Mensa Otabil - Lay Aside the Weight (10/25/2025)
Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. This exhortation draws from the analogy of the ancient Roman race. The Greeks did it, and the Romans did it; they would run in the arenas. It is similar to what we do in our athletic competitions today. People run in large arenas with cheering spectators in the stands, and the passage draws on this to talk about the Christian race, which also shares some similarities with a natural race in a stadium.
There are three things I want you to pay attention to. The first one is that we are surrounded by witnesses. In any athletic endeavor, there will be spectators in the stands, and these spectators will be cheering on those who are running or performing so that they do well. There are people in the stands. The Bible then tells us that we also are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. Who are these cloud of witnesses? They are those men and women of faith who have lived before us and are cheering us on. It doesn’t mean they are physically cheering us on, but their lives, their stories-we read about them, and as we read about them, their stories cheer us on.
So, you read about David and Goliath, and you read about Noah building the ark and all the opposition he faced and how he persisted. You read about Gideon winning a battle with just 300 men. When you read all of these things, they are cheering us on to say, «Keep running, keep running, don’t stop running,» because others have run the race you’ve run, and they didn’t quit. So, we have the testimonies of our cloud of witnesses, the spectators in our stands.
The second thing the passage says is to lay aside every weight. Excess weight is the chief enemy of every runner. Everybody who runs any race, whether it’s long distance or short distance, doesn’t want to carry excess weight. You don’t want to have excess body fat. You could have it if you are doing the shot put, where you need a lot of weight to throw the shot put, but if you’re running a race, you don’t want to have one extra pound on your body.
In the same way, the Bible says we must not have anything extra on us when we’re running the Christian race. We must not have sin, we must not have bad habits; we must not have anything that hinders us from running the race effectively. Many times, we sabotage ourselves with bad practices, bad habits, and bad behavior. We pick up all the bad things and still want to run successfully in the Christian race. It doesn’t happen that way-it doesn’t happen in a natural race, and it doesn’t happen in our spiritual race. So, we put aside all excess baggage, everything that is excess baggage: the kinds of TV you watch, the kinds of things you see on the internet, the kinds of books you read, and the kinds of conversations you have. All of these can be excess weight.
The Christian race is likened to a long-distance race, and a long-distance race thrives on endurance, while a short-distance race thrives on speed. If someone is running a marathon, speed is not really an asset; it only becomes an asset at the very end when they are finishing the race, then they burst out with speed. For the rest of their race, they must endure; they must have stamina. So, the Christian life is not just something you live for one day and it’s done, for two days and it’s done, or for one year where you’re very fast and hot for the Lord and then you backslide the rest of the year. No, you stay on course, and you stay in the fire of the Lord, and may the Lord give all of us endurance.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, help me to lay aside every weight that hinders my progress. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»