LAY  ASIDE  EVERY  WEIGHT!

 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, looking unto Jesus, 

the author and finisher of our faith, 

who for the joy that was set before Him 

endured the cross, despising the shame, 

and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

  Hebrews 12:1-2

 Imagine taking off your heavy backpack from your back and putting it down. Then taking off your big shoulder bag and putting it aside. Imagine the relief! 

In this fallen world, we easily become ensnared by the sin that is rampant and pick up weights that hinder our spiritual walk with JESUS. Athletes who run a race, make sure there is no unnecessary weight on them.

So also in our spiritual race we are exhorted to purposefully lay aside every weight that hinders our spiritual growth. We must diligently study GOD's word to know what these burdens, weights, yokes and labors are. As we draw closer to GOD, the Holy Spirit will help us to recognize 'every weight and the sin' in our lives that we ought to be rid of.

The Burden of Sin

As sinners, all of us carry guilt, shame and fear. Our LORD JESUS came down to this earth to live a life of suffering and shame. He was unjustly condemned and crucified on a cruel cross as a criminal, so that we could go free! He endured the weight of the cross and despised the shame on our behalf.

 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. 

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, 

For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, 

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, 

Because He poured out His soul unto death, 

And He was numbered with the transgressors, 

And He bore the sin of many, 

And made intercession for the transgressors. 

Isaiah 53:11-12

When we repent of our sins and ask Him for forgiveness, the risen LORD releases forgiveness and freedom from guilt, shame and fear, which we receive by faith. His love fills our heart and we are found righteous in the eyes of the Almighty GOD!

How often do we allow the sin of others to become our sin and a burden to us through unforgiveness! When we forgive, we are set free from the baggage of all hurt, anger and bitterness against others. We are released from the burden of trying to judge, and take revenge on those who offend and wrong us, when we plead for GOD's mercy on them and intercede for them! The Holy Spirit enables us to forgive and love as JESUS our LORD did.

 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, 

by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking 

be put away from you, with all malice.
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, 

forgiving one another, 

just as God in Christ forgave you. 

Ephesians 4:30-32

Having been set free from the burden of sin, we are able to follow the LORD JESUS joyfully!

The Unequal Yoke 

Two cows yoked together to plow a field, should be about the same size. If not, they cannot progress and the plow will not work effectively! As a believer in CHRIST, being married to or having a business partnership with an unbeliever, would depict an unequal yoke. The focus, goal and values of the two would differ, making it hard to progress in life and in the business. So it is with most systems and traditions of this world. 

 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. 

For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? 

And what communion has light with darkness? 

  2 Corinthians 6:14

We are asked not to conform our lives to the patterns of this world. It would be an unequal yoke to those of us who are in CHRIST. We must carefully give thought to the priorities, goals and values we set for ourselves, to make sure they are not of the world but that they are according to GOD's word!

 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, 

so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him 

and established in the faith, 

as you have been taught, 

abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Beware lest anyone cheat you 

through philosophy and empty deceit, 

according to the tradition of men, 

according to the basic principles of the world, 

and not according to Christ. 

  Colossians 2:6-8

There is therefore now no condemnation 

to those who are in Christ Jesus, 

who do not walk according to the flesh, 

but according to the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus 

has made me free from the law of sin and death. 

For to be carnally minded is death, 

but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

  Romans 8:1-2, 6

 The weight of Riches 

The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, 

Whether he eats little or much; 

But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. 

Ecclesiastes 5:12

If we have riches in this world, they can become a burden that we carry on ourselves! Our mind can be preoccupied as to how to increase possessions, what to do with them, where to store them and how to secure them. These thoughts can make a person anxious and sleepless unlike a humble laborer who earns daily wages!

 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, 

where moth and rust destroy 

and where thieves break in and steal;
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 

where neither moth nor rust destroys 

and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Matthew 6:19-21

 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: 

"The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
And he thought within himself, saying, '

What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'
So he said, 'I will do this: 

I will pull down my barns and build greater, 

and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, 

"Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; 

take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." '
But God said to him, 'Fool! 

This night your soul will be required of you; 

then whose will those things be which you have provided?'
So is he who lays up treasure for himself, 

and is not rich toward God." 

Luke 12:16-21

The Burden of Care

Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; 

He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. 

  Psalm 55:22

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 

1 Peter 5:7

A little child who is facing bullying in school, or a teenager who is facing a difficult exam and is stressed about it, or an adult son or daughter facing relationship problems, comes to the father or the mother and pours out the heart to the parent. That is how we 'Cast' our burdens to our Heavenly Father. It could be any issue that brings heaviness in our heart.

The loving parent takes time to patiently listen to the child and comforts the child saying that there is a solution to the problem. The parent might even step in to ease the situation. The parent will then give counsel and advice to the child to correct his or her actions and attitudes. The child overcomes the situation by taking the instruction of the parent and being encouraged that the parents are walking with him or her through the problem.

The Yoke of Worry

 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, 

what you will eat or what you will drink; 

nor about your body, what you will put on. 

Is not life more than food 

and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, 

for they neither sow nor reap 

nor gather into barns; 

yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not of more value than they?

