And Now A Word From Our Sponsor

Psalm 50:7

SCRIPTURE: "Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God." Psalm 50:7

Have you ever watched your favorite television program only to have it interrupted by a commercial break? It seems like commercial breaks always come at the wrong time. Just when you were about to learn the answer to a secret or the villain was about to be captured, then comes a commercial! How frustrating!

In the 1960's the late Alfred Hitchcock was known for interrupting his weekly suspense programs with these words..."And now a word from our sponsor." Like it or not, there had to be a break because the sponsor had to have a word.

While some listen to the sponsor's message, others take it as a convenient time to go to the refrigerator or bath room. To get us to listen to words from our sponsors, advertising agencies go to extremes, using everything from talking frogs to beautiful models advertising everything from hotels to swimsuits.

It is extremely difficult to get us to hear a word from the sponsor despite the fact that the average television viewer is exposed to over 500 selling messages (commercials) per day! That amounts to over 182,500 selling messages per year or 2.1 million commercial words from the time you begin the first grade until your high school graduation day.

What's amazing about the messages of sponsors is brevity. Most commercial messages are between 30 and 60 seconds in length. They rely heavily upon repetition to get the message across. Thus, the same commercial may appear more than once in the same time block. Even within the commercial itself the name of the product is repeated visually or audibly several times.

The sponsor will use a variety of techniques to get our attention: slogans such as "You're in good hands with Allstate", or jingles such as, "Like a good neighbor State Farm is There", animals such as the Budweiser frogs or humorous characters such as Energizer Bunny are often used; whatever it takes to get the message across. If the viewer enjoys the commercial but can't remember the sponsor then the sponsor failed to get the message across, no matter how cute the commercial.

If commercial sponsors bombard us with hundreds of words a day, how does a believer hear a word from his or her spiritual sponsor? When and how does a believer hear a word of inspiration, instruction, comfort or hope from our heavenly sponsor? Unfortunately, God has to compete for advertising time to get in a word to some of us.

When he wants to speak to us he often finds that others have bought up all the messages in the program called our life. So he puts his message on a religious channel, but even that has to compete with the world and it is often unheard.

Sometimes God has to do exactly like Alfred Hitchcock. He thrusts himself in the middle of our program and has an unexpected circumstance to say to us..."And now a word from our sponsor!"

As believers, we have come to know that we need to hear from the Lord. We need to hear him for daily inspiration. We need to hear him for correction and instruction. We need to hear him for comfort and hope! We allow God to speak in our lives because we recognize that without the sponsor...there is no program. In him we live, move and have our being, he is our sponsor and saving souls and enriching lives is his product!

This text focuses on God telling Israel to listen to his words as he gives encouragement, reassurance and reprimand.

The collective national life of Israel was very similar to that of individual believers. There were times in Israel's national life when they were prosperous and did well. Often, in their prosperity the people would not listen to God and found little time for worship. In difficult times they turned to the methods and techniques of the people around them, often ignoring the one and true God altogether as they worshiped idol gods.

There were long periods when they would not hear the prophets and ignored the place of God in their lives. Strangely, they did this while continuing to carry out most of the rituals that they had begun to perform mechanically, with little feeling or spirit.

They made sacrifices, participated in the rituals and came to the right places on the Sabbath Days, yet they were not keeping the vows that they had privately made to God. They would not pay attention to God's messengers, so God interrupted their prosperity and brought them a word.....first hand.

One way to understand Psalm 50 is to read it from the context of God interrupting the national chain of events with an attention grabbing moment such as that described in verse 2 and 3. The second way is to see God interrupting the flow of our individual lives with an attention grabbing moment that speaks to us individually instead of Israel as a whole nation.

What is the message that God wanted Israel to hear?

He told Israel then and now believers by comparison, that he was aware of how they adhered to the requirements of the Mosaic law. He said he understood and appreciated the sacrifices they made toward him. However, he wanted them to know that the glory is not in simply participating in the ritual of sacrifice, but in sacrificial living and living with an attitude of gratitude. Thus from verse 7 to verse 13 he says that he doesn't really need their sacrifices. He is not hungry and does not need the nation to give him of that which is already his.

The point that he wanted to make is imbedded in verse 14-15, if we want to please God we must offer him continuous thanks and praise, and then keep our vows to him. Moreover, when we are in trouble, we glorify God when we allow him to deliver us. He is glorified through our deliverance. Matthew Henry puts it this way, "God demands the heart. How can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer. Our troubles, though we see them coming from God's hand, must drive us to him, not drive us from him.

We must acknowledge him in all our ways, depend upon his wisdom, power, and goodness, and refer ourselves wholly to him, and so give him glory. Thus must we keep up communion with God; meeting him with prayers under trials, and with praises in deliverances."

Today, every true believer acknowledges that they live sponsored lives. Most will acknowledge that they are unable to accomplish anything on their own without the power of God, who is the wind beneath their wings. Paul speaking to the philosophers of Athens as they pondered the unknown God, tried to help them understand that our God is not distant but personal and responsive. In Acts 17:28 he said, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being..." God acts as our sponsor in three ways:

HE MENTORS US: A mentor is a person who teaches us what we know, then uses his influence to create opportunities for us to advance. A mentor takes us under his tutorship and shows us the ropes of our life's walk, points out the pitfalls and helps us to avoid the dangers. Those without a mentor find it more difficult to succeed. Elijah and Elisha are the perfect example of the mentor/tutor relationship. Elisha walked with Elijah constantly. He observed and learned from the old prophet. When Elijah prepared to go home to glory riding on a fiery chariot, Elisha asked for a double portion of gifts and Elisha's mantle fell upon him. God mentors every believer in the same way. The student of the Word walks with him and talks with him on a daily basis. When the right time comes, God opens doors for his proteges who have prepared themselves to walk in the light.

CO-SIGNS FOR US: Those who are young or unable to stand for themselves often need a co-signer. Co-signers are persons who pledge their resources and good names to give others the opportunity to establish their own resources and good names. The co-signer actually makes a loan in which another person gets the money but they assume the legal responsibility. Many young people have been able to get their first car or furniture for their homes, thanks to co-signers who put up their good name to help them establish a name.

Spiritually, Jesus says tells every believer that if we lose ourselves in his will that he will co-sign our life's needs. John 14:13-14 puts it this way, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

UNDER WRITES US: An underwriter is a person who takes care all of our expenses.

The underwriter is the provider or producer. When we see God as our provider we understand why Abraham described him as Jehovah-Jireh or "God will provide." Believers across the centuries have learned that God does sponsor and underwrite the needs of his people.

David wrote is Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want." The word sponsor could easily replace shepherd and God's role as our provider becomes clear. Paul writing to the Philippians put it this way in Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Combined, the preponderance of scripture teaches that God is truly the underwriter of our life's experiences.

This makes the words of the song writer even more meaning "Without him I could do nothing. Without him I'd surely fail. Without him my life would be drifting, like a ship without a sail!"