"Occupy Till I Come"

Jesus tells us a parable in Luke 19: 12...

"He 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.-

But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.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. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

And 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: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 

And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)

For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him."

In this story, the master of the house gave his servants a gift that they were supposed to grow. They were supposed to use it.  Whatever it was, they were supposed to take and use it to grow the master's wealth/kingdom.
 

We see that several of the servants did this, but we also see that one servant took his pound and hid it.  He didn't even try to grow it at all, didn't even take it to the bank to get interest. 

Let's back up a little bit.  Notice at the beginning of the story, the master tells the servants one thing.  "OCCUPY"  This word means to do business, to trade "to bear much fruit." 

Does this sound familiar at all?

As Christians we are to occupy this world. We are to be in this world but not OF this World. This is our living area but this is not our home. 

"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." - John 15:19

What kind of occupying should we be doing?

What do you think the master would have done if that servant had taken that pound and used it for himself, to better himself? 

Well, that pound was not for the servant--it was for the master and so I believe that the master would have been angry. That gift that the master gave the servant was to grow the kingdom. It was to enlarge the wealth of the Master. 

My dear sister in Christ, God has given us each talents and gifts. Some of us he has given physical strength.  For some it's wealth, others musical or teaching ability. There are A LOT OF GIFTS.

He has given you a gift as well as me. What are you doing with that gift? 

Are you bettering the kingdom? Are you growing the kingdom? Are you enlarging the Master's kingdom?

He didn't give that gift for me to make my life more comfortable. He didn't give you that gift to hide in a napkin until He comes back. He gave us gifts to grow His kingdom.

It is for His glory and His honor and His kingdom. 

Are we bearing fruit?

Are you enjoying the fruits of other saints who have gone before you?

What am I doing for Christ and His Kingdom?
Are we "occupying"? 

 - Rejoicing in the Present