Which of you by worrying 

can add one cubit to his stature?

So why do you worry about clothing? 

Consider the lilies of the field, 

how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory 

was not arrayed like one of these.

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, 

which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, 

will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Matthew 6:25-30

We must take our responsibility to provide food, clothing, housing and other necessities for ourselves and for our families. But we are asked not to allow these things to become a worry. We must do our part and trust the LORD, Who is Faithful.

 The consequence of constantly carrying extra load on yourself or putting on extra weight is muscle stress and pain, damage to tendons, ligaments and joints that will affect your movements. 

Similarly, worrying would cause damage to our soul, causing stress, anxiety and depression.  This will cause us to be self centered in our thinking, lacking in our love for the LORD and not being mindful of others! It can also result in physical disabilities due to muscle spasm and tension and other infirmities like ulcers, hypertension and auto immune diseases! 

Therefore do not worry, saying, 

'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' 

or 'What shall we wear?' 

 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. 

For your heavenly Father knows 

that you need all these things.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 

and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will worry about its own things. 

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

Matthew 6:31-34

The LORD asks us to be mindful of His Kingdom and His righteousness. That is, to live to glorify GOD. It involves praying for people, interceding for others, sharing the Gospel with those who haven't heard and encouraging and building the faith of believers. When we live to work for His Kingdom, He meets all our earthly needs! 

The Yoke of Pride

 He beholds every high thing; 

He is king over all the children of pride." 

Job 41:34

Pride yokes us to the agents of the devil because he is full of pride!

 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, 

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, 

and those who are great exercise authority over them.
Yet it shall not be so among you; 

but whoever desires to become great among you, 

let him be your servant. 

Matthew 20:25-26

Pride makes us think more of ourselves more than what we are. The devil pushes us upwards against those who are above us in the Scriptural structure of authority, causing clashes! The devil also makes us oppress those who are under our authority, by oppressing us.

Being pushed upwards or downwards by the devil is burdensome!

 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. 

He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, 

speaks evil of the law and judges the law. 

But if you judge the law, 

you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. 

Who are you to judge another? 

James 4:11-12

We do not have to carry the load of judging others! It is easy to get onto the judgement seat and stress as to what wrong others are doing and how they should be dealt with, unless we have been given specific responsibility to do that.

Rather, we should check laws and situations with the word of GOD so that we may walk in obedience to the law of the LORD.

We are also instructed to pray for our rulers.

 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, 

prayers, intercessions, 

and giving of thanks be made for all men,
for kings and all who are in authority, 

that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life 

in all godliness and reverence.
For this is good and acceptable 

in the sight of God our Savior, 

1 Timothy 2:1-3

Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. By gathering copious information from the media, we can allow our soul to rise to a height from where we look down on our rulers and become judgmental! That would be an unnecessary yoke for our neck because GOD is the Sovereign Ruler and He will judge those He sets on thrones. Through prayer and intercession, we must release those in authority to the LORD, thereby, laying aside such unnecessary burdens! 

 Be of the same mind toward one another. 

Do not set your mind on high things, 

but associate with the humble. 

Do not be wise in your own opinion. 

  Romans 12:16

Quite often, we might go beyond the LORD - run ahead of Him pridefully, or move away to the right by being legalistic! We must come to the boundaries He has set for us so that we can abide in CHRIST and only do what He has purposed for our lives. Everything else will be an unnecessary burden to our soul.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 

and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 

for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 

and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." 

Matthew 11:28-30

We should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, even in our actions to help others, advising or counselling others and in ministering to others. If we have gone too far having been led by our 'self', we need to make the decision to retrace our steps back to the LORD JESUS. He is our Boundary Line!

We might push  ourselves beyond the boundary line of our rightful authority and get into unnecessary trouble with others! The Holy Spirit will convict us of such distractions in our lives so that we can return to the LORD once again and find rest to our soul by abiding within the boundaries GOD has set for each one of us!

The Yoke of the devil 

Pharoah, depicting Satan, makes us labor with more work, to prevent us going into the desert, that is, taking time alone with the LORD to worship Him.

 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, 

"Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 

'Let My people go, 

that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.' "

And Pharaoh said, 

"Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice 

to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, 

nor will I let Israel go."

So they said, 

"The God of the Hebrews has met with us. 

Please, let us go three days' journey into the desert 

and sacrifice to the LORD our God, 

lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword."

Then the king of Egypt said to them, 

"Moses and Aaron, 

why do you take the people from their work? 

Get back to your labor."

And Pharaoh said, 

"Look, the people of the land are many now, 

and you make them rest from their labor!"

So the same day Pharaoh commanded 

the taskmasters of the people 

and their officers, saying,

"You shall no longer give the people straw 

to make brick as before. 

Let them go and gather straw for themselves.

And you shall lay on them 

the quota of bricks which they made before. 

You shall not reduce it. 

For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, 

'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'

Let more work be laid on the men, 

that they may labor in it, 

and let them not regard false words."

  Exodus 5:1-9

If we feel weary and stressed, we should examine our lives to find out what we are doing, that the LORD has not planned for us. if we are only involved with that which GOD has purposed for each one of us, there will be no stress, but joy and fulfilment in what we do!

