovereignty knows all the things

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that we will pass through in life.

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He knows the heartaches and the battles which

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we will encounter before they ever occur.

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He knows the end as well as the

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beginning, and our race is set before us

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by his providence.

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We are told to run with patience and

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to run freely, laying aside every weight, every

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hindrance.

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The robes that the ancient Greeks wore would

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have tripped them up if they ran in

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them, so they cast them off entirely.

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There is mentioned here in our text of

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sin which so easily besets us.

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The devil knows what that sin is, and

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he knows how to bait us and trap

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us with it.

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Jesus knows what that sin is as well,

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because he spent his very blood on Calvary's

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cross bearing our sins, and we know that

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particular sin area in our life which seems

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to be like an Achilles' heel.

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In Greek mythology, when Achilles was a baby,

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it was foretold he would die young.

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To prevent his death, his mother Thetis took

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Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed

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to offer powers of invulnerability, and dipped his

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body into the water.

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However, as she held him by the heel,

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his heel was not washed over by the

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magical properties of the water, and it haunted

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him all its life.

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We each have an Achilles' heel, that sin

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that so easily besets us.

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If you're honest with yourself, friends, you know

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how wicked your own heart is, how prone

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to sin the human nature is, and you

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know that sin that so easily trips you

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up.

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We are instructed, in our text, to lay

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aside that sin, so we can run the

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Christian race better, and run it unhindered, to

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the glory of God.

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Our passage also tells us how to do

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this, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher

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of our faith, who for the joy that

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was set before him endured the cross, despising

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the shame, and is set down at the

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right hand of the throne of God.

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For consider him that endured such contradiction as

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sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and

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faint in your minds.

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The Christian life, friends, is a race to

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be run.

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How we run it is up to us.

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How serious we take eternity is up to

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us.

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How burdened we are with the souls of

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men and the glory of God.

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But we are encouraged by this passage from

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the word of God that we are not

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alone as we run this race of endurance.

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We are exhorted to follow Christ, and the

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book of Hebrews ends with a great encouragement

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to us to finish the race well.

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Now the God of peace that brought again

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from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great

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shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of

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the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every

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good work, to do his will, working in

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you, that which is well-pleasing in his

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sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the

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glory forever and ever.

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As we run the race, friends, let each

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of us keep our eyes on the prize,

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the Lord Jesus Christ, and let us each

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finish well.