Okay. Shalom, everyone. It's wonderful to be under the sound of the word together. As we continue in our study together today, by the grace of God, we're going to seek to conclude with the second chapter of 1st Peter. And if you will, please turn with me to 1st Peter, chapter 2, the epistle that Shimon Petros wrote to early Hebrews who were scattered, who were dispersed in Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. And in these verses from chapter 2 and verse 11 to the end of the chapter, the apostle speaking to those believers and to you and I, and to encourage us to have a good witness before the nations, before the government, and even before those who are in authority over us, like the bosses and the people who are in authority over us.

In these verses, we can look into the encouragement of Shimon Petros to those early believers. So I'm going to read 1st Peter 2 and verse 11 and I'm reading. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may buy your good works, which they shall behold glorify God in a day of visitation. Submit yourself to every ordinance of men for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of them that do well.

For so is the will of God that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men as free and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the forward. For this is thanksworthy if a man for conscience towards God in due grief suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when ye be buffeted for your fault ye shall take it patiently, but if when ye do well and suffer for it ye take it patiently?

This is acceptable with God. For even here unto were ye called, because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him the judge righteously. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness by whose stripe ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls.

And I stop here at the last verse of 1 Peter chapter 2. It is so precious to see that in every chapter in the first epistle of Peter, in those five chapters, as we began by introduction, if you remember, in every chapter we have this theme. Number one, the sufferings of the Messiah. Number two, the sufferings of the believers in identification with our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. The Messiah Peter, the one who was raised by Yeshua to be the apostle to the circumcision to his own brethren, had been so much focused in his ministry concerning the beautiful example that is found in the life of Yeshua, who suffered so much that in every chapter he ministered to the believers the sufferings of the Messiah, but in identification with the sufferings of the Messiah, the believer is to follow in his footsteps.

So, the second chapter, you will notice that here he is encouraging in those verses 11 to 25, for the believers, for you and I, for the early Hebrew Christians, that they and us, the body of Messiah, that the believer will seek to be a witness here in this world, before the Gentile world, the unbelieving world, the nations around us. Secondly, before the government that we are under, in our case, in this country where we live, and ultimately also to be a witness to those with whom we work with and affiliate with, those that are our employers, and those who are above us in our day-by-day routine in our lives.

And so, brothers and sisters, just before I'm going to move into verse 11, I'd like to remind you that in the previous verses, the apostle Shimon Petrus have encouraged the believers to grow spiritually. And he said to them, if you remember, verses 1 and 2, laying aside all malice and so on, guile, hypocrisy, this is what they were supposed to lay aside. And what they are to adapt to themselves, to desire, is the sincere milk of the Word of God. And we discussed this, how precious it was that the sincere milk of the Word of God is that which we're doing today. We are being under the sound of the Word of God.

We are enjoying to learn from the Word of God. And he was speaking about the Messiah, who is the one, the stone which the builders rejected. He ultimately became the one that God called him the corner stone. And we have been speaking about it in our previous meeting. Now, today, let's go over those three thoughts that the apostle Peter communicated with those believers. The first thing that I want you to notice, in verses 11 and 12, the apostle is emphasizing obedience. You know, obedience is one of our biggest problems. As I mentioned before, it was because of disobedience that sin came into this world. Adam disobeyed the Word of God when he took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and he plunged the whole human race into sin.

And obedience is very important in the life of the believer. Here in verses 11 and 12, he is encouraging the believers to be obedient to the Word of God. Notice what he says. First of all, he is calling them, in verse 11, dearly beloved. The Hebrew word ahuvim or ne'ehavim, to be loved by God, to be loved by Shimon Petos. These brethren were loved by Shimon Petos. He loved those believers. And he called them dearly beloved many times throughout the epistles. First epistle and the second epistle. Peter oftentimes used this expression, beloved, because he loved the brethren. In chapter 4 and verse 12, he called them beloved, ones that are loved by him, loved by God.

You and I have to always remember that we are constantly, on an ongoing basis, are being loved by our Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah. So he called them, he says dearly beloved, brethren, you are loved by God, you are loved by me. And he is saying to them in verse 11, abstain from that which will hinder you from growing in the things of the Lord. Abstain, as he called them strangers, pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul of the believer. You see, we are strangers here in this world, just like they were. We are pilgrims here in this world, just like they were.

We are passing by on the way to glory. We are going soon to be taken to be in the Father's house. And as we are on a journey as strangers and pilgrims, we are to abstain from that which will war against our soul. And he is using this expression, fleshly lusts. You know, even though we are saved and we are forgiven, we have this old nature still here with us. And this old nature is constantly at war against the new nature. And there is a constant warfare that is going on in the life of the believer. The flesh lusts against the spirit, Galatians 5. And the spirit against the flesh.

