Between Two Worlds

Introduction

Have you ever tried to convince a GPS to take another route? You know how it keeps repeating, 'Recalculating?' This can be similar to our relationship with authority—whether that’s at home, school, or work. Just like the GPS, authorities often have a perspective we might not understand, guiding us toward a destination we can't see. The trick is recognizing that submitting allows us to benefit from their route instead of getting lost in our own stubbornness.

In 1 Peter 2:13-25 we see that Peter mentions what it means to submit to authority.

1 Peter 2:13–25 (NIV): Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. 18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Through this passage what we can see through this is:

Showing what Christians should live like in a pagan/pluralistic society

We reflect Christ wherever we go.

Our example is from Christ, who is our example of service.

Peter begins with a Command

1 Peter 2:13–17 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,”

Question: Do we follow God or do we follow those in charge of us?

Matthew 22:20–22 “And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.”

True or False: To get respect, you have to earn respect. (Look over)

I would say that this is a false statement and is part of the culture that we have been raised with.

Through this block of Scripture we can see that we need to behave more in this:

I am going to respect you because of who I am, not because of who you are.

We trust in God, and we honor God when we don’t react to those that we encounter with in our daily life.

God requires us (believers) to place our trust in Him as we submit to earthly authorities. He promises to protect us from harm if we will trust Him and obey the laws of the land. Max Lucado humorously illustrates. My route to the office takes me south to an intersection where I and every other person in Texas turn east. Each morning I wait long minutes in a long line at long light, always mumbling, “There must be a better way.” A few days back I found it. While still a half-mile from the light, I spotted a shortcut, an alley behind a shopping center. It was worth a try. I turned on my blinker, made a quick left, bid farewell to the crawling commuters, and took my chances. I weaved in between the dumpsters and over the speed bumps and … it worked! The alley led me to my eastbound avenue several minutes faster than the rest of society. Lewis and Clark would have been proud. I certainly was. From then on, I was ahead of the pack. Every morning while the rest of the cars waited in line, I veered onto my private autobahn and smugly applauded myself for seeing what others missed. One morning Denalyn was with me in the car. “I’m about to remind you why you married me,” I told her as we drew near to the intersection. “See that long line of cars? Hear that dirge from the suburbs? See that humdrum of humanity? It’s not for me. Hang on!” Like a hunter on a safari, I swerved from the six-lane onto the one-lane and shared with my sweetheart my secret expressway to freedom. “What do you think?” I asked her, awaiting her worship. “I think you broke the law.” “What?” “You just went the wrong way on a one-way street.” I did. She was right. Somehow I’d missed the sign.… My problem is not what I did before I knew the law. My problem is what I want to do now, after I know the law. You’d think that I would have no desire to use the alley, but I do! … My “ought to” says, “It’s illegal.” My “want to” answers, “But I’ve never been caught.” My “ought to” reminds [me], “The law is the law.” Submission to authority is not only best—it is what God commands! Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2003), 81.

This balancing act not only carried out in our personal life, but also in our work life as well.

Our Attitude reflects Christ

1 Peter 2:18–20 “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”

I remember when I was entering the Army. I was about to go through Basic Training and entering the 30th AG, known as Reception. The rush to process all of the trainees was definitely quick and efficient. Part of that was that we were introduced to our reception DS. And then we met our Drill Sergeants and the fun began. Hard times came through and we learned how to work as part of a team through basic training. My fellow trainees and I endured CBRN (gas) chamber, different obstacle courses, a rapelling tower, rucking everywhere for nine weeks. Those 20 other soldiers became brothers to me.

As a military member

Hard times grow resilience and trust in God.

When we maintain our awareness of who we are and whose we are, this helps us change our mindset. Studies have shown that resilient people have a high amount of self-awareness.

When we are aware that God is in our lives and with us, He gives us the strength to walk through the hard things.

