Title: The Lord Gets You Across the Finish Line 
Meta: And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - Philippians 1:6
Tags: race,endurance,Christian,Perseverance Of The Saints (Belief)

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Now here's a second encouragment,

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look to Him who promises to complete His Work in you.

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Philipians chapter one and verse six.

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Being confident of this that very thing that He which hath begun a good work in you

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shall perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

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Have you ever thought about it?

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Is there hope for people that have been ravished by sin?

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Who have been devoured almost to the uttermost

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by the Devil?

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Well, ask a few of the Biblical characters.

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Abraham was a liar,

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and yet God ultimately made him the father of many nations.

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Jacob was a deceiver,

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but yet he became a prince of God having power with God and man.

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Moses was a murderer,

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but yet he led he led the people through the wilderness.

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Rahab was a harlot,

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and yet you find her name in the genealogy

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of Christ and also recorded in the hall of faith.

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David committed adultery,

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but it never altered the fact that he was a man

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after God's own heart.

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Peter denied the Lord,

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but God raised him up as a powerful prophet of righteousness

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on the day of Pentecost.

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Thomas doubted, but he was

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used by God to further to advance the kingdom of God

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in the kingdom there in the book of Acts.

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I don't know if you guys, you know, follow

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the Olympics or not.

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I mean, I don't know, it just seems like there

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are certain events, and, you know, and winter Olympics

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and summer Olympics, you know, we watch that stuff,

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and, you know, we've been in a number

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of countries around the world to speak, and so

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I have a lot more people to pull for

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in the Olympics, you know.

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I can pull for the Germans, and the Finns, you know,

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and all these different countries, you know,

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just because I know people there now

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and there's an attachment and all that.

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And I like the Olympics.

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But I'll tell you, to illustrate this point

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of "look to Him that is going to complete his work in you."

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In the 1992 Barcelona Games

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there was a runner by the name of Derrick Redman.

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He was predicted to medal in the 400 meters.

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He had just blown everybody away

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in his first qualifying round, and he advanced.

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But in the second qualifying round,

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half-way around the track,

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his hamstring snapped.

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He just collapsed on the field.

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And all the runners just shot past him.

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All of his hope of winning a medal, and perhaps even the gold,

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was just dashed, in just a split second.

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He gets up, and all the paramedics are coming out,

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and officials, and they're trying to help him,

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and he's pushing them back.

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And you can see the tears, just coursing across his cheeks.

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I mean, the pain you feel for him,

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not only physically, but also the disappointment.

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And here he is, he starts limping down the track,

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and then he starts just hobbling on one foot.

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And all the people in the stands, 65000,

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start standing on their feet and giving him standing ovation.

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And suddenly he stumbles again.

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And you can see in the background there,

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there is a large man that's pushing his way through security.

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And finally, they just back off.

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It happens to be Derrick's father, Jim.

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And his daddy comes out and the boy leans on his daddy,

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he's just weeping profusely, and his daddy, Jim,

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says, "You know, son, you don't have to do this."

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And he said, "Yes, I do. Yes, I do."

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So the father looked at him and says,

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"Well, we'll do it together."

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You know what happens?

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He walks him around that track, and right before

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he goes across the finish line, his daddy lets him go.

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I want to tell you something, friend.

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If you're going to finish the race on this side of eternity,

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it's only going to be through the help of the Father.

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He is the only one that will sustain you.

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And when you cross the finish line one day,

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It won't be because of your performance,

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or your perseverance.

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It will be because of the sustaining help of God.