And they are contrary to each other. And unless we feed on Christ, on the Mashiach, on the Messiah, we will end up to allow the flesh to have its own way and to win that battle here on earth. And so he is saying to them, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against a soul. Now, he is talking to believers. And you and I know that very well, that from the time that we became believers, we now have a struggle in our lives as believers. There is a constant war that exists in our life that we only can win this victoriously with the help of the Lord.

With the help of the Spirit of God who will help us and assist us in this warfare. I want you to turn to Romans 8 for a second. And you will notice how Paul, in a very similar way, pointed out to it in Romans chapter 8 and verse 13. He says, "For if ye live after the flesh, if you believe in Yeshua the Messiah, if you are going to allow yourself to live after the flesh, ye shall die." Now, he doesn't talk about physical death here. He doesn't even talk about eternal death here. He is talking about the life of the believer. A believer that is living after the flesh.

He or she die in their victory here on earth. There will not be able to be a testimony. There will not be able to be an example. There will not be honoring to the Lord. And they will not be happy in their walk with the Lord. If ye shall live after the flesh, ye shall die. But notice now in verse 13b. But, here's the other side. If ye, and notice that, through the Spirit, if ye will mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. He is talking about victory in our walk with the Lord. You know, sometime when we allow the fleshly lusts to take over, you notice that there is no victory in our lives.

A believer, a saved person, can be defeated in his day-by-day living when he is not allowing the Spirit of God to lead him or her. And therefore, a time when there is no victory. Now, we are saved, not because of our good works. We are saved because of the blood of Yeshua the Messiah. But in our walk, a time when we allow the flesh to take over, we find ourselves defeated. And the Apostle Paul called it in Romans 8:13, ye shall die. He doesn't talk about physical death. He doesn't talk about eternal death. He's talking about death meaning that there is no life or there is no power in our walk here with the Lord.

And that's why Peter said this to this believer. Know that he called them dearly beloved. They were brethren. They were brothers and sisters in Yeshua the Messiah. They were Jewish believers who were scattered. They were strangers. They were pilgrims. And he's telling them wherever you are, abstain from this. Why? Because it wars against the soul. Did you notice in your life when you sinned willfully and you haven't judged it and confess it? 1 John 1:9, when we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Did you notice that there is no liberty? There's an emptiness in our lives as believers.

We don't have any power anymore to share the gospel. No power to talk to somebody and encourage a believer. We feel so empty because we allow the flesh to have its course. And that's why these brothers and sisters that are listening to the counsel of the Spirit of God, and with the help of the Lord, they seek to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. So here you have these words, fleshly lust. Galatians 5:19, 20-21 tell us the works of the flesh. And then we have this expression war against the soul. And this is the soul of a believer who have allowed the flesh to take over.

And Peter says abstain from that. And then notice verse 12. He says godly behavior may lead others to God. You see what happens when we behave in a godly way. Verse 12. Having your conversation or the manner of life, your behavior. Honest among the Gentiles, the goyim. Honest among the Gentiles, the God of the Messiah. He says, "He says, that where is they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they shall behold glorify God in the day of visitation." You see, the unbelievers watching the believer, the Christians, the Messiah followers. And they observe us. We are like an open book. Have somebody ever told you, "You call yourself a follower of Yeshua, the Messiah?

You call yourself a Christian?" Look at the way you speak. You behave. You conduct yourself. How can you call yourself a believer? Sometime, because our behavior is not right, there is such a discouragement among the people of God in general. But even the unbelievers, if they don't see a good testimony in our lives, our behavior, our conduct, they point at us and they say, "And you call yourself a follower of Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah?" And so the apostle, saying to them, "You ought to have your conversation or your behavior, your conduct honest among the Gentiles, the nations, where is they from among the nations who will speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good words which they shall behold, they can see it, they will glorify God in the day of visitation." What really he's saying is simply this.

Sometimes the unbelievers accuse the believer, even when the Christian, the believer, the Messiah follower did the right thing and behaved right. But they know very well that even though they accuse and blame this brother or sister who sought to do the right thing, they know very well that that was a good works, a right thing to do. And by these good actions, we are able to win others to the Lord. And it says here that they will glorify God in the day of visitation. What does that mean in the day of visitation? Some suggest that the day of visitation has a reference to the time of Jacob's trouble when God is going to visit this world in righteousness here in the time of the tribulation.

Others suggest that this day of visitation is when God visited this individual or individuals, reaching them and speaking to them and convicting them. And when they look back and they see, oh, I remember brother so-and-so or this man or this woman. I remember their action. And they claim to be believers in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. I remember how they behave in a difficult time. I accuse them as if they have done something wrong. But really they stood for the person of the Lord and they did the right thing. And in the day when God reached them and visit them, they will glorify God in the day of visitation.

