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We are there in Psalm 44, and I want you to notice verse number 22, Psalm 44 verse number 22, it says, Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. The title for the sermon this morning is, counted as sheep for the slaughter, counted as sheep for the slaughter. You may be familiar with that verse. It's actually repeated for us in Romans chapter 8. And so I thought it'd be a good title to go with. And we noticed that this idea of being a sheep gets brought up a couple of times in this Psalm. So we're going to explore this. Now, normally when we go through the Psalms, you know, many of the Psalms that we go through that we've been most familiar with so far have been Psalms of David. And when it comes to the Psalms, it's on a very personal level between the Psalmist and God, you know, a one-on-one interaction. You know, the Psalmist might be going through some suffering and some trials and hardships. He might be feeling far from God and he turns to the Lord and he seeks his face and you got that one-on-one interaction. This Psalm is quite different. Psalm 44. It's not about one single person. In fact, we, you know, that David's name is not mentioned here as a writer, though he could have written it. We don't know exactly. But this Psalm is more about the nation, the nation of Israel to the Lord God. And it's not a Psalm about the time when David or Solomon would reign in Israel, but actually it's a Psalm about the nation being in captivity. More than likely, it's about the nation being under captivity by the Babylonians, the southern kingdom of Judah being taken into captivity. And I'll show you some reasons why that is. Now, it could be that this Psalm was written during the time of captivity. That's a reality. Many of these Psalms are written over a long period of time and put together. The other thing is this just could be, this could very well be a Psalm much early in the days of David or Solomon, etc. And maybe it's just speaking prophetically about a future captivity time to come. Nevertheless, I think we can learn a lot of great things from this Psalm as we consider it being about the entire nation being taken into captivity here. So let's start there in verse number one, Psalm 44 verse number one. It begins by saying, We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what worked our deaths in their days in the times of old. So reminding yourself this nation is in captivity, right? That they're being taken over by the Babylonians. And the people that are in captivity right now, they're reminding themselves of the times the fathers would speak about the great work that God has done in the past. You know, where God has brought them out of Egypt and taken them to the promised land, etc. Now they find themselves in a foreign land. They've been taken over by the Babylonians and they remind themselves the great stories they've heard from their fathers of old. I think when we start there in verse number one, you know, for those of us that are parents, we need to remind ourselves how important it is for us to ensure that we pass down the stories of old that we've gone through. How we've seen God deliver us through hardships, how God has saved us from our sins, how he's given us eternal life. So we've gone through different struggles, illnesses, financial difficulties, problems, personal conflicts between people. And how God has seen us through all these challenges. We need to not just be thankful for what God has done for us, but we need to go to our children and tell them how much God has helped us in our lives. Why? Because our children might find themselves one day at a point where they desperately need the Lord. Now in verse number two, it says, how that this drive them out of the heathen with thy hand and plants them, how thou afflicts the people and casts them out. And so God had basically planted the nation of Israel into the land of Canaan, into the promised land. And he cast out the Canaanites when they entered in. They were victorious over the Canaanites. God had given them the victory. And so this is what the fathers are passing down to their children and the children that are backslidden now in captivity. I remind themselves of these great stories to come. You see our children, you know, are going to have times when they rebel against the Lord and they're going to face the chastisement of God. And they're going to go through hardships. We can't stop our children from suffering forever. They're going to grow up, they're going to live in this world. They may very well suffer more than we have in this life. You know, they might find themselves far from God or they just might find themselves through a difficulty. You know, through persecution that comes by just serving the Lord God, they might find themselves a little bit deflated. And we need to, you know, I hope that our kids will remind themselves at this point when they're far from the Lord or feeling as though the Lord is far away. They would go back to the stories of their fathers. They would go back around. I remember that time when mom and dad told me, when God came through for them. You know, God helped them in a time of difficulty. God saw them through. God delivered them out of trials and difficulties. And, you know, if God has done that for our parents in the past, then God can surely do this for us as well. That's the whole point. That's the whole reason that we pass down the stories of God being such a great deliverer in our time of need. Where our children or our children's children would hear those same stories and turn to God at their most desperate need. Verse number three. It says, For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arms save them, but by thy right hand and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hast a favour unto them. And so this is so true. You say, well, hold on, Pastor Kevin. I remember when they went into the promised land. We had Joshua leading, you know, armies in a fight against the Canaanites. It was themselves that they did accomplish it themselves. They did send an army. They did go in by sword. They did overtake the Canaanites. But notice how