Sermon: October 4, 2026

Peter Goodwin was a lover of horses. Uncle Peter, as he was called by his friends, was once given the opportunity to select a colt from a herd of two-year-olds. Uncle Peter chose a somewhat ordinary looking colt named Bluegrass. No one else saw the potential in this young horse that Uncle Peter saw. “He will never run in the Kentucky Derby,” his friends laughingly told Uncle Peter. But they were wrong. “Bluegrass” not only ran in the Kentucky Derby but won! When Uncle Peter was asked why he chose that particular colt, he replied that it was because the colt had “the look of eagles in his eye.”

When I was still in the horse business we had a very similar situation. We had this one horse who wasn’t particularly good looking, kind of gangly looking actually as a baby; but he also had that look in his eyes and he gave 110% every race he was entered in; even the ones where he was in way over his head. His name was “Wow” and he won us nearly $300,000.00 in two years.

The look of eagles…I wonder if Paul had the look of eagles in his eyes? Here was a man who was converted to the faith after being one of the harshest critics and most intense persecutors. Here was a man who spent much of his ministry in chains as a prisoner. Here was a man who had an affliction which some scholars think was epilepsy, but he called simply, his thorn in the flesh. And yet, in spite of all the strikes against him, St. Paul may be the second most important man who ever lived—second only to Jesus.

In our lesson this morning, at first glance, it looks like Paul is boasting about his achievements and status. But he’s actually doing the opposite, showing that human achievements, no matter how impressive, cannot earn a person salvation and eternal life with God. Without a doubt, Paul had impressive credentials: his upbringing, nationality, family background, inheritance, orthodoxy, activity and morality. However, his conversion to faith in Christ wasn’t based on what he had done but on God’s grace. Paul didn’t depend on his deeds to please God because even the most impressive credentials fall short of God’s holy standards.

Paul belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, a heritage greatly esteemed by the Jews. From this tribe had come Israel’s first king, Saul, and the tribes of Benjamin and Judah were the only two tribes to return to Israel after the Exile. Paul explains for these mostly Gentile believers that his Jewish credentials were impeccable. But after all of that Paul considered everything he had accomplished in life to be a loss when compared with the greatness of knowing Christ.

There are places in Scripture, passages and even single verses, that capture the essence of the whole Bible. They reduce thousands of words into a sentence or two, and, in doing so, they capture essence and purpose and even passion. We have one of these instances in our lesson this morning.

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participate in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

Notice it doesn’t start with “I should,” or “I ought to,” or “I need,” or “I wish,” or “I think.” It says, “I want,” which lands us in the realm of longing and desire and deep will.

Note also it does not say I want to know “about” Christ. This isn’t mere knowing for knowing’s sake. This is the knowing of deep personal relationship, the knowing of deep calling to deep.

There can be no knowing of Jesus apart from the cross, which means there is no knowing Jesus apart from the grand movement of death and resurrection.

Participating in His sufferings and becoming like Him in His death isn’t a grit-your-teeth-and-bear-it kind of experience. It’s the journey of learning to love like God loves. In fact, this is the core essence of discipleship to Jesus: the way of the cross is the way of great love.

If I were to say the name, Betty NeSmith, you would probably all think, “who is Betty NeSmith?”

Betty had a good secretarial job in a Dallas bank. This was before computers took over. Betty ran across a problem that interested her. Wasn’t there a better way to correct the errors she made on her electric typewriter? Betty had some art experience, and she knew that artists who worked in oils just painted over their errors. Maybe that would work for her too. So, she concocted a fluid to paint over her typing errors. Before long, all the secretaries in her building were using what she then called “Mistake Out.” She attempted to sell the product idea to marketing agencies and various companies [including IBM], but they turned her down. However, secretaries continued to like her product, so Betty NeSmith’s kitchen became her first manufacturing facility, and she started selling her concoction on her own. Later she sold her little enterprise to the Gillette Company for $47.5 million. 

Wouldn’t it be great if there were Whiteout for the soul? For you younger people, I guess I should say, wouldn’t it be great if there were a delete key for the soul? So many people are hampered by their regrets over past mistakes, past sins, past errors of judgment. And regret drains them of the mental energy they need to be successful today. “But one thing I do,” writes Paul, “Forgetting what lies behind.” Paul knew that the past is past. It no longer exists. Paul knew that Jesus had taken even the darkest of his sins and whited them out. Christ has taken all the stupid things any of us has ever thought or said or done and pressed the delete key for all eternity [intermittent wipers on our cars]. “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Brothers and Sisters, we shouldn’t let anything take our eyes off our goal—knowing Christ; not just knowing of Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful an forsake anything that may distract us from living like Christ!