Knowing Christ Beyond the Resume

Oct 25, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Ripping Up the Resume to Hold Christ

When achievements define us, we carry invisible resumes of pride or shame. Paul’s radical declaration—calling his pedigree “rubbish”—reveals how knowing Christ dismantles our need for self-validation. True identity emerges when we release both our trophies and failures to grasp the One who redefines worth. This surrender isn’t self-loathing but liberation, trading temporary labels for eternal belonging. Christ’s value outshines every earthly measure. [26:27]

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:7–8, ESV)

Reflection: What “achievement” or hidden struggle do you instinctively use to define your worth? How might releasing it free you to receive Christ’s affirmation?

Day 2: The Road Where Christ Finds You

Faith begins not with our pursuit but Christ’s interruption. Like Paul on the Damascus road, we’re often headed away from God when grace ambushes us. Jesus initiates relationship even in our resistance, turning rebellion into calling. His pursuit isn’t deterred by our resumes—He chases us to rewrite them. The voice that once asked “Why are you persecuting me?” still calls the wandering home. [40:57]

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." (Acts 9:3–5, ESV)

Reflection: When has Jesus unexpectedly redirected your life? How does His initiative, not your readiness, anchor your confidence in His plans?

Day 3: One Thing: Forgetting What Lies Behind

Forward momentum in faith requires releasing the gravitational pull of yesterday—both regrets and accolades. Paul’s “one thing” focus rejects letting past failures haunt or past successes hypnotize. Like a runner straining toward the finish, disciples fix their eyes on Christ’s call ahead. The Christian life isn’t a museum of memories but a pilgrimage toward Presence. [44:56]

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14, ESV)

Reflection: What “behind” still weighs you down—a regret, old identity, or season of success? What step helps you fix your eyes on Christ’s “ahead” today?

Day 4: Knowing Christ, Not Just About Him

Biblical knowledge becomes lifeless without relational intimacy. Paul’s craving—“that I may know him”—moves beyond facts to shared life. Like learning a friend’s laughter or a spouse’s heartbeat, knowing Jesus means listening to His voice in Scripture, noticing His work in ordinary moments, and letting His presence recalibrate our desires. Theology without proximity breeds arrogance; encounter fuels awe. [36:35]

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3, ESV)

Reflection: When have you moved from knowing about Jesus to knowing Him personally? What daily habit could deepen your attentiveness to His presence?

Day 5: The Prize of the Upward Call

The Christian’s end goal isn’t a destination but a Person. Paul’s “prize” isn’t heaven’s perks but Christ Himself—the One whose glory outshines earthly trials. This hope isn’t escapism but fuel for faithful perseverance. Every act of obedience, every surrendered resume, every forgiven failure echoes eternity’s refrain: “Well done.” The finish line is a homecoming to the Father’s embrace. [49:38]

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20–21, ESV)

Reflection: How does envisioning Christ as your ultimate “prize” reshape your perspective on today’s challenges? What makes His “Well done” more satisfying than earthly applause?

Sermon Summary

Paul’s resume is impressive: the right family, the right schools, zeal, and a blameless record. Yet beside the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, that whole resume is rubbish. Christ has not merely improved Paul’s identity. Christ has become worth more than everything Paul once used to establish his worth.

A resume can hold achievements that people gladly mention and failures they hope nobody discovers. Both can define a life. Paul tears his up because he has found someone greater than himself. Like Peter, who recognized that Jesus alone had the words of eternal life, Paul has nowhere better to go. His desire is not simply to admire Jesus or believe correct things about him. His desire is to know him personally as Lord.

Knowing Christ takes space, attention, listening, and time in his presence. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus as believers hear his word, pray, follow his call, and allow his love to minister to their brokenness. Yet Christ takes the first step. Paul was heading toward Damascus to harm the church when Jesus took hold of him. His pursuit of Christ grows out of Christ’s prior claim on his life.

