What's Your Name Tag Say? - Part 1

Today on Bold Steps Weekend, Pastor Mark reminds you of the importance of knowing who you are. This is the beginning of a new series titled Headlines: Navigating Life in Two Worlds. The message is taken from 1 Peter chapter 2.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:00):
Today on Bold Steps weekend, Mark Jobe reminds us of
the importance of knowing who we are.

S2 (00:06):
You have been bought with the highest price that could
ever been paid the blood of Jesus Christ, and he
stamped you with his ownership, and he's placed His Holy
Spirit inside of you. And so you, the ordinary becomes
the extraordinary because of who owns the ordinary.

S1 (00:37):
Welcome to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe. Mark is
president of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New
Life Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. Well,
today we're beginning a new series titled Headlines Navigating Life
in Two Worlds. And Mark, we do live in a
culture that's increasingly hostile to Christianity. We need to know
who we are in Christ.

S3 (00:57):
Wayne I think that's one of the biggest Guest issues,
especially with this, uh, millennial and Gen Z generation. Because
if they're not, don't understand that they're defining their identity
in Christ, who they are in Christ, then society will
try to put labels on it.

S1 (01:16):
That's true.

S3 (01:16):
Yeah. And so whether you're a millennial or whether you're
ready for retirement, I believe that your identity in Christ,
knowing who you are, helps you engage in the purpose
that God has called you to.

S1 (01:30):
Where does that come from? It comes from God's word.
So let's open it to first Peter chapter two. And
here's Mark with today's message.

S3 (01:36):
I was at an event with Moody Radio, uh, this
past week at another church, and people had come together
and everybody had name tags on it. And after the event,
they had set up a table, something like this. And
I was signing books at that table. And so people
were coming up to me and they were saying, hey, pastor,

(01:57):
we listen to you on the radio and could you
sign my book to me? And I would say, absolutely.
What's your name? And they would tell me their name.
But how many of you know, sometimes we don't spell
our name the way it sounds or we have weird
spellings to it. You add an N or an I
at the end or a y, so I would, I
would say to them with their name tags in, can

(02:19):
I see your name tag? And I would flip the
name tag around because I want to sign their name correctly,
because their name tag helps me understand their identity. Now,
name tag doesn't say everything about you, but it says
your name and your last name and the right spelling.

(02:43):
And what's on your birth certificate when you were born.
And it's your official name and it's your legal name,
it identifies who you are. Now, I didn't have a
name tag on there. So that same night some guy
comes up to me and he's saying, pastor, thank you
for your ministry. I love what you do. He was

(03:04):
going on and on. I was like, wow, this guy
really appreciates me. And then he says, so Pastor Steve,
I really and the church that I was at, it
was a Pastor Steve. And he had he called me
Pastor Steve a couple times, and I didn't want to
embarrass him. I didn't have the heart to tell him,
I'm not Pastor Steve. I just let him go on
and say, all right, brother, see you later. He's going

(03:25):
to get a surprise when he sees a picture. Pastor Steve. Today,
I want to make sure you listen, because I believe
that every person in this auditorium, you have a purpose
and a call. But I also believe that purpose flows

(03:46):
out of identity. And if your identity is not clear,
then your purpose will be fuzzy. Let me say that again.
I want you to listen because some of you are
meandering in life a bit. You don't have a clear
sense of what you're supposed to do, how you're supposed

(04:06):
to live, what you're calling and your purpose is because
you're not sure really who you are, and you can't
discover what you're called to do. Unless, first of all,
you understand who you are. And that's what I want
to talk to you about. So take your Bibles and
turn to First Peter chapter two. We're going to be

(04:27):
looking at verses nine through 12 of First Peter chapter two.
And I want you to understand that there's four things
that identity does for you. Four things I'm going to
read the verses that we'll be covering in First Peter
chapter two. Again, I want to tell you that first

(04:47):
Peter was written to a group of people that were
living in a society that was not sympathetic to Christians.
They were living in a society that would beat the
faith out of you. In fact, the Apostle Peter is
writing to them because they are a minority in a

(05:08):
majority pagan culture. Most scholars believe that it was the
Emperor Nero that was the Roman emperor over that society
at the time when Peter was writing, and Nero did
not like Christians at all. In fact, he was obsessed
with wiping Christians out when Rome was burned. Some people

(05:31):
believe that he ordered the Rome, the burning of Rome,
and that he blamed it on Christians. And then he
ordered a mass persecution of Christians throughout the Roman Empire.
He was so. Cruel that he would tar Christians up,
put them on stakes, light them on fire so they