the psalmist speaks about this. Yes, of course, you know, there are some elements of a man, you know, in faith, you know, following what God has asked them to do. But really, the psalmist realizes there's no point in boasting about ourselves. The victories that we've had, the deliverance that we've had, we need to make sure we give our praise and thanksgiving to God. It's God who saw us through. It's God that's given us the strength to fight the battles. It's God that's given us the victory. And it's so important that when we find ourselves having success or getting through a time of difficulty, that we don't boast of ourselves, brethren. We say, well, you know, I got through trial X, Y, and Z because, you know, I'm so great. You know, I was able to accomplish, you know, so much in my life. You know what? That's going to lead you to a life of ruin. You know, we should be boasting of our Lord. We should be praising God every time we have success and victory in this life and make sure God receives the glory, God receives the honor. Let's keep going there. Verse number four. It says, Thou art my king, O God. Command deliverances for Jacob. And so these children in the captivity, they turn to God and say, God, you are our king. Now, that's quite interesting, the fact that they're turning to God and claiming him to be their king. Because we know the whole reason Israel had the kingly line is because they rejected God as their king. I'll quickly read to you from 1 Samuel 8.7. You don't need to turn there. But 1 Samuel 8.7, you may recall when the children of Israel, they demanded a king. They looked at all the other nations with their kings and they went to Samuel and said, Samuel, give us a king. You know, we're tired of this judgment system, you know, the system of judges and, you know, your children, they're not faithful. They're not serving the Lord with their hearts. And we think we're better off with a king. And so this really upsets Samuel. Samuel goes to the Lord God and, you know, tells him that they want a man to be the king over that nation. But it says there in 1 Samuel 8.7, And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. You see, the people did not want God to reign over them. The people of Israel wanted a king, a man. Instead of God being the king, they wanted a man to be the king. But here's the thing. The kings could not save them. The kings, in fact, the kings were at fault for this nation being taken into captivity. They had a horrible line of kings toward the end as Babylon came and the judgment of God fell upon Judah. You know, they had horrible kings. The kings were much of the reason why the people suffered more than they needed to because of their kings. And so what's wonderful about this point now that the nation is able to turn to God and say, You are our king. They want him back. They realize that putting their trust in man is not going to get them anywhere, brethren. We need to trust in our Lord God, the king, the king of kings and the Lord of lords. And so it's wonderful to see that the hearts, you know, as they've gone through captivity, the generations that are coming out of that, you know, they're turning back to the Lord God. They're seeing God as their king. And so they have that desire once again. Let's keep going there. Verse number five. Through thee will we push down our enemies. Yeah, through God we can push down enemies. Through God we can, you know, be delivered out of the hands of the Babylonians. It says, Through thy name we will tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. But thou has saved us from our enemies and has put them to shame that hated us. And so this is great because, you know, when it comes to the end of the kingly line there of Judah, before they were taken into captivity, you have King Zedekiah who's basically asking his people to fight against the Babylonians, to take up the sword, to rebel, to fight against this new power that will take over the land. And so they did. They did put their trust in their bows. They did put their trust in their swords and they were slaughtered by the Babylonians. They get to this point now they realize going to war against, you know, a foreign nation without God is going to fail us. You know, we're better off just making sure God is on our side. If we are going to go to battle, if we are going to go to war, we need to make sure that it's God that's commanding us. It's God that's directing us. And they once again, they realize it's not our army, it's not our strength, it's not our swords and our bows that's going to deliver us. It's by the hand of God that's going to deliver us and put them to shame that hated us. And brethren, it's the same thing for us when we need deliverance, when we need guidance, when we need direction, when we're going through hardship brethren, we need to put our trust 100% in our Lord God, just like salvation. You know, when you came to the point of salvation, you put 100% of your faith and trust on the finished work of Jesus Christ. You said, God, only you can save me. I cannot save myself. And you've trusted Jesus Christ for salvation. It's no different to the rest of our Christian life. When we go through any kind of difficulty in hardships, we put 100% of our trust on the Lord God that he is going to deliver us out of the hands of enemies, the hands of trials, difficulties and tribulations that we would go through. Now, what I love about verse number six or verse number seven, sorry, it says, but thou has saved us from our enemies. There's an expectation by the nation that God's going to save us, okay? I mean, they haven't yet been saved as we keep going through the Psalm. They're still in captivity. They're still going through this difficulty. But there's this expectation that if we just turn to God and we don't trust in ourselves, we don't trust in man, we don't trust in our earthly kings, but we put our trust in God. The expectation is God's going to come through. And again, that's no different to us. You know, I'm sure some of us are going through difficulties right now. Maybe we're all going through difficulties. Maybe we're all going through difficulties and challenges right now, brethren. What