The Investment Factor: Investing in the Jesus Brand

Introduction

Back in the 1500s, people didn’t have a Bible they could read. The Catholic Church controlled the translating of Scripture and only offered it in Latin. But when Martin Luther rebelled against the abuses of the Church of his day he worked hard to make a translation available in German (the language of his people). The daughter of the printer Luther used was cleaning in her dad’s shop and she picked up a piece of paper off the floor. It read, “For God so loved that He gave…” and that was all. The rest of the verse was not printed yet, but what she saw excited her. The thought that God would give her anything moved her. Her mother noticed a change in her and asked her why she seemed so happy. The girl pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket and showed it to her mother. The mother read it and asked, “What did He give?” The girl said, “I don’t know but if God loved us enough to give us anything we should not be afraid of Him.” What she read on that scrap of paper changed how she looked at God.

This is the investment factor at its finest: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Oh yes, God gave! God invested his best for us and now his best is asking us to invest our best in him!

Some time ago, a teenager, Arthur Hinkley, lifted a 3,000-pound tractor with his bare hands. He wasn’t a weight lifter, but his friend, Lloyd Bachelder, 18, was pinned under a tractor on a farm near Rome, Maine. Hearing Lloyd scream, Arthur somehow lifted the tractor enough for Lloyd to wriggle out. Love motivated him to do it.

Our Father in heaven heard the screams of lost humanity, crying out for deliverance. He sent His one and only precious Son to the cross so that our sins could be lifted off of us and on to Himself. Love motivated Him to do it.

The question for us today is: Have I invested in the Jesus Brand? A Brand has been defined as a particular product or a characteristic that serves to identify a particular product; a product that has its own name, and is made by a particular company; or simply a recognizable kind. A factor has been defined as “an active contribution to production of a result; a substance of a particular process or system. For Christians Jesus is that factor that produces results in our lives by filling us with his Holy Spirit. For Christians, we have a particular product, that of salvation, we which make available through the marketing of the plan of salvation through the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, in order for this plan to be successful, Christians must invest in the brand name Jesus. The message of Jesus, the life of Jesus, has to become the identifying mark of the Christian to the world.

Move 1

What is the Jesus Brand? In his own words, Jesus states the characteristics of His Brand:

The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

 ^“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:17)

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

Jesus is a reconciler; Jesus is in the reconciliation business and he invites each of us to invest in the business of reconciliation. The Jesus brand is summed up in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21:  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. ²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Plainly put this is the identifying brand of Jesus. Jesus came to reach, teach, train, and send disciples into the world to redeem, restore, and reconcile people alienated from their heavenly Father by sin.

Move 2

Next question:  How I can invest in the Jesus Brand. Again Jesus makes this clear:

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

Peter replied, “repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

“If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

Plainly put you buy into this company with faith in the President of the Company, the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ will get you in and keep you in even when sales are sluggish or profits are minimal. Faith in Jesus Christ will ensure your franchise will not go under; you will be successful with team Jesus. Hallelujah!

Move 3

Finally, once you have Accepted the Jesus Brand, Invested in the Jesus Brand, then Jesus calls on you to Promote the Jesus Brand. There are other brands vying for the customers Jesus sends you to reach, teach, train, and send. How then shall we recruit and outdistance the competition? Let us explore the method Jesus left for us to follow:

Then Jesus came to them and said. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

He said to them “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven, and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mark 16:15-20)

However, to do that will require a consistent effort against the opposition. And for those who think this promotion strategy too risky, too dangerous or too overwhelming, Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit come on you; and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

This power is supernatural power. This power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. This power once activated conquers all fear of the competition. This power once received separates your brand from any other brand. This power once charged to capacity turns you into a person that can easily be recognized. Men and women, devils and demons will recognize the mark of distinction you wear. All because you have connected to the Jesus Brand.

Now, I want you to remember that every successful company has a logo. Well, when you invest in the Jesus Brand there is a Logo. That Logo is the Cross and the Dove. That Cross represents what Jesus did. That Dove represents what you will do in Jesus Name. That Cross which was a symbol of shame Jesus turned into a symbol of victory. That Dove which was noted as gentle and meek has become an unseen source of strength and power. That Dove provides insight that is unmatched in the world and wisdom that is unstoppable in the spread of the gospel. That cross reminds us that we are all human, but that Dove reminds us that we are forgiven.

Bryan Chapell tells this story that happened in his hometown: Two brothers were playing on the sandbanks by the river. One ran after another up a large mound of sand. Unfortunately, the mound was not solid, and their weight caused them to sink in quickly. When the boys did not return home for dinner, the family and neighbors organized a search. They found the younger brother unconscious, with his head and shoulders sticking out above the sand. When they cleared the sand to his waist, he awakened. The searchers asked, “Where is your brother?” The child replied, “I’m standing on his shoulders!”

When you accept the Jesus Brand, you’ll be standing on Jesus shoulders.  When you promote the Jesus Brand, you will be standing on His Shoulders. And when the storms of life are raging, he’ll lift you above the dangerous waters.

I don’t know about you but I have invested in the Jesus Brand! Want you join me? Want you buy in to this product called Jesus? Want you begin to sale this product to those who Jesus came to save? Yes, I’m so glad to be invested with Jesus! Hallelujah!