(05:54):
could serve as torches along his roads. So he was brutal.
And this is what the Christians were facing at that time.
They were in a society that wasn't sympathetic to their faith.
And so Peter is trying to remind him who they are.
First Peter chapter two, verse nine says, but you are

(06:15):
a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises
of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now

(06:36):
you are the people of God. Once you had not
received mercy, but now, now you have received mercy. Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in this world,
to abstain from sinful desires which are against your soul.
Live such good lives among the pagans that although they

(06:57):
accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good
deeds and glorify God on the day that he visits you.
Word of the Lord. So if you're taking notes today,
I want you to write this down. Number one, I'm
talking about four things that identity does for you. Number one,
identity speaks to your worth. The apostle Peter says, but

(07:22):
you are a chosen people. Let me just tell you
a couple of things he says about us. Number one,
he says that we are a chosen people. I want
you to catch this. Be very clear about this. You
did not choose God. You responded to God reaching out

(07:43):
and choosing you. Are you clear about that? Because I
run into people all the time that says, well, I
found God. No, God was never lost, first of all.
And secondly, it's not like God was hiding in the
clouds and you chased after him because you were good
and wanted God and hungry. And you pursued God and
finally found God and grabbed Ahold of God and got

(08:05):
God's attention. And then God said, oh, it's you. Oh, oh, fine.
And you say, well, I'm sure glad I chased after God.
That's really not the way it works. God chased after you.
God awakened you. God put people into your life. God
spoke to you. God put His Holy Spirit. You were
running from God. It's God that awakened something inside of you.

(08:28):
The hunger to even chase after God. God chose you,
pursued you, went after you, and then you woke up
and said, okay, God, oh, it's you, God. God chose you.
And not only did God chose you, the Bible says,
listen to this. The Bible is talking here. He uses
four corporate titles in singular form, which means he says

(08:53):
you are corporately, you are a chosen people. Now, I
know that some of you were a part of the
the group in the recess that when they said, let's
choose teams, how many of you remember that you were

(09:14):
the last to be chosen? Now, I'll take that person.
I'll take that person. I'll take that. And there you're
standing alone. And then someone says, I guess we'll take
that person. Some of you still have a sting of
that embarrassment, like, hey, I don't want to be the
last person to be chosen. Can I tell you something?

(09:37):
God chose you. The God of the universe, the God almighty, God.
And then he says, listen, not only are you a
chosen race or a chosen people, you're a royal priesthood. Now,
this is a very interesting terminology because he uses two
words that the Jewish people typically would not associate together

(10:01):
Royal and priesthood. Let me. Are you with me? Are
you staying awake here? Because this is important. Listen. In
the Old Testament, there was a clear demarcation between the
monarchy and the priesthood. You could only be a priest
if you were a part of the lineage of Aaron,

(10:24):
the tribe of Levi. And you could only function in
priestly duties if you were a part of that tribe.
If you are not a part of that tribe, you
could not function in priestly duties. And there was a
clear separation between royalty and the monarchy and the priesthood.

(10:46):
Monarchy has to do with authority. The priesthood has to
do with serving on behalf of God. And when people
would cross those lines, like a couple of kings did,
for example, King Uzziah. king. Uzziah was a king who
thought so much of himself that he decided to go

(11:06):
into the temple of God and to do what the
priests were called to do. And he crossed the lines
between monarchy and priesthood, and he offered sacrifices in the
temple that only priests were should be doing. And the
Bible says that as soon as he offered the sacrifice,
leprosy broke out on his forehead. And everybody saw him

(11:28):
because God's judgment came upon him. You could not cross
the lines between monarchy and priesthood. King Saul, the first
king of Israel. He was called of God to step
up and be the leader of, of of the battle
against the Philistines. And when Samuel the prophet delayed and

(11:48):
was not there on time, Saul as a king stepped
up to the altar, and he offered a sacrifice that
only a priest or prophet should offer. And God punished
him and took the kingdom away from Saul and said,
I've chosen someone after my own heart. So the Israelite
people understood monarchy and priesthood do not go together. So

(12:12):
they would be shocked to hear Peter say. You are
a royal priesthood.

S1 (12:27):
You are a chosen people. Our take away from the
first half of this message from Mark Jobe here on
Bold Steps Weekend. Mark will return in a moment with
more of this message. But before we continue, I want
to make sure you know that you can revisit any
of these messages by going to our website, Bold steps org.
And speaking of ways to stay connected with these Bible teachings,
have you tried our Bold Steps Weekend podcast yet? With

(12:50):
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Steps app. We've packed it with exclusive video content from Mark.

(13:13):
There are some bonus teaching materials and a built in
Bible feature that puts Scripture right at your fingertips. Download
it free today from your App store. The Bold Steps app. Well,
let's return now to Mark's message. What's your name tag say?