are we to do? We are to go to God in prayer, aren't we? We go to God and say, God, help us deliver us through this time of difficulty. But as we go in prayer for God, we must go in faith, okay? We must have the same expectation that God is going to see us through. God's going to see us through this difficulty. One day, God's going to deliver us out of this challenge. And I know God can do this. You know, when we go to God in prayer, let's ask him what we need with the expectation in our heart through faith that God's going to answer that prayer. Now, sometimes God does not answer that prayer exactly how we would, but God makes sure he answers the prayer in accordance to his will. And if we're children of God, we're saved, we're seeking our Father's help, he's going to deliver us. The expectation should be God's going to deliver us. You know, it says in James chapter 1 verse 6, So the Bible's saying that if we go with doubts, we go, is God going to hear our prayer? Is God going to answer my prayer? Does God care about me? Is God interested in my prayer? If we go with doubts and not sure whether God can help us, we can't expect that we're going to receive anything from the Lord. You know, when we go in faith, when we go expecting that God can save us and deliver us, then he's going to step in. He's going to do it. You know, God demands faith from us. Faith pleases the Lord. Faith shows God that our trust and our strength come from him and him alone. And when you're able to go to the Lord God in prayer in that manner, then God's going to deliver us. God's going to save us from our challenges that we're going through. Verse number 8, it says, And so they're boasting in the right things, brethren. They're not boasting in their earthly kings. They're not boasting in their might. They've been taken down. They've been humiliated. They've been wiped out as a nation. They've been humbled by God. And sometimes we do need to go through that humility. Sometimes when we've got things too easy and things just, you know, we're always successful, we're just always achieving, it's easy to boast in ourselves, isn't it? You know, sometimes God is going to have to humble us and remind us that our boasting ought to be in the Lord. In God we boast all the day long. You know, that's true for us, brethren. We should always be thanking God, boasting of the Lord, boasting of the Lord's deliverance. Keep your finger there in Psalm 44. And please turn to Psalm 49. Turn to Psalm 49. Psalm 49 and verse number 6. Turn to Psalm 49 and verse number 6. It says, You know, some people boast in their wealth. They boast in their possessions. They boast in the multitude of their riches. That is the world. You know, that is definitely Australia. You know, I keep hearing stories about how house prices are going up and they've been going crazy. And, you know, and people, they're just boasting of themselves, man. I got in at the right time. You know, I got in before the latest boom, right, whatever it is. You know, we ought not to boast in our wealth. We ought not to boast in our possessions or the multitude of our riches. Doesn't matter how much wealth we have. It says in verse number 7, You cannot pay for someone's salvation through your wealth. And this reminds me of the Roman Catholic Church where they would go to their priest. They would give their money. They would give their wealth to the priest for the priest to pray for dead loved ones that apparently they teach in purgatory in a halfway house. If they just give enough money, they give enough of their wealth to the priest, the priest will pray for that lost loved one, that loved one that's in purgatory and they'll get out of purgatory sooner and into heaven sooner. You know, the Bible says, look, your wealth cannot deliver your brother, cannot redeem your brother. You cannot give to God a ransom for him. Your wealth cannot save you. You know, it is a hard thing for a rich man to be saved because they trust in their riches. Not impossible. You know, it's impossible for man, but everything is possible for God. You know, God can save the rich. Absolutely, God already has. He died on the cross for our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. He died for us all. Even the rich can be saved. But usually those that are rich, it's very difficult for them to not trust in their riches, thinking that their success is something good that God will accept and receive them into heaven. No, it's not our riches, brethren. It's our salvation on Jesus Christ through Christ. And we also boast of Christ, not boast of our riches. The Bible says in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works. Why? Lest any man should boast. You know, many people are going to boast of their salvation because of their works. We know this. We go Lord's little soul winning. Why do you believe you're going to heaven? I'm such a good person. I do good things. I treat people the way I would like to be treated. Well, yeah, they're boasting of their works. They're boasting of themselves. Or, you know, I go to church or I pastor a church. That's why I ought to go to heaven because I'm such a good person. Boasting of themselves, salvation cannot be received by boasting of oneself. Salvation is only by humbling yourself and boasting of what Christ has done for us. Amen. That is the way of salvation. That is the way of having our prayers answered by boasting of Jesus Christ. Can you please turn to Psalm 34 now? Turn to Psalm 34 in verse number 2. Psalm 34 in verse number 2. Psalm 34 in verse number 2. The Bible says, My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. Look at this. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. All right. So if we boast in the Lord, brethren, you know what? The humble, those that are trusting in God as well, they're going to be glad as well. You know, it's a good thing to give a testimony every now and again when you know God's hand has delivered you. God's hand has helped you through some difficulty in trial. It's good to share amongst the believers. You know what? And those that are humble, those that are also boasting in the Lord, it's just something to rejoice in, to know how God has helped us through a time of difficulty, how God has saved our souls. It's a beautiful thing also to hear the salvation testimony of others because it gives us that great joy. And so, brethren, make sure that your boasting is in the Lord. I don't care how successful you are. I don't care how rich you are. You know, these things in and of themselves are not wrong as long as we are giving God the glory and boasting of him rather than boasting in ourselves. Okay. Let's keep going there in Psalm 44 verse number 9. Psalm 44 verse number 9. It says, But thou hast cast off and put us to shame. You notice that they're not yet delivered. They're still cast off. They're put to shame. And goest not forthwith our armies. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy, and they which hate us spoil for themselves. Thou hast given us, sorry, thou hast given us like sheep, appointed for meat, and hast scattered us among the heathen. So there it is. They're scattered amongst the heathen, taken into captivity of the land. Now, as I said to you, the title of the sermon this morning was counted as sheep for the slaughter. Now, before we get to that verse later on, I want to just remind you there in verse number 11, thou hast given us like sheep, appointed for meat. Okay. So God is delivering these Jews like sheep to be slaughtered, all right, and to be eaten. You know, we're coming to Australia Day, not very far away. Have you seen the lamb commercials? Yeah, you know, Australians love to eat lamb on Australia Day. I think if, yeah, why not? You know, why not? But the idea is there that the Jews are being delivered as it were. Our lambs being slain for meats, and hast scattered us among the heathen. Now, the question is, you know, here in verse number 11, why are they being delivered as sheep for the meat? Why is that? You know, what are your thoughts around this? And as I said to you, you've got verse number 11 mentioned in it, and then you've got verse number 22, where we get the title of the sermon from. And even though it's the same idea, where you're being slaughtered as lambs or as sheep, the reason they've been slaughtered in verses number 11 is very different to why they've been slaughtered in verse number 22. Okay, so why they've been slaughtered in verse number 11? Why are they a sheep appointed for meat? Well, number one, it's because of their disobedience. It's because of their rebellion against the Lord. You know, the Lord has brought judgment upon Judah, and he's allowed the Babylonians to come in to take them into captivity. You know, for those that were in Judah that decided to fight for their liberties, they said, look, we're not going to accept this new power. We're not going to accept the Babylonian army, and kings that are kind of telling the nation to rebel against the new powers because they're losing their liberties. Those that want to fight for their liberties, those that want to fight for their freedoms, even though God is judging them, they're going to fare really badly. They're going to be taken as sheep appointed for meat. They're going to be slaughtered. And yes, they were slaughtered. You know, for those that tried to fight for their liberties, those that tried to fight for the nation, they went to war against the Babylonians and they died by the sword. Okay. And what, you know, I've gone through Jeremiah down here in Sydney, and Jeremiah is basically telling the nation, look, surrender. Surrender to the new powers. You know, if you surrender, they're going to be merciful toward you. If you surrender, things are going to go well for you. Okay, I mean, you're going to be taken into captivity. You're still going to lose your freedoms, but things are going to fare well for you, whereas if you rebel and you become disobedient to God's leading here, then you're going to be destroyed. Yes, you definitely are going to be a sheep appointed for meat. In fact, keep your finger there, and let's turn to Jeremiah. Let's turn to Jeremiah 29. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 29 for me, please. Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse number 4. Jeremiah 29 and verse number 4. For those that did surrender, for those that listened to Jeremiah and they went out, surrendered themselves to the Babylonian army, as I said, it fared well for them. Okay, and once they were taken into captivity by the Babylonians, it says here in Jeremiah 29 verse 4, these are the words of God to those that are captive through Jeremiah the prophet. It says in Jeremiah 29 verse 4, Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon. So what is God telling these people taken into captivity? Verse number 5. Build your houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Far out for these that are taken into captivity, it looks like those that surrendered to the new powers, that things fared well for them. That they're able to build houses, that they're able to go and plant and eat the fruit of their own hands. God said, look, just calm down, settle down. You're going to be stuck here for 70 years. You know, just get on with your life. You know, it's good that you surrender to the Babylonians. Now settle down 70 years before you guys can return back into the land. Okay, let's keep going to verse number 6. Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters. Get married, have kids, and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters, and that ye may be increased there and not diminished. And it says in verse number 7. And seek the peace of the city, whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it. Pray for peace. For in the peace thereof ye shall have peace. So hey, those that surrendered, taken to captivity, did it go well for them? Yeah, for those that surrendered. But for those that rebelled, it was horrible. They were like sheep taken for the meat and slaughtered. Okay? But for those that surrendered and obeyed the Lord God, they're taken to captivity. God says, look, just seek peace in your land. Don't rebel. Don't start some, you know, militia group to fight against the Babylonians. Don't try to force your way back. Settle down. Build houses. Get married. Give your daughters to husbands. Give your sons to get married, et cetera, et cetera. And get on with your life. And so this is what we're seeing here. That those that have been slaughtered like sheep are the rebellious ones. That's in verse number 11. Okay? As I said, verse number 22, it's a little bit different. So we'll keep going there. Okay? Let's keep going. Verse number 12. Back to Psalm 44. Actually, keep your finger in Jeremiah. We're going to return back to Jeremiah soon. So just keep your finger there in Jeremiah. Come back to Psalm 44 in verse number 12. Psalm 44, verse number 12. It says, thou sellest thy people for naught. So God is, as it were, selling his people away. Right? To the Babylonians. And dost not increase thy wealth by their price. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. So verse number 14 confirms for us that this is definitely the captivity period. Okay? Let me read verse number 14 again. Thou hast made us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. Now, hopefully you stayed there in Jeremiah. Please turn to Jeremiah 18. Turn to Jeremiah 18 for me. And while you're turning to Jeremiah 18, I'm going to read to you from 1 Kings chapter 9, verse 6. You go to Jeremiah 18. I'll read to you from 1 Kings chapter 9, verse number 6. 1 Kings chapter 9, verse number 6 is God speaking to Solomon. Solomon's getting himself ready to become the next king after his father David. And it says here, God says to Solomon in 1 Kings 9, 6. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye and your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them. So if they go and rebel against God and worship other gods, verse number 7, then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them, and this house which I have hallowed for my name. Will I cast out of my sight, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people. So they're a proverb, a byword. In other words, the Jews are going to be known as just these people that are going to be destroyed by God. You know, they're going to be mocked and ridiculed, given names as it were, because of their disobedience toward God. Verse number 8 says, and at this house which is high, everyone that passeth by it shall be astonished and shall hiss, and they shall say, why have the Lord done thus unto the land and to this house? So the surrounding nations are going to look at Israel and say, why has God done this? Well, we know why God's done this, because they've turned from God and they've served other gods. They did not walk in his ways. They did not keep his commandments and statutes. And so this was a promise by God. If the nation turns against him, he's going to allow them to be taken into captivity. They're going to be a byword. The surrounding nations are going to look upon them and wonder why, wonder what they've done to deserve such a punishment from God. But you're there in Jeremiah 18 now. Jeremiah 18, verse number 15, please. Jeremiah 18 and verse number 15. So we know that the time Jeremiah is preaching about the nation going into captivity. And the same thing is, you know, is here. You know, from Psalm 44 to 1 Kings to Jeremiah 18, you know, there's a consistency in the Bible here. In Jeremiah 18, 15, it says, because my people have forgotten me, says God, they have burned incense to vanity. So they're burning incense and worshiping vanity, false things, false gods. And they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths to walk in paths in a way not cast up. To make their land desolate and a perpetual hissing, everyone that passeth thereby shall be astonished and wag his head. So you can see the same thing. God is prophesying for Jeremiah. You continue down this path, Judah, you'll be taken away into captivity. You'll be a desolate land. You'll be a perpetual hissing. You know, the people that are passing by, they're going to wag their heads wondering why has God done this? And again, it's because they've burnt incense. They've worshiped vanities. They've worshiped false things. You know, they've had their trust on other things beside the Lord God. All right. So what I'm trying to show you, the first part of this psalm is people being as sheep to the slaughter, being given as meat because of the rebellion, because of this disobedience. And brethren, if you rebel against God, you know, if you disobey God, we have the promise in the New Testament. You don't have the promise throughout the whole Bible that God will chastise you. God will allow you to go through difficulties and bring you low and bring you, you know, bring you low as, you know, and try to humble you. You know, you're going to feel like a sheep for meat. You know, people are going to use you. They're going to abuse you. They're going to take advantage of you. They're going to mock you. They're going to ridicule you. And you're going to wonder what's happened because of your rebellion. It's because of your unconfessed sins. It's because of your boasting of yourselves or boasting your riches rather than boasting in the Lord. You know, God can allow us to be sheep taken for the slaughter. Back to Psalm 44, verse 15, please. Psalm 44 and verse number 15. So obviously, we don't want to suffer unnecessarily in this way. You know, we don't want to be sheep to meat because of disobedience and rebellion. You know, this can happen to God's people here as well. Let's keep going. Verse number 15. My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face have covered me. For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth by reason of the enemy and avenger. All right. So when we get to verse number 15, the psalmist. Obviously, the psalmist is a faithful man of God. Okay. The psalmist, you know, as an individual, he loves the Lord. He's serving the Lord. This is why his confusion is continually before. He's confused by this captivity. But why is there such confusion? Why is there such shame upon the nation? It says in verse number 16, for the voice of him that reproached and blasphemeth. So for those that were taken into captivity, brethren, you know, they weren't all disobedient and rebellious people. There were many people. Daniel, Ezekiel, you know, Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Others