And you know, that's what God desires, that the believer will be a testimony to the unbeliever. So even though they look at us and they accuse us because we are following Yeshua the Messiah, they can see Christ or the Mashiach in the life of the believer. And in due time, they will remember the testimony of the believer and they will ultimately accept the Lord Jesus the Messiah in the day of visitation. And in this expression, the day of visitation, Yeshua said to the leaders of our own people Israel in Luke chapter 19. You have not recognized the day of your visitation. Israel, when the Messiah came towards the nation in his first coming, Israel as a nation, our own people did not acknowledge his Messiahship.

It was the day of his visitation to the nation. But there are many people around the world, just like you and I, God had visited us in a certain time. And he reached us. And he spoke to us through the word, through his own servants, through his own people. And we have come to recognize that Yeshua is the Messiah. And we remember, I personally remember, a non-Jewish believer, who had reached me when I was an unbeliever. I didn't want to hear the message of the gospel. And he showed me pictures about Israel. And he showed me all sorts of things, how he loved our nation and our people.

And by his example and his love for the Bible, he touched my heart and he spoke to me. And he was one of those vessels that the Lord had used to bring me to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. And I remember that just the same like you and I remember the activities of other believers that have reached us and spoke to us and brought us to accept Yeshua the Messiah. Now we can say, as Peter says here, to glorify God in the day that he visited those believers. So here we have the importance of obedience to God's word in order to be a testimony to the nations around us.

That's the first thought that you have here in this section. First Peter 2 verse 11 and 12, obedience to God's word is a testimony to the nations around us. Now, in the next verses, verses 13 to 17. Here's another thing that may puzzle us a time. And yet here what the word of God speaks about our obedience to the governments under which we have been placed here in this world. Here in this country, the country of Canada or whether it is in Israel or whether it is in Europe or any other country. Remember that when Peter wrote this letter, he was writing to those Hebrew believers who are under the Roman government.

Nero was then at that time the Caesar and there was so much persecution of the believers at that time. And here he is telling them in verses 13 to 17 the importance of obedience to the government for the sake of the Lord. And he began with verse 13 and verse 14 and he's telling them in these two verses to submit to every ordinance of men as they are sent by God. God. Listen to these verses. Submit yourself to every ordinance of men for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or unto the governors as unto them that are sent by him. This is by God for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well.

Just a couple of thoughts here that I think are very important for us to bear in mind. What does that mean to submit to every ordinance of men? You know, we have been placed here in this country. Those early believers have been placed in those areas that we always point out, Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. They were under the authority of a government. At that time, of course, it was the Roman Empire. And here is Peter telling these believers whose home really is in heaven because their citizenship is in glory, is in heaven. But he left them, he left us here for a season here in this world and we have those governments that God have allowed us to be under.

We are not necessarily always agreeing with the Prime Minister or the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of Israel or whichever country we live under. But nevertheless, the government have been ordained by God. God has placed us here in this world and every government that has been placed over the human race, actually, ones that God have allowed them to be in this place. Now, we sometimes ask the question, well, what about the time when there are evil governments? Leaders that have been treating their people in a very evil way, whether it is communist governments or whether it is Islamic governments or whether it is government of monarchs that have been placed like in the time of Nebuchadnezzar and other countries in history.

How do we conduct ourselves in this world? Well, Peter says, listen, there is a responsibility of the believer, even though we are strangers, we are foreigners here, we are only passing through. There is a responsibility of all believers to submit to authority, to submit to those under whom we are living. And now, of course, there is always limits, there is always an area in which the Christians, the believer is called to obey God rather than man. But you notice that again, he says here, submit yourself to every, not to some only, to every ordinance of man. And notice how it says here in verse 13, it is for the Lord's sake.

You know that even when Yeshua was here on earth, as a man here on earth, he was the one who was the creator of all things. Even though he always had conflict with the leaders of our nation Israel, he always submitted himself to the authority here in this world. And yet, by submitting to the authority here, he was submissive to his God and to his father. So submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether unto the king, as supreme, or unto governors, plural, people who are governors in various areas, as unto them that are, notice, they are sent by God. Now, we don't understand how is it possible that God allows certain leaders to be in that place.

We do not know why God allows people to be in authority. He can change everything immediately. In the coming days, things are going to be totally changed when Yeshua is going to be that supreme king of kings and lord of lords. But in the meanwhile, in this time when we are journeying here as strangers on the way to heaven, he is requesting from us to submit to every authority. Turn back in your Bibles to Romans chapter 13. Paul said the very same thing to his readers, to whom he wrote in the book of Romans in verse 1. He says, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers." And listen to this, beloved brothers and sisters.