S3 (13:30):
He offered a sacrifice that only a priest or prophet
should offer, and God punished him and took the anoint,
took the kingdom away from Saul and said, I've chosen
someone after my own heart. So the Israelite people understood
monarchy and priesthood do not go together. So they would
be shocked to hear Peter say. You are a royal priesthood.

(14:00):
Let me say what God is speaking over you and
declaring over you. If you have the Spirit of God
inside of you, what God is saying is that you
have authority. Authority to do what Jesus had all authority.
And now what? He says. You are a royal priesthood.
It means that you are a part of the monarchy
of God, the authority of God. So you have the

(14:22):
authority to pray for people in Jesus name. You have
authority to spread the gospel in Jesus name and see
people come to Christ. You have the authority to speak
in Jesus name. Believe in Jesus name. In fact, the
Bible says you have authority to cast out demons in
the name of Jesus. You have the authority to pray
for healing in the name of Jesus. You have the
authority to call unto God and have access to the

(14:43):
throne of God in the name of Jesus. Jesus said,
all authority has been given to me. Now I send
you out. That's monarchy. But at the same time you're
also called a priest. Can I tell you something? Some
of you come from a background in which you were
made to feel like the clergy, the professional clergy. They're

(15:07):
the ones that can do everything holy. But you just
sit there and listen because you're not professional clergy or
a priest or a pastor. So if you wanted to pray,
you would come to the clergy and say, could you
ask God to do this for me and the clergy?
The holy man or holy woman would say, I'll pray
unto God for you. If you wanted your sins forgiven,

(15:30):
you'd go to the clergy and say, I've sinned. And
the clergy would say, do this and do that, and
I'll absolve you of your sin. If you wanted to
know the Bible, clergy would tell you, don't read the
Bible because you're a layperson. You may get confused. It's
only for the experts. And so they would say, don't
read the Bible. Just let me tell you what the
Bible has to say, because the clergy would do that.

(15:51):
If you wanted to receive Christ. The clergy would say,
it's only dispensed to the clergy if you wanted your
sins absolved or forgiven. It's the clergy that would do that.
If you wanted to die in peace, it's the clergy
that would show up and help you die in peace. Listen,
God has now said you are a royal priesthood. You

(16:13):
now are clergy in Jesus name. What does that mean?
Listen to me. Well, hold on, hold on. I'm about
to tell you what that means. That means that you
don't have to take someone to pastor Mark to lead
them to Christ. You can pray over them and they
receive the gospel in Jesus name. That means you don't
have to go to a pastor to pray. You pray
in Jesus name. That means you don't have to wait

(16:35):
for me to baptize someone on Sunday mornings. People are
shocked because next Sunday will have a baptism. And guess what?
A house mother will get up here and will baptize
someone in Jesus name. A father will baptize a coworker
in Jesus name. A teenager will baptize another teenager in
Jesus name. And you say, wait a second, should they

(16:56):
be doing that? Yeah, because the royal priesthood. What the
Bible tells us is this we don't just have a
church with a couple of pastors. We have a church
full of royal priesthood that's been given authority and the power,
the power and authority from God and the ability and

(17:18):
responsibility and the call to serve in the name of Jesus.
By the way, revelations chapter five, verse nine and ten says,
with your blood you purchased men. And revelation is what
the last book of the Bible. So it's at the end,

(17:40):
it's future. He says, with your blood you purchased men
for God from every tribe, language, people and nation. You
have made them to be a kingdom and a priest
to serve God, and they will reign on earth. Kingdom
and priest, hand in hand. Number three You're a holy nation.

(18:02):
What's a holy nation? A nation is a group of
people that are a part of a country, or a
part of a nation that's come together, that has a king.
And what he says is, you are a holy nation.
What's holy, mean, holy means set apart unto God. You
are a chosen people. You are a royal priesthood. You

(18:22):
are a holy nation and a nation that's set apart
unto God for the purposes of God. And then lastly,
he says this, and a people belonging to God. You
belong to God. Now let me tell you the implications
of what it means to belong to God. Some of

(18:46):
you right now, you look at your life and you
look at your talents, and you look at your name,
and you look at your background, you look at the
neighborhood that you grew up and the family that you
came from, and the gifts that you've been given. And
you would say, I'm a Ordinary common individual. Because you

(19:07):
haven't understood whom you belong to. Let me illustrate it
this way. A couple of months ago, my wife Dee
and I. We were in Detroit. I was officiating at
a at a graduate ceremony. And so where we were
having the graduate ceremony, four blocks north of there was

(19:30):
a place that was iconic in the music world called
Hitsville U.S.A., or known as Motown Museum. So we went
there and I'm in this little museum of Motown, and
they have some common, normal, everyday apparel behind glass cases

(19:55):
and alarms beside them. And they would say, look, here
is a hat and a glove. This hat and glove
were purchased for a big price. Why? Because this hat
and this glove belong to Michael Jackson. It's like. Whoa.