Paul therefore presses on, forgetting what lies behind. Forgetting is not amnesia. It means refusing to give past successes, failures, and suffering a vote over the present. Like a sprinter stretching toward the finish line, Paul keeps his eyes on Christ.

The prize is Jesus himself and all he has promised: resurrection, belonging, and a home where sorrow gives way to joy. That hope gives believers reason to follow even on difficult roads. As the self-centered, resume-keeping person dies, Christ’s resurrection power brings transformation, and his kingdom becomes something others can taste through obedience. The final welcome comes not from an employer reviewing a file, but from a Father who loves his child.

Key Takeaways

1. Christ Is Worth The Torn Resume. Paul does not discard his credentials because they were unimpressive; he discards them because Christ is worth more. Both celebrated achievements and hidden failures can become ways of measuring a person’s worth. Knowing Christ loosens the grip of both, turning attention from protecting an identity toward the Lord who is worth knowing. [28:19]
2. Knowing Jesus Requires Room To Listen. Correct beliefs about Jesus are not a substitute for knowing him personally. A relationship deepens through attention, honest questions, listening, and time in another’s presence. The Holy Spirit makes Christ known as believers make room for his word, his tenderness, and his call on their lives. [36:35]
3. Christ Takes Hold Before Paul Pursues. Paul was not searching for Jesus on the Damascus road; he was carrying authority to arrest Jesus’ followers. Christ interrupted that opposition, called Paul, and gave him work before he had earned it. Paul’s determination to press on rests on having already been taken hold of by Christ, not on proving himself worthy of the call. [40:32]
4. The Past Does Not Get A Vote. Forgetting what lies behind does not require pretending that failure, achievement, or suffering never happened. It means refusing to let those things tie a believer down or keep attention fixed on the place of stumbling. Christ remains ahead, and present faithfulness means getting up and pressing toward him rather than continually reckoning with the old resume. [45:23]
5. The Prize Is Home With Christ. The upward call promises more than relief from present trouble: it promises life with Christ where everything is as it should be. That coming joy strengthens believers to follow him through difficult roads and surrender the self-centered life. The final welcome belongs to a beloved child, not an employee whose file has finally passed inspection. [53:48]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[24:41] - Paul’s Impressive Resume
[26:27] - Rubbish Compared With Christ
[29:46] - Jesus Has the Words of Eternal Life
[32:37] - The Surpassing Greatness of Knowing Christ
[36:35] - Making Space to Know Jesus
[40:15] - Christ Takes Hold of Paul
[42:26] - Knowing Christ in the Quiet
[44:36] - Forgetting What Lies Behind
[46:47] - Pressing Forward Through Time With Jesus
[49:15] - The Prize of the Upward Call
[52:34] - Dying to Self and Tasting the Kingdom
[53:48] - A Father’s Welcome, Not a Resume Review

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Philippians 3:7-8
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” [26:27]

Philippians 3:13-14
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” [44:36]

John 6:68
“Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” [31:10]

Observation questions

What kinds of achievements and hidden struggles can become part of a person’s “resume,” and what do both have to do with identity? [27:03]
In Philippians 3:7–8, what makes Paul change his assessment of the credentials he once valued? [28:35]
What connection is drawn between Peter’s response in John 6:68 and Paul’s willingness to give up his former sources of worth? [31:35]
What does the picture of a sprinter help show about Paul’s focus in Philippians 3:13–14? [46:47]

Interpretation questions

Does Paul’s assessment of his achievements in Philippians 3:7–8 mean that family, education, and service have no value? What changes when those things are no longer used to establish a person’s worth? [28:35]
What is the difference between knowing correct things about Jesus and knowing him personally as Lord? How might that difference become visible in someone’s daily life? [36:28]
How does Christ taking hold of Paul first change the meaning of Paul’s effort to press on? How is that different from trying to earn Christ’s acceptance? [41:05]
How can a believer stop letting the past determine the present without denying painful experiences or avoiding responsibility for past wrongs? [45:18]

