IT'S NOT WORTH IT: LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT

Beloved, I salute you heartedly in the name of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who has made it possible to see the dawning of another new year. May this new year cause a new experience with Him in your life in Jesus name, Amen. On this month’s edition, i will be sharing with you on what i titled “LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT.”

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight...” I will like to bring to our remembrance again that we are not just in the world, but we are in a race. The Bible says in 1st Corinthians 9:24, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain.” In this race, there is a prize. To obtain this prize we must not only run but also be ready to share away weights that hinder us. Christians all want to please God, but as they proceed in their faith walk, they seem to function below what their heart craves for. They want to run this awesome race with fire and vigour but they see themselves behind because of them not laying aside every weight.

To lay aside means to deliberately decide to make a permanent change. Removing wrong attitude and actions (malice, hatred, anger, unforgiveness) from our lives will not occur accidentally. We must decide to change, to remove, to lay aside, and to put away attitudes and actions that doesn’t please God and adversely affect our faith walk. You must understand that laying aside every weight is not God’s responsibility but yours. God is waiting on you to put it aside.

Hebrews 12:1 refers to these incorrect attitudes and actions as weight. The word weight is from the Greek work ‘Ogkos’- a word that describes a burden or something so heavy and cumbersome that it impeded a runner from running his race as he should. I have never seen as athlete who is ready to obtain the prize with a large bag pack full of stones, instead he does everything to be a light as possible. That’s exactly what we must do in this race we are called to run. This sends a strong message to us, if we want to please God, satisfy ourselves and do something significant with our lives, we have to choose to remove anything from our lives that would hinder those objectives.

The Children of Israel were a very clear example of people who wanted the place of rest and total fulfillment but never wanting to shave anything away from their lives. The bible says in 1st Corinthians 10:1-11, “Moreover, brethren I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: For they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.” They continuously journeyed with Egypt and all its weights as they travelled to Canaan, being aware that Egypt can never enter Canaan.

Beloved, grace is already available; Jesus told us that His grace is sufficient for us. This means everything we need in life to help us fulfill our dream is already at our disposal. The missing puzzle is focus. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

To succeed in life we need to put our trust in Jesus, focusing on Him only. And as we do through the instrumentality of His word and the power of His Spirit you will see that these weights will all fall away as we yield ourselves to Him.

God bless you. See you next month.