"For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is a minister of God to thee for good, but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid. For he beareth not the sword in vain. For he is a minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Wherefore you must need to be subject not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake." There are so many verses in the Brit HaChadasha in the New Testament that you can see the importance of believers to be subject to their authority. You know, God placed us here in this country. And by the way, thank God for the government that God had given to us in this country, even though things are not the way we would like them to be. But how would you like to live under the authority of a government or Islamic nation or communist nation where you have no liberty whatsoever? We are so privileged to live in this country where there is liberty and freedom for us to express ourselves as believers.

But yet we don't agree with everything that the leaderships are doing here. And yet we are called to submit to authority here in this world. But what happens, for example, if the government expects from the believer to do something that is totally wrong? I'll give you an example. I'll give you an example. When Daniel and the Hebrew boys, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, when they were in Babel, in Babylon, in chapter 3, if you remember, of the prophet Daniel, the king, Nebuchadnezzar, had expected he built a great image of himself, of course. And he expected everyone that hear the sound and all kind of noise that everyone will fall on their face and worship that image, the image of Nebuchadnezzar.

But there were three godly Jewish boys, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, who said, "No. We submitted to the authority of the king in many, many ways. But when it comes to worshipping an idol, I'm not going to do so." And so the leaders there saw that those three boys, three men, did not fall when everybody else were falling on their faces to worship that image that Nebuchadnezzar had made, Daniel chapter 3. But those three stood and they never bowed to that image. So they accused them. And they brought them before Nebuchadnezzar and they said to him, "Hey, look, there are three Jewish men here, Jewish boys, who are not submitting, not following the instruction that you have given to us.

They don't worship when they hear the sound of those symbols and all this noise." And so Nebuchadnezzar expected them to fall. And you know, it is so precious the way they said to him in Daniel chapter 3. They said to Nebuchadnezzar these words. He told them, "How come you are not following this instruction?" And then they said to the king, listen, they said, I'm reading now chapter 3, verse 16. "Shadrach, Mishach, and Avadnago, Hananiah, and Mishael." And those three, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, they answered and they said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter." This is verse 16. "If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace.

And he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, they said to him, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou had set up." And you know, they suffered for that stand that they took. They were cast into the furnace. If you remember in chapter 3, but it is amazing that in the midst of persecution, in the furnace of fire, when Nebuchadnezzar looked, he threw three men in, but what he found out, that there is a fourth one with them in the fire, in the furnace of the fire. And he said, "I see four men loose there in that furnace of fire." In other words, in type we see here.

Actually, you can see the presence of God in the midst of the suffering of those who follow after him. Now, these are Old Testament believers who have suffered for the name of their God, but they did not follow the instruction of a government that told them to do that which was wrong. But all along, they submitted to the authority of the government, and they respected, and they honored the king, the office of the king, even though the king himself was not behaving right. Well, in a similar way, we know in the book of Acts, when Peter was there in the midst of the leaders of Israel, he himself said in chapter 4 and in chapter 5 of the book of Acts, "We rather obey God than men." And he did not submit to the requests of the leader to stop to preach the message of the gospel of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

So, what we really learn here from those verses, beloved brothers and sisters, we are to submit to the authority. We are to recognize the king supreme, the governors as them that are sent by God. And we are to obey those that are in authority over us, except when they come to ask from the believer to do that which is contrary to the will of God, such as what happened in the time of the three boys in Babylon, or in the time that it happened to Petros in the earlier part of the book of Acts. So, verses 13 and verse 14 is to submit to every ordinance, because they are sent by God, the king and the governors.

We are to respect the office, even though we do not respect the king or the ruler who sits in that office, even if his behavior is not right. Now, notice that in the next verse, it says in verse 15, "God's will is that his people will submit and silence people." Submission will muzzle the mouth of people who are trying to find accusation in the believer. Notice it says in verse 15: "For so is the will of God that with well-doing we might put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." People accusing the believers. So, how do we react when people are blaming us and accusing the believers?

Well, what is the will of God? Notice that expression. It is the will of God. That with well-doing, with doing good works or the right thing that we are doing as believers. We put to silence. That word for silence is the word for to muzzle. Just like you muzzle an animal's mouth, you close their mouth by the fact that one is doing the right thing in their lives. And if we don't do the right thing in their lives, how can we put to silence the ignorance of foolish men? We cannot do so. And so the will of God is that by well-doing, we will put to silence the words that ignorant men are saying against the believer in the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

Now, we continue here and he says, recognizing in verse 16 that we are now as free and not using your liberty for clock of maliciousness, but as servants of God. You see, what does that mean as free? We have liberty in the Messiah. We have been delivered from bondage. We have been liberated. We have spiritual freedom, but not to use this spiritual freedom in such a way that it become a cloak of maliciousness to do that which is wrong. We don't have that freedom. While we have spiritual freedom in the Messiah, we have liberty in the Messiah, yet we ought to be very careful not to use this freedom, this liberty as a cloak for maliciousness, but simply to serve God in a way that is pleasing to him.