Application questions

What achievement, role, or reputation are you most tempted to rely on for your worth? What might change in an ordinary conversation or decision if your belonging to Christ mattered more? [27:03]
Without sharing more than you are comfortable sharing, is there a past failure or painful experience that still shapes what you believe is possible for you? What might one step of present faithfulness look like without letting that past have the final say? [45:23]
What tends to crowd out time with Jesus in your week? What small, realistic change could help you make room to read his word, pray honestly, and listen rather than simply complete a task? [47:06]
Where do you notice yourself trying to prove that you deserve God’s acceptance? How might remembering that Christ took the first step toward you change the way you approach him this week? [41:05]
Where might following Jesus mean letting go of the need for recognition or putting someone else’s good before your own? What could that look like in one relationship this week? [52:54]
What difficult road are you walking right now? How might the hope of being home with Christ—and welcomed as a beloved child rather than evaluated like an employee—help you take the next step? [53:40]

Sermon Clips

37s

#KnowingChrist

“Christ is worth more than your resume, and that the ultimate goal is Paul and disciples that know Christ declare that he is worth knowing, to know who he is and what he's accomplished, to know him personally and intimately. And this is what Paul began to see near the end of his life, that it was all about Christ. And he could rip up his resume and say, it's not about me. It's all about getting to know him.”

49s

#CalledByChrist

“He was taken hold of by Christ. He was called. He was caught. He was captivated. And everything after that, every mile, every prison, every letter, this letter is a man that lived out of that call. Something transformed in him as Jesus revealed himself to him. Jesus gave him something to do. Right there at the start, he's a chosen instrument to carry Jesus' name out to the Gentiles. Jesus called him to partnership with him, and then Jesus took time to teach him.”

59s

#DyingToSelf

“We begin to trust him and love him and surrender our lives for the glory of his. And as we do, we die. That old self centered resume keeping person dies, and he lives. And more than that, in the dying to self, in the living for him, the power of his resurrection is at work transforming transforming other people. His heaven descends. The fragrance of this new heaven is our scent in this world, and his kingdom is tasted through our obedience.”

64s

#ChristOverSuccess

“when Paul rips up his resume, because he's found something worth much more than himself, much more than his striving. People don't rip up a a resume, because they're unhappy with it. Paul, you see, was pretty content in many ways. He said he was blameless, like, a good, proud, noble, Jewish man. And yet, he found someone worth more than himself that when he looked in the mirror, he realized all of this striving meant nothing, that there was something greater to be achieved if he could forget himself and live for this other. And Paul begins to define this one as Christ Jesus.”

28s

#JesusIsEverything

“And we do this not because we have to, but because more and more we want to. We can't wait to steal some time to be with Jesus. He is our sunshine on a cloudy day. He's the water for our parched throats. He's the rescue party when we're lost in the Algonquin. He becomes our everything, and we just want to know him.”

56s

#GraceAndFaith

“That's the mission of grace, that we might know, love, and follow Jesus gracefully. It starts with knowing him. Something happens when you know him. He loves you with the sweetest, tenderest of love, but not a weak love, Strong that's protective, that sees all that would kill you and allow it to kill him. Paul says that I may know him.”

68s

#KnowJesusMore

“And at some point along the way, you stop being an acquaintance and you get to know someone. And that's the same with knowing Jesus. We get to know him. He wants to be known. He's revealing himself to us through his Holy Spirit. As we begin to let go of ourselves and we begin to listen and converse, We begin to partner and allow for his love to heal our brokenness, his light to show the way, his tenderness to minister to us, his call on our life to be lived out as we begin to know him. We, like Paul, long to know him more.”

45s

#HeavenIsHome

“No more darkness. Prizes being home with him. Where everything is as it should be, where our hearts dance for creator expression with each moment, where our lives have no shadow or shame, where any earthly sorrow is swallowed up with heaven's joy, which means I and you will follow him even in the difficult roads of today, following the saints that have gone before us as we get to know him.”

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