that were taken into captivity that were just faithful servants of the Lord God. But because they lived in a nation where God was judging, they were caught up in the judgment as well. They were caught up into the captivity as well. And so you've got a mix of people going to captivity, the rebellious, the unfaithful, and you've got the godly and the faithful. Okay. And the faithful here is speaking. Yes, the reason there's such shame in our nation is because of those that are disobedient, those that blaspheme against the Lord God. Okay. Reminding yourself that the nation that was taken into captivity is called reprobate. You know, that generation was a reprobate generation. Again, there were some faithful people with the generation as a whole. The nation as a whole was reprobate in the eyes of God. It would be the children and the grandchildren that would come out of captivity and return back to the land, desiring God to be their king. All right. So as we keep going, I want you to remember there are two groups of people. The rebellious and the faithful. Okay. Verse number 17, the faithfully speaking here, the faithful psalmist. He says, All this has come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee. Now, has the nation forgotten God? Of course, the nation as a whole has forgotten God. That's why they're in captivity. But the faithful are saying, look, we've not forgotten you, God. Okay. So these are like the Daniels. These are like the Shadrach, Meshach, and the Bendigos. Okay. These are like the Ezekiels. Yet have we not forgotten thee? Neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. They said, no, we've kept your covenant, God. You know, we've remained faithful to your covenant. Our heart is not turned back. Neither have our steps declined from thy way. So they're saying, look, we're walking in your ways, God. We're walking in accordance to your covenant. Unfortunately for them, they were still taken into captivity. They still face the consequences. And I've been saying this a lot to the Sydney church. I'm saying it to you guys now. You know, the judgment of God that's come upon this nation in the last few years. You know, we're going to feel it as well. Even those that are faithful, those that are walking in God's paths, we are still going to face some of those consequences that fall upon this nation as God judges us. It says in verse number 19. Though thou hast so broken us in the place of dragons and covered us with the shadow of death, if we have forgotten the name of our God or stretched out our hands to a strange God, shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. So the faithful are asking, God, can you search our hearts? Can you differentiate us from those that did go and serve strange gods, that did serve and burn insensitive vanities? You know, judge them, Lord, you know, but search our hearts because we've not done that, God. We remain faithful to your covenant. We remain faithful to your ways. He's asking, God, don't judge us in the same way that you're judging those that have blasphemed against your name. Okay. And that's how we ought to be praying in this time of difficulty. And again, many of you on the Sunshine Coast, you can't go to certain places. You're being, you know, restricted. That's part of the judgment, brethren, that's fallen upon this nation. But, you know, we ought to be going to God, you know, and trying to live in peace and asking, God, please search our hearts, Lord. You know, have we turned against you, Lord? Have we been rebellious against you, Lord? Or can you see in our hearts that we've loved you, we want to serve you, and, Lord, in this capacity, please look at us, Lord. Please don't judge us severely the way you are judging the rest of this nation and the rest of this world. So they're asking to differentiate the godly from the ungodly there. Verse number 22. Now we get to verse number 22. Notice this. The faithful, once again, are speaking. They say, yea, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Interesting. So verse 11, they're being sheep for the meat because of the rebellion. Okay. But now the faithful are saying, we are killed all day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Notice why they're being counted as sheep for the slaughter. Verse number 22. Yea, for thy sake. God, for your sake, for your reasons, for your purposes, Lord, we've stood for your name. And because we stood for your name, Lord, we've been counted as sheep for the slaughter. That's really interesting. Why was I basically saying this? You know what? As a safe person, you are a sheep, whether you like it or not. And as a sheep, you are going to be taken, as it were, as illustratively taken to the slaughter. And you've got a choice. Why is it that I'm going to be sacrificed? Why am I going to go through hardships? Why am I going to go through difficulties? Am I going to go through these hardships and difficulties because of my rebellion against God? Or am I going to go through difficulties because I've stood for his name? Am I going to go through difficulties for God's namesake? Is that why I'm going to go through difficulties? Whether you like it or not, brethren, whether you're a faithful believer for the Lord God, serving him faithfully, or whether you're rebellious, you're still a sheep for the slaughter. You can't get away from it. You can't avoid it. But let's make sure that we're sheep for the slaughter for his sake, not because of our rebellious nature. Yeah? You know, that's the thing about going through difficulties and hardships. Sometimes, you know, the Lord is just punishing us. We go through his chastisement. Other times, God's allowing us to go through that difficulty because if we live for the Lord God, we are going to face persecution. We are going to be ridiculed just for loving his word, for standing on God's word. But I'd rather be taken as a lamb for the slaughter for his sake than being taken as a sheep for the meat because of my rebellion. You see, if we do it for his sake, brethren, we're going to be rewarded in heaven. If we're doing it at rebellion, you know we're going to be chastised on this earth, but for no purpose. There is no reward for rebellion. There is no reward for disobedience, but there is great reward for laying down our lives for the sake of our Lord God. So which way do you want to suffer? We're all going to suffer. We're all going to go through difficulties. As I said, you're probably going through difficulties right now. I hope you're going through difficulties for the sake of Jesus Christ and not because of your stubborn rebellious nature. Okay? You can't get away from it. Can you please keep your finger there and turn to, let's turn to John chapter 10. Turn to John chapter 10, verse number 11. John chapter 10 and verse number 11. Why are we all sheep? Whether you're a rebellious, saved, rebellious person, you're a sheep. Whether you're serving God faithfully, you're a sheep. Why are we sheep? It says in John chapter 10, verse 11. John chapter 10, verse 11. Jesus Christ says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. So not only are we sheep for the slaughter, as it were, but our shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. Why are we sheep brethren? Because we've got a good shepherd. We've got a great shepherd. Okay? We've got the chief shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. The moment that you've trusted Christ for salvation, he's become your shepherd and you've become his sheep. You can't avoid it brethren. You are a sheep. Okay? Accept it. That's what you are. Verse number 12. But he that is a hireling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, see if the wolf cometh and liveth the sheep and fleeeth and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeeth because he is a hireling and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father and lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking of course to his disciples, to the Jews that listen to him. He says he's got other sheep that are not of this fold. Of course speaking about the Gentiles, the Gentiles that would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well it doesn't matter whether we're Jew, whether we're Gentile, doesn't matter what our nationality, our ethnicity, our background is brethren, the moment we believe in Jesus Christ, we are brought into that one fold and the Lord Jesus Christ becomes our shepherd. The shepherd that gave his life for the sheep. This is why you're a sheep. And you know what? Sheep get slaughtered. Sheep get, you know a wolf can come in and destroy the sheep. Can you please turn to Matthew chapter 10. Turn to Matthew chapter 10 and verse number 16. Matthew chapter 10 and verse number 16. So as sheep, what do sheep do? They follow the shepherd. The shepherd leads them to green pastures, right? If we follow the shepherd, we'll be under the protection of the shepherd, right? But if we go our own way, we get lost as a sheep brethren. There are many wolves, there are many things that are out there to destroy us and harm us. There are many enemies to the children of God. But in Matthew chapter 10 verse number 16, I want you to notice this. Matthew 10 16, it says, these are the words of Christ once again. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. And so even though we're sheep, we should be a little bit wise as a serpent, okay? The serpent, you know, sticks out its tongue, it senses prey, it senses danger. You know, it senses, you know, vibrations on the earth. It knows whether there's prey. It knows whether it needs to hide and protect itself. Hey, sometimes we need to hide and protect ourselves. You know, if we see danger, we need to look out for ourselves. Even though we are sheep in the midst of wolves, you know, we should also be mindful and wise as serpents. But then harmless as doves, harmless as doves. You know, there are three, you know, animal characteristics there. The sheep, the serpent, and the dove. We're all these things, brethren, in the right area, right? We're not to be harmful as serpents. We are meant to be harmless as doves. We're not there trying to destroy this world and hurt people. We're here to save people. We're here to lead people to Jesus Christ. Verse number 17, but beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And those next words, verse number 18. And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. You see, when we go out proclaiming God's word, when we go out winning souls, brethren, you may go through some persecution. You may be attacked. You may be sworn at. You may be ridiculed, brethren. But when we go out and we serve Jesus Christ and we face this and we get slaughtered like sheep, as it were, then we're doing it for his sake. We can't avoid it, brethren. We can't avoid being hurt in this world. We are always going to be hurt. We're always going to go through hardships. We're always going to go through problems, brethren. But let's do it for the sake of Jesus Christ, amen. Let's not do it because of our rebellion, our disobedience. And so, brethren, you cannot escape from being a sheeple. You're a sheeple. I'm a sheeple. That's what we are. You know, I laugh every time, and I've already covered this many times. But, you know, I laugh when the, you know, the conspiracy theorists or those that listen to alternative media, they talk about those that listen to the mainstream media and follow the mainstream media. They say they're sheeple, you know. Yeah, but here's the thing. Those that listen to the alternative media, they're sheeple as well. Because what is a sheep? A sheep is a follower. They believe what they're hearing. It doesn't matter what media it's coming from. They believe it. Whether they're listening to mainstream media, yes, they're a sheeple for the mainstream media. But those that listen to conspiracy and alternative media, you know, and share things without questioning it, they're sheeple of the alternative media as well. You know, you're a sheeple. But here's the thing. We ought to be a sheeple of this one. We're a sheeple of God's word. We're a sheeple of the shepherd. And I praise God for being such a way. So then I can follow after the steps of Jesus Christ. If I'm a sheeple of the Bible, then I know I've always got 100% truth. But I'm going to walk in the path that God wants me to walk, and