 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God 

with joy and gladness of heart, 

for the abundance of everything,
therefore you shall serve your enemies, 

whom the LORD will send against you, 

in hunger, in thirst, 

in nakedness, and in need of everything; 

and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck 

until He has destroyed you. 

Deuteronomy 28:47-48

If you want rest from stress, come to JESUS the LORD. Wait on Him until your burden is lifted and you enter into His rest. Then you will know what He has planned for your life in His Kingdom work. When you take His yoke that is easy and light upon you, no other yoke can come on your neck and no other burden can come on your shoulder! 

It shall come to pass in that day 

That his burden will be taken away 

from your shoulder, 

And his yoke from your neck, 

And the yoke will be destroyed 

because of the anointing oil. 

Isaiah 10:27

The Weight of Physical Infirmity

 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, 

for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, 

that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

2 Corinthians 12:9

 If you are weighed down by your physical weaknesses, infirmities and sicknesses, call on the LORD, Who will heal you or carry you each day with His all-sufficient grace! 

The pull of gravity seems to have a greater effect on an ageing body! Learn to lift up and set your eyes on eternal things that will pull you upwards toward the amazing glory that is awaiting you!! 

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, 

is working for us 

a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 

2 Corinthians 4:17

Unnecessary medical checks and scans and advanced medical investigations can become a preoccupation and burden to us. This can be during the course of a pregnancy as well. 

Certain abnormalities that are detected may never turn out to be serious during the lifetime. But the concerns expressed by the medical personnel and progressive investigations, although useful in some situations, can become harmful and more importantly, a cause of unnecessary stress and anxiety!

The Burden of Legalism 

The religious leaders during our LORD's time on earth, oppressed the people with laws that were more than GOD's commandment, which is love. They desired to justify themselves by extra works of legalism.

For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, 

and lay them on men's shoulders; 

but they themselves will not move them 

with one of their fingers. 

Matthew 23:4

Simple obedience is what GOD requires of us. We cannot justify ourselves before GOD by extra works or unnecessary sacrifices! Like little kids with their parents, we too do something else and more of it, while avoiding what GOD wants us to do!

 So Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight 

in burnt offerings and sacrifices, 

As in obeying the voice of the LORD? 

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, 

And to heed than the fat of rams. 

1 Samuel 15:22

 For this is the love of God, 

that we keep His commandments. 

And His commandments are not burdensome. 

1 John 5:3

Burden of Responsibility 

 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, 

you who are spiritual 

restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, 

considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
For if anyone thinks himself to be something, 

when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
But let each one examine his own work, 

and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, 

and not in another.
For each one shall bear his own load. 

  Galatians 6:1-5

While not shirking our GOD given responsibilities, we must also make ourselves available to help others with our time, energy and skills. We must know our limits in helping others with these kind gestures, and also teach them to bear their own load and responsibility

 And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, 

but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, 

'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; 

and look, a plank is in your own eye?
Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, 

and then you will see clearly 

to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 

  Matthew 7:3-5

Before carrying the burden of correcting another, we should make sure that our attitudes, motives and our ways are right before the LORD!

If you have been given big burdens of responsibilities in your secular or sacred work, ask the LORD for wisdom to delegate.

 So Moses said to the LORD, 

"Why have You afflicted Your servant? 

And why have I not found favor in Your sight, 

that You have laid the burden of all these people on me?
Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, 

that You should say to me, 

'Carry them in your bosom, 

as a guardian carries a nursing child,' 

to the land which You swore to their fathers?
Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? 

For they weep all over me, saying, 

'Give us meat, that we may eat.'
I am not able to bear all these people alone, 

because the burden is too heavy for me.
If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now--

if I have found favor in Your sight--

and do not let me see my wretchedness!"
So the LORD said to Moses: 

"Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, 

whom you know to be the elders of the people 

and officers over them; 

bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, 

that they may stand there with you.
Then I will come down and talk with you there. 

I will take of the Spirit that is upon you 

and will put the same upon them; 

and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, 

that you may not bear it yourself alone. 

Numbers 11:11-17

 The Labor of Kingdom Work

For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; 

for laboring night and day, 

that we might not be a burden to any of you, 

we preached to you the gospel of God. 

1 Thessalonians 2:9

Kingdom life does not neglect earthly responsibilities. We must labor according to our ability, not only to provide for our own but also to give of our goods to others in need besides bringing spiritual blessing to others! 

 Let him who stole steal no longer, 

but rather let him labor, 

working with his hands what is good, 

that he may have something to give him who has need. 

  Ephesians 4:28

 What does it profit, my brethren, 

if someone says he has faith but does not have works? 

Can faith save him?
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
and one of you says to them, 

"Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," 

but you do not give them the things 

which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 

  James 2:14-17

Laboring obediently and wisely in GOD's vineyard, is not only fulfilling in this life, but has great eternal rewards together with eternal rest!

 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, 

always abounding in the work of the Lord, 

knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 

  1 Corinthians 15:58

 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, 

"Write: 

'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' " 

"Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, 

and their works follow them." 

  Revelation 14:13

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GOD BLESS YOU!