Homiletical Outline Ezekiel 16 Introduction Question: How many of you have girlfriends or boyfriends?

? How many have a wife or husband? Imagine if you found the perfect person to marry. For the guys: Shes beautiful, smart, laughs at your lame jokes, and a good cook too! For the ladies: Hes handsome, charming, brilliant, and treats you with honor and respect. Then one day this person you love cheats on you. Out of the blue, despite all of the time youve spent together, all of the memories, the candlelight dinners and the romance. To make things worse, he or she didnt do it while you were dating; no, the scumbag waited until after you were married, after YOU promised you would stay with them forever, in sickness and in health. That betrayal is exactly what happened to God in 586 BC. For years, the kingdom of Judah had been cheating on God with other gods. They built shrines on every hilltop to idols. They sacrificed their own children and slept with temple prostitutes, even setting up altars inside the temple at Jerusalem. At one point, there were so many children sacrificed that blood ran down the streets. God sent prophet after prophet until finally Hed had enough, and the Babylonians invaded, destroying the temple built by Solomon and taking those who were left as slaves. But God did not forget these survivors. He sent men like Ezekiel to tell them that when people sin, theyre cheating on God. I. II. God gives gifts to His people. a. At one point, his people were only the Jews, but now it is the entire Church. His people many times squander these gifts. a. They sacrifice their gifts to idols. b. Illustrations: Marilyn Manson, Lady Gaga God sees that as adultery, and looks at His bride as a whore. a. Your sin is not personal, it reflects on the entire church b. Illustration: Rachel she wasnt cheating on me or on her anyone else, she was cheating on Gods promises. She had everything, but she used it to satisfy her pleasure. There are consequences for sin, nevertheless, God made atonement through Jesus Christ for His bride. a. If you reject this atonement, you will remove yourself from the elect i. Sin removes from God, but not repenting removes you from the church

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Conclusion:

After 70 years, God kept his promise to restore His people, and the temple was rebuilt in Jerusalem. He forgave His wifes sin and 400 years later sent His Son to die for both her sisters and her. However, Israel would not become a sovereign nation again for almost 2000 years. God forgave His people, but the consequences for their adultery were heavy. oehfowh Tonight there are some of you here who have been cheating on God. You have been sinning, willfully, and God is not pleased. How do I know this? Because God would not have had me preach this passage if there was no one here who needed to hear it. If you continue in sin, you are spitting in Gods face. The one who clothed you with grace and freed you from your debts is being pushed aside for an evil desire. If thats you, Im going to ask you to come forward. You are among Christian friends, so there will be no judgment. If anyone is sitting there judging, then perhaps you need to be up here, too. Dont leave this room tonight without asking for help. God didnt put Pastor Matt, myself, and all the youth sponsors here just to look good. Were here to help you stay in your relationship with God.