When God Tears Down Our False Hopes

Kids Sermon

The Big Broken House

Everybody come close. I want to tell you the story of the day God asked Ezekiel to walk through a giant house to show His people what was going on inside their hearts. And God gave Ezekiel words, His own words, so nobody would miss the point.

Let’s walk through the house together.

1. The Cracked Wall

Slide: Ezekiel crawling through cracked wall with a suitcase.

Ezekiel stood by a wall that was splitting apart. God said, Ezekiel 12:25 “25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.”

The people were pretending nothing was wrong. So God told Ezekiel to pack a bag, dig through the wall, and crawl out in front of everyone, just like someone escaping a broken house.

God was saying, “You cannot pretend everything is fine when it isn’t.”

2. The Fake Paint Job

Slide: Prophet painting crack while rain leaks through.

In the next room, Ezekiel saw prophets painting the cracks with bright white paint. God said, Ezekiel 13:3 “3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!”

They were pretending the house was strong by covering it with paint, but God said the storm would knock it all down.

God was saying, “Painting over problems is not fixing them.”

3. The Hidden Idols

Slide: Elders with silly idols peeking from their pockets.

Then some elders came to look religious. God tapped Ezekiel on the shoulder and said, Ezekiel 14:3 “3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?”

Ezekiel looked again and noticed little idols tucked in their pockets and hidden behind their backs.

You can hide a toy behind you, but you cannot hide anything from God. He sees what we love most.

4. The Forgotten “Live” Story

Slide: God lifting baby Israel; grown Israel chasing toy idols.

Some people live for a love story, I love a live story.

God told Ezekiel a long story about the people. He said, Ezekiel 16:6 “6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.”

God reminded them how He found them when they had nothing, how He cared for them, loved them, and helped them grow.

But then God said, Ezekiel 16:15 “15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.”

They forgot Him and ran after other things that could never love them back.

God was saying, “Remember who loved you first.”

5. The Choice at the Door

Slide: A fork in the road: “Turn and Live” vs. “Keep Running.”

At the final room, the people were blaming others for their choices. But God said, Ezekiel 18:20 “20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”

And then He gave the happiest line of all: Ezekiel 18:32 “32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”

God was saying, “You have a choice. Come back to Me. Choose life.”

God still walks through our hearts like that big broken house. He shows us cracks we pretend not to see. He brushes away the fake paint. He points out what we hide. And He reminds us how much He loves us. Then He says, “Turn and live.”

God tears down what is broken so He can build something better in you.

When God Tears Down Our False Hopes

There are moments in life when we know something is not right, but we keep going. We see cracks, but we paint over them. We feel the weight of decisions, but we blame circumstances or other people. Every one of us has lived inside a house that was falling apart on the inside while we pretended it looked fine on the outside.

I have done it. You have done it. It is human nature to avoid what hurts and cling to whatever helps us feel better in the moment.

We live in a world that rewards pretending.

Everything has a filter.

Everything has a spin.

Everything has a way to avoid responsibility.

We tell ourselves things will get better later.

We cover habits with excuses.

We look to people who tell us what we want to hear, not what we need to hear.

We hide what we are afraid to give up.

We reach for reasons to explain our mess instead of repentance that would clean it up.

Ezekiel steps into a world just like ours. A people who were convinced things were fine while their house was burning. God loved them too much to let them keep living inside a lie.

1. God exposes the lies we use to avoid repentance

Ezekiel 12–13

A. God refuses to let His people pretend everything is fine.

Ezekiel 12:25 “25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.”

Ezekiel becomes a living sermon.

He digs a hole in his own house, gathers a small bag, and crawls out as people watch in confusion.

This likely pictured Zedekiah’s desperate nighttime attempt to escape Jerusalem through a hole in the wall as Babylon’s army tightened the siege.

The people watched but shrugged. They had convinced themselves that doom was far away, a problem for the next generation.

God breaks through their denial. He says, “No more delays. Reality is walking toward you.”

Imagine the prophet covered in dust, crawling through a wall like a prisoner trying to escape. The people laugh it off. God is shouting through the symbol what they refuse to hear with their ears.

B. God tears down the false comfort offered by deceptive voices.

Ezekiel 13:10 “10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:”

False prophets were standing on broken walls with big smiles, brushing on fresh white paint to hide structural collapse.

These prophets publicly opposed Jeremiah and Ezekiel, telling people Babylon would fall and life would return to normal.

They were preaching optimism instead of truth.