(20:18):
This dress doesn't look super fancy. Dress? This dress was
Donna Summer's dress. Oh, everybody went like that. And let
me tell you, they were ordinary apparel. But what made
them extraordinary is who they belonged to. Who it belonged

(20:40):
to made it extremely valuable. Priceless. Not because of what
it was, but because of who the owner was. Come on.
You know where I'm going with this, don't you? And
some of you look at your own life and you
look at your own talent. You look at your own
gifting and you've been lied into thinking that I'm just ordinary, common, worthless.

(21:04):
But you don't know what has given you value, worth?
What is giving you dignity? What has made you priceless
is that the Bible says you belong to God. You
have been bought with the highest price that could ever
been paid. The blood of Jesus Christ, the son of
the living God. And he stamped you with his ownership,

(21:24):
and he's placed His Holy Spirit inside of you. And
so you, the ordinary becomes the extraordinary because of who
owns the ordinary.

S1 (21:45):
You've been listening to Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Jobe
and today's message titled What's Your Name Tag say? It's
part of Mark's current series headlines Navigating Life in Two Worlds. Remember,
if you ever miss one of these messages, you can
always find them online at bird-stamps.org. Mark, let's take a
moment to talk about our bold step gift, the six conversations.
Now you are a college president. I think it's appropriate

(22:08):
that we have a guest who know something about that.

S3 (22:10):
Absolutely. I take my hat off to all college professors,
and our guest today is actually a professor at Penn State.
You know, as a college professor, she has a unique
perspective on how younger generations engage in conversations. And so,
doctor Heather Holloman is our guest. And welcome, Heather.

S4 (22:33):
Thank you.

S3 (22:33):
Heather. Speaking generationally, you see that young people, college students
maybe interact a little bit different than previous generations. And
so let me ask you, what changes have you noticed
and how does your book, the Six Conversations address those challenges?

S4 (22:50):
Well, because there's such a reliance on their phone for
texting and just the communication through social media, my students
have really lost the ability to engage in meaningful conversation
face to face. Most, most. What I'm seeing is they're
not really good at asking those first questions and then
follow up questions. They've sort of lost that art of

(23:10):
interpersonal curiosity, and I tell them it's their number one
professional development skill to thrive in the workplace, to become
a curious person about other people.

S3 (23:19):
You know, that's so true. Yeah. When when people are
looking down at their smartphones and just engaging via social media,
I've noticed a lot more awkwardness in just having natural conversations.

S1 (23:30):
So, Heather, can this book help us as parents relate
to our young people?

S4 (23:35):
Yes, immediately. In fact, I give readers six ways to
be naturally curious about people in their life and not be,
and learn how to ask really good questions of especially
young people. And so once you ask that first question
in any of the categories of what it means to
be human, parents will know how to ask a really
good follow up question. And with young people, they love

(23:55):
the social category. They love to talk about their friends.
They also love to talk in the physical category. New things.
They're listening to new foods. They're trying new things they've
done with their rooms, things like that.

S3 (24:06):
Hey, I love that. So if you are a parent
or a grandparent and you're saying, I really want to
connect with my teenager or my college student and get
involved in some spiritually more deep conversations, but they seem
to shut down very quickly. This book may be a
great resource for you.

S1 (24:24):
Well, we'd like to send you a copy of this book,
The Six Conversations. When you make a donation of any
amount to support bold steps, just call us at 800 Moody.
That's [phone] or give online at Bold Steps. Org. And
you can also send your gift through the mail, as
always by writing to us at bold steps. 820 North

(24:45):
LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Just be sure to
tell us you want to copy the six conversations when
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to bring solid, biblically based teachings and resources to new listeners.
We hope you'll consider joining the growing list of faithful
supporters we call Bold Partners. Thanks to their generous monthly gifts,

(25:07):
our bold partners are helping us spread to new cities
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giving makes and to sign up to become a bold partner,
just visit our website. And again, that's bold steps. I'm
Wayne Shepherd, that's all the time we have today, but
be sure to come back next weekend when Mark continues

(25:28):
with a final half of this two part message called
What's Your Name Tag Say? We'll learn more about how
our identity gives us a sense of belonging and why
knowing who we are helps us live with integrity. The
the message comes from our series headlines. Navigating life in
two Worlds, and you'll hear it next time right here
on Bold Steps Weekend with Mark Johnson. Bold steps is

(25:51):
a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.