Occupy Till I Come.
Luke 19:12-13 “He (Jesus) said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
And He called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.”
This nobleman gives ten servants, one pound each….. to use while he was away.
Of course Jesus is giving this story about His going back to heaven after being raised again;…..and what He gives His servants here.
Each of us, as Christians, have been given something…..
….we all have the Holy Spirit
….we all have faith to overcome
….we all have grace to use
….we all have His Word to read, study and get into our lives.
We all have a lot….what are we doing with it?
“Occupy till I come” is a merchandise term.
It is to use what we have, or what we have been given(as in a loan),….to get more,….just as in a business.
But the thought here, is that you are gaining for Someone else.
As Christians, we are not our own. We have been bought and redeemed with the high price of Jesus blood. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
And we are given His life and power by the Holy Spirit within. He enables us with His grace.
This is the “pound” we are all given as His servants.
The work is all to be done, as servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, out of love to Him.
So how do we “gain” to show our love to Christ?
By using what we have…
……as these servants gained with their “pound” for their nobleman master.
Luke 19:15-16 “And it came to pass, that when He was returned, having received the kingdom, then He commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom He had given the money, that He might know how much every man had gained by trading.
Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.”
This servant had yielded to the Holy Spirit and done all he could for His lovely and blessed Lord.
(It is not counting souls won, or jobs done; but the diligent effort of a life lived to God’s glory.)
Luke 19:18 “And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.”
This servant had difficulties.
His gain had been smaller,……maybe because of doubts and cares which hindered him at the first;……but he had finally overcome by the faith given him, and he had gained five times more than he had been given!
Luke 19:20-21 “And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin;
For I feared thee, because you art an austere man: and takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou did not sow.”
What!! This servant did not gain anything!
His dishonor was because of the wrong thoughts about the Lord.
He thought that if he did what he was told and tried to gain with the pound he had been given, he might lose it.
He thought that he was better off just forgetting about it….till he could give it back……because the Lord was a very severe, and demanding God…..
……The Lord would have what he gave….he could not complain.
But this was not what the Lord had wanted for the man.
He wanted this man to use the “pound” (which is the power of the Holy Spirit within), and “gain” in his heart love, peace, and joy in the fellowship with Himself….by faith.
This is gaining for the Lord; for we are His inheritance.(Ephesians 1:18)
Luke 19:22 “But He saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:”
Sadly the Lord of this man judges him……..according to what that man had wanted to believe about the Lord.
For you see, by the next question, the Lord shows that any gain would have been blessed.
Luke 19:23 “Wherefore thou gavest not my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury (interest)?”
What the Lord was really asking this man, was:
Why did you not show some interest in My gift of the Holy Spirit?
You grieved My Holy Spirit by your not wanting my gift;
So, since you never really had it; you will never have it.
Luke 19:24, 26 “And He said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
For I say unto you, that unto everyone which hath, shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”
There are many who want to appear as the Lord’s servants, which never really love Him, or receive Him into their hearts and lives. (John 1:12)
They want to look good, but never honor the Lord in their hearts. They really hate the thought of doing anything for the Lord Jesus Christ!
Every thought they have is self….self-pity, self-preservation, self-love.
This man was one of these; and he was seen at last for what he was.
He was not judged by anyone else, but the Lord judged him according to the man’s own thoughts.
We are told by the Lord to use His gift of faith by the Holy Spirit and gain joy and peace in believing.
In every gain we make in our lives, we rejoice the Lord’s heart….and “gain” for Him.
“Occupy till I come.”
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 