How we work paints a very sharp image of our character. If we work hard and perform well, God will bless our efforts. One of Aesop’s fables illustrates this point for us. THE FARMER AND HIS SONS A farmer, being at death’s door, and desiring to impart to his sons a secret of much moment, called them round him and said, “My sons, I am shortly about to die. I would have you know, therefore, that in my vineyard there lies a hidden treasure. Dig, and you will find it.” As soon as their father was dead, the sons took spade and fork and turned up the soil of the vineyard over and over again, in their search for the treasure which they supposed to lie buried there. They found none, however: but the vines, after so thorough a digging, produced a crop such as had never before been seen. [The moral:] There is no treasure without toil. Work like there is a treasure waiting for you, because there is! Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2003), 91.

Christ is Our Ultimate Example

Peter then reminds his audience of the ultimate example: Jesus.

1 Peter 2:21–25 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

Jesus is the ultimate example. Peter here references Isaiah 53, a lot.

Isaiah 53:9 “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”

Isaiah 53:5 “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:6 “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

What a great blessing it is to have a Shepherd like our Lord Jesus. Knowing and experiencing His love that has no limits and His power that keeps and protects us should humble us—to think that He would want to care for us. I frequently go out at night to walk alone under the stars and remind myself of His majesty and might. Looking up at the star-studded sky I remember that at least 250,000,000 × 250,000,000 such bodies—each larger than our sun, one of the smallest of the stars—have been scattered across the vast spaces of the universe by His hand. I recall that the planet earth, which is my temporary home for a few short years, is so minute a speck of matter in space that if it were possible to transport our most powerful telescope to our nearest neighbor star, Alpha Centauri, and look back this way, the earth could not be seen, even with the aid of that powerful instrument. All of this is a bit humbling. It drains the “ego” from a man and puts things in proper perspective. It makes me see myself as a mere mite of material in an enormous universe. Yet the staggering fact remains that Christ the Creator of such an enormous universe of overwhelming magnitude, deigns to call Himself my Shepherd and invites me to consider myself His sheep—His special object of affection and attention. Who better could care for me? As the hymn-writer Charles Weigle reminds us, “No one ever cared for me—like Jesus.” Why trust your care to anyone else? Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2003), 48.

Jesus submitted to the Father, all the way to the Cross

He took what was meant for us on him

Christ took on the cross because of his love for us.

Psalm 23:1–3 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”

Psalm 80:1–3 “Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power And come to save us! O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”

The road of righteousness leads through the Cross. Just check the map. Suffering and persecution are on the way. A Spirit-filled worker connected with the African Inland Mission was giving his testimony after returning from a very dangerous service in the World War. He said that if someone sent him on a journey and told him the road to take, warning him that at a certain point he would come to a dangerous crossing of the river, at another point to a forest infested with wild beasts, he would come to that dangerous river crossing with the satisfaction of knowing that he was on the right road. So he told them that the Lord had predicted that Christians would have tribulation, and when the tribulations came he knew he was on the right road. Troubles in this world are to be expected. As someone once wisely said, “The true believer doesn’t complain about the thorns; he just praises God that He loves us enough to put beautiful roses on the top of every stem.” Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2003), 81–82.

He is our Good Shepherd

Luke 15:4–6 ““What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’”

Repentance is the only way to the Father. All of us are sheep who have gone astray according to our own fallen will. It is God’s will that we turn to the Shepherd of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to this striking story on the power of repentance. Governor Neff, of Texas, spoke to the assembled convicts of a penitentiary of that state. He finished by saying that he would remain to listen if any man wanted to speak with him. He further announced that what he heard would be held in confidence.… When the meeting was over, a large group of men remained, many of them lifetermers. One by one they each told the governor that [they were] there through a frame-up, an injustice, a judicial blunder; each asked that [they] be freed. Finally, one man came up and said, “Mr. Governor, I just want to say that I am guilty”.… This man the governor pardoned. So must it be with the great God who alone can pardon. Admitting to and repenting of our sins will pay eternal rewards! Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2003), 69.

In a culture that often promotes self-centeredness, choose to volunteer in your community. Whether it’s serving at a local shelter or helping with community clean-ups, dedicate two hours a month to serving others. This will help you live out your faith by being the hands and feet of Jesus, showing love and compassion beyond your circle.