Midweek Advent 2007
John
"And now a word from our sponsor." Do those words make you cringe? They do me. Anyone
who listens to the radio, who spends anytime in front of the television, has heard
"And now a word from our sponsor."
I don’t need a gecko or a caveman to tell me how to save money on car insurance. I don’t need a Dalmatian or Clydesdales or old football coaches to influence me on what beverage I may drink. I don't care what kind of underwear Michael Jordan wears. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I go ballistic when I hear, "And now a few words from our sponsor."
We have been swept away in a hurricane of advertising. Words from sponsors fill
the radio and TV waves like suffocating smog. Watch a sporting event or ESPN and
you’ll witness some statistics or segment brought to you by a sponsor. The first
fifteen minutes in a movie theater are dominated by sponsors. Listen to the radio
– the music or news is paid for by a sponsor.
Now, this
is the point where I, the minister, am supposed to launch into a tirade against
them, the merchants, and you, the buyers. This is where I'm supposed to say, "Keep
Christ in Christmas," (as if anybody could keep Him out.) But I'm not gonna do it.
Instead, I would like to give you a few words from MY sponsor, who also happens
to be YOUR sponsor. I would like you to listen, my friends, because this sponsor
has Good News of great joy for you. This sponsor wants to tell you about that which
can bring you lasting happiness and joy. And most amazingly of all, there is not
a single false or exaggerated claim, in anything He says.
Your Sponsor
says: “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess
eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.”
When sin
came into this world, very much against the wishes of our divine Sponsor; when humankind
overrode what our Sponsor willed, He might have given up. He might have said, "You
voided the warranty." But He didn't. This is one Sponsor who stands by what He has
made. So that we who were condemned might be rescued from our sins, the Sponsor
decreed, "Through the disobedience of one man (Adam) many were made sinners, so
through the obedience of one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous" (Romans
5:19). That is the word from our Sponsor. We can be saved by the work of someone
who would fulfill the law that we had broken. That wonderful word from our Sponsor
is so great, so gracious, so generous, even the angels could not contain their enthusiasm.
On the night this Man was born, they brought a word from our Sponsor. "Good news
of great joy," they said. "Unto you is born this day, in the city of
The regular
sponsors of this world believe they can sell any product, if it has "eye appeal."
Because of eye appeal, you regularly bring home giant, super, jumbo-sized, new and
improved boxes that are half-empty. That's what eye appeal will do. It gives you
an empty promise concerning something you don't need. That is not the way God, our
heavenly Sponsor works. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, Isaiah, by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, described the Babe of Bethlehem, the Christ of the cross. He
is a Man who has "no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance
that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2). When Jesus was born, His bedroom was a
stable; His cradle, a rough manger. Artists have tried to cleanse that picture over
the centuries, but there was little eye appeal that first Christmas night. Did things
get better as Jesus lived His life? Isaiah tells us: "He was despised and rejected
by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering; we esteemed Him not. Surely
He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon
Him, and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:3-5).
And now
a word from our Sponsor. This word brings comfort to widow and widower as they stand
before a casket in the cold graveyard. This word brings peace to parents as they
sit by the bedside of a sick child. This is the word that intensifies and solidifies
the love of a bride and groom as they make a lifelong commitment to each other.
This word from our Sponsor changes everything. Because of this Word, we who know
the Savior, no longer live for ourselves (2 Corinthians
Our Sponsor
needs no catch phrase or jingle to promote Him. He simply said He was "the Way,
the Truth and the Life" (John 14: 6). He didn't use radio, television, newspapers,
and magazines to get His name out. He didn't employ famous athletes, movie stars
or supermodels to make Him a household word. No, His spokespeople were prophets
and priests, a tax collector, a murderer, a few fishermen, and the voice of a camel-clad,
wild-haired wilderness wanderer. Each of them, by the Spirit's inspiration, gave
a Word from our Sponsor. They said, "Behold the Lamb of God." They said, "God so
loved the world, He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will
not die, but have everlasting life." Through their words and writings, the world
has heard "All who were weary and burdened could come to Him for rest" (Matthew
How many
people can find the Bible they received as a present from for Confirmation or was
given to them by their parents as a wedding gift? How many people have to dust off
their big family Bible before they set it out on the coffee table before the pastor
comes for a visit?
Our Bibles
should not be gathering dust on shelves. They should be well-worn and full of notes
and underlining. Jesus said, "Search the Scriptures" (John
Because
this Book testifies to Jesus as Savior and has the words of eternal life, it is
the greatest of all books. The Bible is the greatest book because it testifies that
Jesus is the true Son of God. It takes you into the palace of the high priest where
you hear Jesus announce that He is the Son of God. It takes you to
Like the
sweet sounds of the morning birds or the brewing coffee pot, God whispers sweet
everythings into ears willing to listen, to be taught. We find those whispers
in the Bible, plain and clear for anyone to read. The Bible is only complicated
to those whose ears enjoy the sounds of competing noise like greed, laziness or
selfish ambition. Put those sounds aside, pick up your Bible and listen to
what God says.
We do
that by focusing on the truth God reveals to us in his word. Regular church
attendance and Bible study are important. Just as we need to eat a steady diet of
nutritious food, so we need to nourish our souls with God’s word. That word
not only comes to us in sermons, personal devotions and e-mail meditations, but
it also is there when we remember our baptism. God offers it in his supper
when we partake of his body and blood and hear that these were “given and shed for
you for the forgiveness of sins.”
Our Sponsor
gives you his promise in the Words of His Scripture. These promises are sure. They
cannot be voided. They have a lifetime guarantee. Our Sponsor really can make our
clothes whiter than snow – by washing them in the blood of the Lamb. He really can
improve our lives – with the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness,
and self-control. He really can make our lives simpler, our children behave, increase
our health, and relieve our anxiety.
Have you
used these words from our Sponsor recently? Used them faithfully? Used them wisely,
consistently, daily?
The Bible
is the most purchased, least read book in the world. Members are willing to come
to church, but unwilling to stay for Bible study. Christians will spend hours reading
a novel or a newspaper, but take only a few minutes for a Bible devotion. Christians
will waste time with YouTube and MySpace, but rarely take the time to feed their
faith with the wealth of sermons, Bible studies, devotionals, Christian music and
theological questions and answers available online.
We may
be quick to tune out or change the channel or ignore the sponsors’ words in commercials,
but we cannot continue to tune out or overlook the words our Sponsor gives us in
Scripture. It would be truly amazing if the CEO of Ford or Dell or GE came into
your home to see how you were using his company’s products. It is a fact that this
world’s CEO – Jesus Christ – will be coming to each of us personally. He will demand
an accounting of how we have used the products contained in His Words of life. What
will you say when he returns?
The sponsors
of this transient world may offer you fresh breath, whiter teeth, and buns of steel,
but can they offer you the words of eternal life? Can any of them claim and deliver
peace, joy, love and forgiveness?
The world's sponsors try to create a need within you; our Sponsor fulfills a need for you. The world's sponsors try to sell you something, but our Sponsor gives you everything. If you, this Sunday, feel empty; if the promises of Christmases past are stuffed away on the top shelf of a closet, or a back bin in the garage, then it is time to hear this Sponsor. If you know; if you feel and believe there is more to life than trying to accumulate a pile of stuff that breaks, is outgrown, or goes out of style, there is good news for you. Listen to the words from our Sponsor. Amen.