And so he concludes here as he is talking about the government. He says, honor all men, verse 17, love the brotherhood, fear God and honor the king. He sums it all up and he says, honor all men, all the nations of this world, we are to respect them and to honor them. Then he is saying, love the brotherhood. In other words, limit us to believers now. Not that we are not to love all, but now in this text, he is saying to love the brotherhood. Within the circle of the body of Christ, the body of Mashiach, we are to love the brotherhood. What a privilege is to be part of a family of God, the brothers and sisters that have been part of this great redeemed company.

Then to feel God, have an honor to God, and then ultimately honor also the king. He gives us a summation of verses 13 to 17, and he sums it all up by saying that we are to feel God and to honor the king. To recognize that those that have been in authority, to recognize that the Lord had placed them over us. Now, it is not easy, brothers and sisters, to do so, because sometimes we feel that authority are not doing the right thing. And people abuse authority. In rulers, we can see how they treat their people, how they treat their nation. Can you imagine how would you feel if you would live in a country that a government treating their people in an awful way?

Don't give them liberties. Don't give them liberties. Take away from them freedom. And imagine in a Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, these people have been under the Roman authority. Many of them have been persecuted for the name of Yeshua the Messiah. And when a person became a believer in Yeshua the Messiah, he was still under the authority of the Roman Empire. And the Caesar and his request from all the people whom he controlled and ruled over them. A difficult time for the earlier believers at that time. And yet they were called to honor the king, to also honor all men, as he mentioned here in verse 17.

Now, let's move on. And I think this is the most precious portion of this passage. In verse 18 to verse 25, he is now giving us two things here. First thing, now the servants are to obey their masters. And they should do it for their own conscience sake. And by doing so, they have an example in a person of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. He was the supreme example to all believers. And I want you to notice those things here as I go over them. In verse 18, again he is saying now to the servants to be obedient. To subject themselves to their masters. He says, "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward." He is saying here that we, the servants now, 2,000 years ago, those who became believers were slaves.

There were home slaves in the Roman Empire. It had been said, and I mentioned it before, that there were about 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire. Now, can you imagine when the gospel had been spreading? When a presentation of the person of the Messiah had been presented in the world. In the world, not only people who were free got saved, but also slaves. Now, what happened when a slave became a believer? How should he behave? Well, should he come to his master and tell him, "Listen, master, now I am saved, I want to be loosed, and I want to get my freedom now because I am a believer in Yeshua the Messiah." His master is not going to give him this privilege.

And yet, he is called to be subject to his own masters. We see it very clearly in the book of Philemon. You remember, Onesimus was a runaway slave. And as he ran away to Rome, he met the apostle Paul, Shaul, and Paul presented to him the gospel. Onesimus gloriously got saved, accepted the Mashiach, and now he sent him back to Philemon with a letter. And he said to Philemon to accept Onesimus, who was a runaway slave. And Onesimus was called now to be subject to his master. Imagine that. And it's so much easier to be subject to a good and a pleasant master. But it's so hard to be subject to the one who is rude and behave unbecomingly to his own slaves and servants.

And you and I today, thank God, we live in this country and we don't have slavery. But we do all have bosses. We are all somehow our employee and our employers. We are under someone who is in charge over us. And they are not always pleasing to us. They are not always treating us fairly and righteous. And yet we are called, servant be subject to your own master. Notice this, with all fear, reverence, respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the one who is froward, the ones that are not pleasant. And the apostle Paul and Peter, both of them, belabored it.

Because there was a necessity for the slave, for the servant to understand that they belong to the Messiah. And because of their relationship to Yeshua, the Messiah, they are to learn from him and to learn submission here in this world because they are under authority. And so they were called to submit to their master. Ephesians 6 speaks about it. Colossians 3 speaks about it. Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 6 speaks about it. And Titus, Paul and Peter, both of them spoke concerning the responsibility of the servant to his master, of the employee to his employer. How important it is. And then he says in verse 19, For this is thanks worthy, if a man for conscience towards God, endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

Servants may at times suffer wrongfully when they are not being treated right. And yet, it says for conscience towards God. For conscience towards God, sometimes one has to endure grief and suffering and being mistreated here in this world. What we are to expect if we are going to follow the rejected one, we are going to be treated very much the same. But because we like a time to resist and we like a time to get our own way, we sometimes end up losing in our testimony because we are resisting and act in a bad way towards somebody who is over us. And that's what our pastor Peter is saying not to do so.

It's thank worthy if a man for conscience towards God will be willing to endure sometime grief and suffering, even if it was placed upon us wrongfully. Now, brothers and sisters, he continues, and he says in verse 20, that for what glory, in other words, what honor there is, if when ye be buffeted for your fault, ye shall take it patiently. But if somebody accused us because we have done something wrong. And he applied to us some persecutions and bad treatment because we have done something wrong. And even if we took it patiently, he says, what honor is that in it? Well, if you have done something wrong and you receive punishment for that, what honor is there?

You deserve it. That's what he's really saying. But then he said, but if, he's looking to the opposite, when you do the right thing. When you do well, and then you suffer for it, and you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. How many believers have done the right thing, and have sought to please the Lord, and were treated wrong by those that benefited from their behavior. And yet they were treated badly. And yet they just took it to the Lord. And they say, Lord, I do not know why I'm being treated in that way. I sought to do the right thing. I sought to please you.

But I want it to be acceptable before you, Lord. I want for my conscience towards you, God. I want to accept it, even if it is wrong in the way that one has treated us. I can think of many examples that sometimes we retaliate when somebody does something. If you drive on a highway, and somebody cuts you off. Oh, boy. We are right away, have all kinds of thoughts in our mind, and all kinds of words coming out of our mouth. And you know, because somebody cuts us, and we get upset. And even when we do the wrong thing, and somebody tells us something, and then we retaliate right away, because we don't like what somebody tells us, even when we have done something wrong.

But that does not please the Lord. What is pleasing to the Lord, what is honoring to the Lord, is even when we have done the right thing, and someone has treated us badly because of this, we should, in a patient way, take it before the Lord, suffer it. This is acceptable before the Lord. Now, we are talking about small things here in the country in which we live in. But can you imagine those slaves, those servants under the Roman Empire, testifying for the person of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah? And they have been so much persecuted by mankind at large because of their faith in the Messiah, and because of the good deeds that they have done.

Can you imagine what the lessons that the Lord was teaching them at that time? Well, brothers and sisters, now he is saying, and I love this passage so much, because in verses 21 to 25, he gives us the Lord Jesus, Yeshua, our Messiah, as the great example. You know, there is no one that we can look at, and we can see such an example as found in this precious person, the precious person, Yeshua the Messiah. In verses 21 to 25, the example of Yeshua the Messiah, the true servant of Jehovah. The true servant of Jehovah is none else but our blessed Lord. What a life he had to go through when he was here on the face of this earth.

What kind of suffering he had to experience. Here is a man that have totally pleased God the Father. A man that never sinned. A man that was for the pleasure of God here in this world. And he had to endure, beloved brothers and sisters, what we can never imagine. We can never grasp what our Lord had to endure. And look at the example. Look at the verse. Let me just read those verses one by one and just make some comments. I do understand from this that when Peter wrote this to the Jewish brethren who were persecuted, who were scattered, he had in mind the prophet Isaiah, the prophet Yeshayahu.

The prophet Yeshayahu spoke concerning the coming of the Mashiach. And those Jewish believers knew their scripture, the Old Testament, the Tanach. And when Peter was telling them, speaking to them in his mind, and you can see it in the text, he was referring again and again to the prophet Yeshayahu, Isaiah. And you notice he says in verse 21, first of all, the believer is called to follow the Mashiach, the Messiah. For even there unto were ye called. You see, we are called as believers to learn from our master, from Yeshua, the Messiah. And so we are called from above to follow the Messiah's example. And then he says, look, he says in verse 21b, because Christ, the Mashiach, also suffered for us, leaving for us an example that ye should follow in his steps.

He is taking them to the prophet Isaiah. And in the prophet Isaiah, the prophet has spoken to Israel that when the Messiah will come, when Christ, Christos, Mashiach, Messiah, when he will come, he will become an example to the nation of Israel. He will become an example to the world. An example indeed he was in order that we should follow in his steps. And that's the reason why Peter present before them the Messiah in a prophetic way. That is exactly what the Messiah came to do. You notice that because he was writing here to the servants, the context is very important. He, the servants, the slaves, they have suffered rejection and persecution and they were called to submit.

The Messiah also was a servant, a true servant of Jehovah. He came here to serve, to minister, to set up an example where all have fallen, where all have gone astray. He was called to be an example here, pleasing to the Father. And so it says here in the next verses, and I love this verse 22. He says about Yeshua who did no sin. Neither was guile found in his mouth. Notice what he's saying about the Messiah, Christ, Yeshua, is that he did not do any sin. There was no sin in the life of the Messiah. Now they sin in you, they sin in me. We failed the Lord many times.

We're not always serving our masters in the right way. We don't always submit to our authority that is above us. We do not always obey the Lord because of our sin nature. Oftentimes we allow all sorts of things to happen in our life. But there was a man that did no sin. There was no guile found in his mouth. That is our Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah, the sinless one. You know, there are three times in the Bible where three Hebrew men spoke about the Messiah. And every one of them said something very similar about the person of our Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah. Peter, the man of action, said in this chapter, he did no sin.

Paul was a man of knowledge. He was saying in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21, he knew no sin. He didn't even know any sin. Never mind did no sin. And John, the man of affection, the man of love. He says in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 5, in him there was no sin. Three men, three men, three Hebrew servants, three apostles who served the Messiah, Yeshua. All three of them were speaking about the person of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. They say he did no sin. He knew no sin. In him there was no sin whatsoever. What an example. And yet, brothers and sisters, there is no one that suffered in life.

I'm not talking about his death at the moment. Because in his death, he was not an example for you and I. In death, he died for your sin and for mine. But in his life, he was an example. A perfect man that did no sin. That knew no sin. That in him there was no sin. He suffered from all around him. Everywhere he went here in this world, at that time in the Middle East, he was suffering persecution and rejection by mankind. And if he would be here today, they would reject him just the same as they have done it 2,000 years ago in the land of our forefathers.

And I want to point out about the sufferings of the Messiah, just turn back to Isaiah 50, one of the prophetic words concerning the Messiah as a suffering servant. In chapter 50, we read this, listen to that, verse 4. The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear, to hear as they learned. The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. And now notice verse 6. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that pluck off the hair.

I hid not my face from shame and from spitting. For the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face as a flint. And I know that I shall not be ashamed. Here's the voice of the Mashiach, the Messiah. The prophet speaks on his behalf. And here we see the Mashiach, the Messiah speaking. And he says, listen, I was getting up every morning. I was listening to my master. I was not disobedient. And then he says, I gave my back to the smiters. And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. And I hid not my face from shame and from spitting.

Can you imagine how the Messiah had to suffer? He was suffering shame and spitting and rejection by all those that were around him. The spiritual leaders. The thieves on the cross. The passers-by. The Roman soldiers. All had gathered around him. And mocked him. And laughed at him. And smote him. And he gave his back to the smiters. And my cheek to them that plucked off the hair of the cheeks. And amazing when you think about Yeshua, the Messiah. What an example of persecution and suffering in his life he experienced here on the face of this earth. So, we are here in our chapter. First Peter 2 and verse 22.

He did no sin. And there was no guile. There was no lying in him at all. Found in his mouth. And then it says in verse 23. Who when he was reviled. He reviled not again. When he suffered. He threatened not. But he committed himself to him. The judge righteously. Now, that word for reviled means verbally abused. When he was verbally abused. He did not verbally retaliate. Again, no. When he suffered, he threatened not. But he committed himself to him. The judge righteously. Now, brothers and sisters. Isn't it so with us? When somebody is going to speak something against you or I. When somebody is going to treat us in a wrong way.

We are going to find an opportunity if we are in the flesh. To retaliate. To get back at him. Or her. To do something back. Because we are not going to allow anybody to do this to us. We are going to stand for our rights. But he is the Lord of glory. The Messiah himself. When can you imagine standing there before his creation. When he was reviled. He was abused verbally and physically. And all what they have done to him. He did not retaliate. But he committed himself to him. The judge righteously. What an amazing example we have in Yeshua the Messiah. Paul said in Romans chapter 12.

Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. In other words, we need grace. Of course, it's not easy to do so. We cannot do it on our own. We like to retaliate. We like to have our own way eventually. But when things are not coming right in our own way. And there are rejection. Misunderstanding. And persecution by others who do not understand us. And treat us wrong. How do we react? How do we respond? Here is an example of the Lord. When he was reviled. He reviled not again. But he suffered. He didn't threaten them back. But he committed himself unto him. The judge righteously.

Abraham said years ago. When he stood before God. He says. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? You know, God will deal. With all those that cause affliction. Upon the people of God. All those who place persecution upon believers. Wrongfully. They will have to answer to the Lord for that. But in the meanwhile. The believer is called to learn the example of Yeshua the Messiah. Now, brother listeners. We draw into the close here. In this passage. I want you to notice a very important verse. That often is being misunderstood. It's verse 24. Just as we get to the end of second chapter of first Peter.

It says there. It says there. Speaking about the Messiah. Yeshua. Who. His own self. Bear our sins in his own body on the tree. That we being dead to sins. Should live unto righteousness. By whose stripe ye were healed. Now, often time. People misunderstand this verse. And they take this verse. And apply this. To the necessity of getting healing. On a day by day basis. In the life of the Christian. Because it says at the end. Of verse 24. By whose stripes. Ye were healed. But there is a mistake here. First of all. They are not stripes. Plural. The Hebrew word. Chavuato. Is singular. Here. In this verse.

Verse 24. Is talking about. One. Single. Stripe. One. Single. Punishment. That a Messiah took. In his body. On the tree. When he died. For the sin question. Here. It's not an issue. Of the Lord. Receiving many stripes. That we will have. Our bodies. Healed. Now. Let me tell you. If you're a believer. You know very well. That you get sick. Again. And again. In your life. As a Christian. The issue here. Is not bodily healing. But his soul. Healing. When we became believers. In Yeshua. The Messiah. This one stripe. That he. Have taken. From God. You and I. Became healed. Positionally. Spiritually. And once. And for all.

Our sin. And sins. Have been removed. From the presence. Of the Lord. Again. Let me reread. This verse. Who. Yeshua. His own self. Alone. Bear our sins. In his body. On the tree. When he was. Lifted up. On the cross. On the tree. And God. Laid upon him. This judgment. That was. One judgment. That once. And for all. Remove. The sin. Question. From the. Presence. Of everyone. That have trusted. In him. And that. It says. That we. The believers. Being. Dead. To sins. Should live. Unto righteousness. In order. That now. Because. Of what he have done. For us. This once. And for all. Judgment. On the cross.

Now. We should. Live. In a life. That is. Pleasing. To the Lord. And then. He added. The end. By whose. Stripe. Singular. Ye. Were. Past tense. Healed. Positionally. When you have. Accepted him. As your Lord. And. Savior. Now. Please. Go back. To Isaiah 53. Two verses. One of them. Applied. To what he did. In his life. And one of them. Apply. Of what he did. In his death. Isaiah. Chapter 53. Verse. Four. And Isaiah 53. Verse. Five. Applied. To do. Different timing. All together. Notice that. I'm reading. Verse. Four. Surely. He has borne. Our griefs. And he carried. Our sorrows. Yet. We did. Esteem him. Stricken. Smitten. Of God.

And afflicted. This verse. Surely. He has borne. Our griefs. And carries. Our sorrows. That was. In his life. When he. Healed. The brokenhearted. When he healed. Diseases. It's found. In Matthew. Chapter 8. Verses. 16. 17. When he gave. The blind men. To see. And the lame men. To walk. This. He did. In his life. But now. Look. In verse 5. Is what he did. In his death. He was wounded. For our transgression. He was bruised. For our iniquities. The chastisement. Of our peace. Was upon him. And listen. To the end. Of verse 5. And with his. Stripe. Singular. I know. You might have it. In your bible. Plural. With the e s.

But you have to remove. The s. Because it's. One. Single. Stripe. Chavurato. Single. And with his. Stripe. We are healed. Spiritual. Healing. Once. And for all. When we have. Accepted him. As our lord. And our savior. One. Single. Stripe. Of god's. Judgment. Upon. The mashiach. Have dealt. With the question. Of sin. Once. And for all. This is important. Verse 4. Of isaiah 53. Is quoted. In matthew. Chapter 8. Verse 5. Of isaiah 53. Is quoted. In first. Peter. Chapter 2. I wanted. Just to make sure. That I communicate. This. With all of us. So we will understand. What the lord. Has in mind. And here. We conclude. In the last verse.

Verse 25. When the apostle. Peter. Is saying. Yeshua. Is that shepherd. And overseers. Of our souls. In this verse. Help us. To see. Why it is so important. To read a text. In its context. Because he is speaking. To Jewish believers. Those Jewish believers. Were in contrast. To their brethren. They have believed. In the Messiah. The rest of the nation. Did not believe. In the Messiah. The rest of the nation. Have not returned. To God. As yet. And so he is telling them. In verse. 25. For ye. Were a sheep. Going astray. That is Isaiah 53. Verse 6. But you are now. Returned. Unto the shepherd. And the bishop.

Of your souls. He is saying. To those. Hebrew Christians. The rest. Did not return. Of yet. But you. Hebrew believers. Have returned. You came back. To. The very. Shepherd. Of your souls. When you were. Gone astray. And now. You return. Back. To him. Who is the shepherd. The word for shepherd. Is. And the bishop. Of your soul. The word for bishop. Is. Overseer. He is. Overseer. He. Look. At the believer. And he. Overseer. The believer. And he. Can see. The growth. In the life. Of those. That have trusted. In him. So here. Brothers and sisters. In. This second chapter. The conclusion. Is. That the believers.

Are to seek. To be a witness. Here in this world. First of all. Submission. To God. Secondly. Submission. To. The authority. That we are under. And thirdly. Submission. To those. That are. Superior. To us. Such as our. Employers. Our masters. Those. That are. In charge. Over us. We are. To submit. To an authority. Because this is. Well. Pleasing. To the Lord. May the Lord. Help us. To do so. Until the day come. When he's going. To take us. To be. With him. In glory.