God describes a storm rolling in — wind, hail, pounding rain — exposing the painted wall for the sham it was.

God tears away false peace so His people will stop leaning on the wrong voices.

See the paint dripping in the rain. See the wall splitting as a storm thunders. See the false prophet still smiling as everything behind him crumbles. God says, “That is what false hope looks like.”

C. God cuts through illusions so His people can finally repent.

Ezekiel 13:23 “23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”

When the wall finally collapses, the truth becomes impossible to ignore.

God is not trying to embarrass His people. He is trying to wake them.

When illusions fall, repentance becomes logical, even desirable.

It is the moment you realize the house you trusted is unsafe. You do not cling to the wall. You run out and beg the builder to fix it.

Transition: God exposes the lies around them. Now He goes deeper. He exposes the idols inside them.

2. God confronts the idols that keep us divided

Ezekiel 14–16

A. God sees through religious language and looks at the heart.

Ezekiel 14:3 “3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?”

The elders sit in front of Ezekiel looking serious and spiritual, but God whispers to the prophet, “Look closer.”

These elders were practicing Babylonian idol rituals privately while pretending to seek God publicly.

God refuses to answer their prayers until their hearts are addressed.

God works past the mask to deal with the real issue.

Imagine men nodding politely, asking holy-sounding questions, while tiny idols peek from their pockets. God is not fooled.

B. God refuses to bless a divided life because it destroys us.

Ezekiel 14:4 “4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;”

God says, “If you insist on idols, then your idols will be your answer.”

Idols make promises they cannot keep. They use you, drain you, and leave you empty.

God demands loyalty because idols damage the people He loves.

It is like drinking seawater. It looks refreshing. It destroys you from the inside out. God says, “Drop it. Return to Me.”

C. God reveals unfaithfulness so He can restore faithfulness.

Ezekiel 16:15 “15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.”

God retells Israel’s story using the image of an abandoned newborn still covered in blood, left in a field.

Ancient Near Eastern cultures often discarded unwanted babies.

God says, “That is what you were when I found you.”*

God raised her, clothed her, fed her, adorned her. Then she used His gifts to chase other lovers.

God exposes betrayal not to destroy His bride but to bring her home again.

You see God kneeling in a field picking up a child no one wanted. You see that child grow into beauty. Then you watch her willingly walk away. God retells the story to break their hearts, not to crush them.

Transition: The lies are exposed. The idols are uncovered. Now God removes the last shield of resistance. Their excuses.

3. God calls every person to take responsibility and return to Him

Ezekiel 17–18

A. Broken promises lead to broken lives.

Ezekiel 17:19 “19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.”

Zedekiah swore an oath to Babylon, then snuck around trying to form an alliance with Egypt.

In the ancient world, breaking an oath made before God was a direct act of rebellion against Him.*

This betrayal accelerated the fall of Jerusalem.

When integrity collapses, so does everything built on it.

See Zedekiah looking both ways before running in the night to send messengers to Egypt. He thinks no one sees. God sees.

B. God promises a future King who will restore what sin ruined.

Ezekiel 17:22–23 “22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: 23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.”

God pictures Himself planting a tiny twig on a high mountain.

That twig becomes a tree large enough for birds of every nation to rest in.

This is the coming of the true Son of David. The King who succeeds where all others failed.

See God kneeling in the dirt planting something small. It looks insignificant. Then a mighty cedar rises above all kingdoms. This is Christ.

C. God gives each person the choice to turn and live.

Ezekiel 18:20 “20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” Ezekiel 18:32 “32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”

Israel quoted a proverb: “Our fathers ate sour grapes, and our teeth are set on edge.”

Historical background: This proverb meant: “Our parents sinned. We are suffering. It is not our fault.”*

God responds with clarity: You are responsible for your own choices.

God takes no pleasure in judgment. He extends His hand and says, “Come home.”

See God standing in the doorway of a house with the light spilling out, calling, “Turn and live.”

Response

This is the moment when the text turns its eyes toward you.

Where are the cracks you have been pretending not to see?

What false comfort have you been reaching for?

What idol sits quietly in your pocket?

What excuse have you been protecting?

You already know the answer. God knows it too. He is not exposing it to destroy you. He is exposing it to save you.

He is still saying, “Turn and live.”

This means you can leave the lie behind today. You can break the pattern today. You can repent today. You can take responsibility for your heart today.

God is removing false hopes so He can rebuild true hope in you.