it's a true path. And you know what? Even when I walk in the ways of the Lord, I'm still a sheep counted for the slaughter. I'm here to serve my Lord Jesus Christ. Hey, if the master was willing to give up his life for the sheep, then am I greater than my master? Am I greater than my Lord? I'm going to suffer as well in this world for the sake of Jesus Christ. And brethren, we need to get used to the idea that we're going to suffer. We're going to go through hardships. We're going to go through tribulations. But let's make sure we're doing it for the cause of Christ, for his sake, not because of our stubborn rebellion and disobedience. Can you please turn to Romans chapter 8 now? Turn to Romans chapter 8, verse number 35. Romans chapter 8 and verse number 35. You say, I don't like the idea, Pastor Kevin, of being counted as sheep of the slaughter. Well, you've got to get used to it, because that's the reality of the Christian life. No one promised you a bed of roses. That bed of roses is in heaven. But while we're on this earth, reverend, it's going to be hard. It's going to be challenging, as long as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 8, please. Romans chapter 8, verse number 35. Romans chapter 8, verse number 35. Even though we are sheep counted for slaughter, there is a great promise associated with this great truth. And this is where I told you it gets repeated. What we're reading there in Psalm 44 gets repeated here in Romans chapter 8 and verse number 35. Romans chapter 8, verse number 35. It says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Reverend, we could go through all kinds of tribulations, all kinds of distress and persecution, famine, nakedness, perils. We could go through such difficulty, brethren. We could face a time of warfare on this earth that causes us to suffer greatly. But can any of that separate us from the love of Christ is the question? Look at verse number 36. So that's what gets repeated there, you know, from Psalm 44. Look at verse number 37. Reverend, if we are a lamb counted for the slaughter, it doesn't matter because we're more than conquerors. We're saved. We're going to heaven. Even if we are literally slaughtered, even if we have to literally die for the cause of Christ, we are still conquerors because we're saved. Because the shepherd is leading us to our eternal place in heaven. Then it says in verse number 38, maybe you don't die and go to heaven. Maybe you suffer on this earth for longer than you thought. Verse number 38. Or any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What a beautiful verse there. What beautiful passage of the Bible. You know, promising us that we can never be delivered out of the love of our Lord God, which is through Jesus Christ. You know, God loves us no matter what we go through. God is there with us no matter what we go through. No matter how much we suffer as a lamb for the slaughter on this earth, brethren, the love of Christ will be with us all the way through. That's the great promise, as long as we suffer for his sake. Amen. Suffer for his sake. Reverend, please don't suffer in your rebellion. Please don't suffer out of your disobedience. You know, if you're going through trials and hardships right now, I want you to consider, am I going through this hardship because this is just a sinful world that I live in? I'm just serving the Lord God. I'm being faithful unto him. I hope so. Or can you look at your life the same moment? I've just been very disobedient. I've been so rebellious. No wonder I'm going through this difficulty. Okay. Now, listen, whichever scenario you're in, if you're suffering as a sheep for the meat because of your disobedience or you're suffering as a lamb for the slaughter for the sake of God, the response is still the same. Please go to Psalm 44, back to Psalm 44. Let's end it now. Psalm 44 and verse number 23. Psalm 44 and verse number 23. Either way, whichever situation you find yourself in, whichever way you're suffering as a sheep, you know, as a sheep for the slaughter, whichever way it is, brethren, look what it says in verse number 23. Psalm 44, verse 23. The response is that we go to the Lord God in prayer. Awake! Why sleep as thou, O Lord? Arise! Cast us not off forever. Lord, please realize the situation that I'm in. Please realize the hardship. Of course, God realizes what you're going through. Okay. But now you're petitioning God. You're going to God and saying, God, I can't handle this on my own. I need your help. Verse number 24. And so, brethren, whichever way you find yourself in, suffering because of your disobedience or suffering for the cause of Christ, you know what? We ought to go to God and ask him. As it says in verse number 26, Lord, please be merciful to me. Please show me your mercy, Lord. Help me through this difficulty. Help me out of this hardship. I'm suffering as a sheep, as it were, Lord. And, brethren, if we're going through those difficulties, remind yourself, whichever way it is, if it's out of disobedience or it's because of the cause of Christ, go to the Lord God in prayer without wavering. Expecting God to deliver you out of your hardships. And as Judah went through this time of captivity and tribulations, and the next generations would be brought forth and the desire to get back to the land, the desire to rebuild Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple, a desire to have God as the king, rather than some foreign king that they were under captivity of, they reminded themselves to go before God and to pray, to seek him, to ask him for his deliverance. And so, brethren, that's the message there in Psalm 44. Hardships, trials, why are you going through hardships? But you can't avoid it. That's life. We are sheep, counsel for the slaughter. That's what we are. And it's a wonderful truth to know that we're sheep because we've got the good shepherd, the good shepherd that laid his life down for us. And no matter how much we may suffer as sheep, brethren, don't forget that the love of Christ will never depart us. God loves us no matter what we're going through, and he'll always be there to help us, to deliver us through any hardships. Okay, let's pray.