Listen to our message on your audio player.

“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”  (Hebrews 12:1).

For many years we awakened at 5 AM each morning due to our early morning chaplain calls, but we have slowed down over the past few years and are not in the habit of rising so early. This week I (Stephen) will be driving Amish teachers to their schools so my alarm is set once again for 5:00 AM. To help align my attitude first thing in the morning I set my alarm to a song that begins, "Oh to see the dawn" though in our part of the country 5:00 AM is long before dawn at this time of year!

The name of the song is "The Power of the Cross" by Keith and Kristyn Getty. It tells the story of Christ going to the cross on our behalf.  The second verse begins,

This prompts a consideration of today's text and an illustration from many years ago.

When we travel I am thankful that Brooksyne and Ester tolerate my pursuing one of my favorite "tourist" activities, taking factory tours! Sometimes they go with me, other times we may find something else for them to do.

About twenty-five years ago we took a vacation to the Pacific Northwest, a result of getting bumped from a flight and receiving a voucher for three round trip tickets anywhere in the continental US. To get the best value for free I chose a distant location that we were interested in. Flying out of Boston that happened to be the Pacific northwest. So we flew out, rented a car and traveled all through the region in Washington and Oregon, including a close-up of Mount St. Helens (although we didn’t climb up to the rim). The major eruption of May 18, 1980, remains the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history.

I wanted to go to the factory where they make the Boeing 747’s so we headed up to Everett, Washington.  At 472,000,000 cubic feet it claims to be the largest building in the world. It really is an amazing sight. A bus was used to take us on the tour. As I recall there were three assembly lines with the huge planes being built on each one. Workers scurried about riding bicycles throughout the massive plant.

During our tour we were unable to get up real close to the planes as they were being assembled. Before the engines are installed, huge weights are hung from the wings to keep the planes balanced. The solid-steel weights are bright yellow and marked “14,000 lbs.” Stenciled on the side of each weight is this warning: "Remove before flight". Well, that sure makes sense! (Actually you can see the yellow weights in the photo above.)

The daily verse has long been among my favorites. As I recall, I used this text in the first sermon I ever preached at a Missouri state lung hospital in Mount Vernon, Missouri in 1974.  I ran track and cross country in high school and as a runner Scriptures that use running as an illustration of our spiritual journey have long blessed me.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses". This alludes to the great hall of fame of faith in the previous chapter and I believe we should extend that to all who have faithfully served God before us, including those we know personally. 

"Let us lay aside every weight". Foundational to good running is shedding all the weight possible. I recall as a serious runner in high school the importance of good footwear. Although the athletic footwear industry was not nearly as developed then as it is now there was much emphasis placed on the shoe for running, the lighter the weight the faster the run.

What then are the “weights” that we should remove to help us win this spiritual race? In general terms, anyone or anything that hinders our spiritual progress. Such encumbrances might even be “good things”. Continuing with the athletic metaphor, a winning athlete does not choose between the good and the bad; he chooses between the better and the best. So strip off and cast away even harmless things if they hinder your progress, divert your attention, sap your energy or dampen your enthusiasm of the upward call in Christ Jesus. Foundationally we can lay aside these weights because Christ already bore the awesome weight of our sin on the cross.

"And the sin which so easily ensnares us". The word for “easily ensnares” is the Greek “euperistatos” which has the sense of "thwarting in every direction".  There are two different views as to what the writer of Hebrews is referring to here.

One view sees it as a sin common to all believers such as doubt or unbelief, although he doesn’t specify the sin.

The other view considers this to be a specific sin that individuals deal with that easily ensnares one’s spiritual growth.  For some it might be lust, others anger, etc. There are issues I deal with that you don’t and vice versa.  We are told to "throw off" this sin. Common forms of ensnarement that I have noted are bitterness, resentment, lack of self-control, etc.

Today, let us deal forcefully with these issues in our lives and "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us". And let us be thankful that on the cross Christ bore the awesome weight of our sin.

Be encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13

Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources