EP08: Luke 19:12-28 - Occupy till I come

(0:00) Praise the Lord, everyone. Thank you so much for coming this morning to join 

(0:07) this podcast. Maybe it is morning or it is afternoon or it's evening, wherever you are, 

(0:13) but I want to welcome you from the different places that you are coming from.

I want to wish you well, those who are moving to work or on journeys, but wherever you may be, I pray that 

(0:27) the blessing of God rests upon you and upon me who is conducting this Bible study session. I want 

(0:36) to thank God for the opportunity to be able to share with you the word of God. Even if I don't 

(0:44) see your faces, even if I don't, I'm not in the car that you're moving in or the hospital room 

(0:50) where you are or the compound where you're seated, I want you to know that the Holy Spirit is there.

(0:57) He's with you since we have gathered. The Bible says that where two or more are gathered, God is 

(1:04) there in the midst of them, where we are gathered and Jesus is Lord. God is with us and he's in the 

(1:10) midst of us and he's where you are.

He's here where I am and he desires to speak to each one (1:17) of us in a very, very special way. And so we'll begin with a word of prayer. Let us just pray (1:25) together.

Heavenly Father, we recognize that you are our Father. We love you and we know that you 

(1:34) love us. In fact, when we talk about love, you are the actual essence of love and we thank you for 

(1:41) pouring the essence of your love upon us and into our hearts and into our lives.

The Bible says it 

(1:48) is the Holy Spirit that sheds the love of God in the hearts of men. And so as we listen to your 

(1:54) word today, we pray that the Holy Spirit will shed your love in our hearts and bring us to an 

(2:00) awareness of your existence, even wherever we are, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Lord, as we 

(2:07) study the word of God and as we go through the scriptures, we pray that you give us a heart that 

(2:15) is excited and full of joy to receive from your word.

You give us a tender heart that is receptive 

(2:25) to your word. We pray that, Lord, you open up our minds, O God, and be able to speak into our minds, 

(2:31) give us understanding of your word. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ that, Lord, our minds will be 

(2:38) alert.

We cut off every interruption of the enemy in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We cut off 

(2:45) any form of emergency that Satan is going to put to hinder us from listening to your word. 

(2:51) And we pray that for each and every one of us who takes time, who sits down or who is wherever they 

(2:57) may be listening to your word, we pray that, Lord, your word will infuse life into our being, O God.

(3:05) The book of Proverbs chapter 4, you say that the ones who hear your word, the ones who pay 

(3:11) attention to your word, who observe your word with their eyes, who incline their ears to your word, 

(3:17) the ones who are receptive to your word, who let it enter into their hearts, those people, the word 

(3:22) is life to them that have found it and health to all their flesh. I pray that your word will become 

(3:28) life to each and every one of us listening to it today and that it will become health to our flesh, 

(3:36) life to us, and health to our flesh. Jesus Christ said that, in fact, the word of God says that man 

(3:44) shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

We pray that, Lord, as your word, O God, proceeds out of the scriptures, O God, that, Lord, it will become 

(3:56) bread for us, O God, become life to us, O God, we will enjoy it, O God, we will be strengthened by 

(4:02) it, O God, and we'll be able to live by it in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Father, thank you, O 

(4:09) God, for each one of us. Give us strength, give us life, heal us, help us, fill us with joy in the 

(4:17) mighty name of Jesus Christ, I pray.

Amen. Praise God. Today's teaching is from the book of Luke, 

(4:29) the book of Luke, chapter 19, verse 11 to 28, verse 11 to 28.

And this particular teaching, 

(4:42) the heading of this teaching is Occupy Till I Come, Occupy Till I Come. And we are going to 

(4:54) read, you can follow along, Luke chapter 19, verse 11 to 28. This is a parable, it's a parable 

(5:05) that is given by Jesus Christ.

In case someone doesn't know what parables are, they are simple 

(5:13) stories with simple meaning, simple stories with simple meaning. So, we are going to be looking at 

(5:22) a parable of a certain nobleman who went to a far country to obtain a kingdom. 

(5:32) This is Jesus telling this parable.

Let us listen. For those who have your Bibles, (5:38) open your Bible, Luke chapter 19, Luke chapter 19, verse 12 to 28, Luke chapter 19, verse 12 to 28. 

(5:47) Okay, let's go through the reading.

This is what it says. He said, therefore, a certain nobleman 

(5:56) went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And he called his ten 

(6:03) servants and delivered them ten pounds and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

But his citizens 

(6:12) hated him and sent a message after him saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 

(6:19) And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, 

(6:26) then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, 

(6:33) that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first saying, 

(6:41) Lord, thy pound has 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. 

(6:55) And the second came saying, Lord, thy pound has 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, 

(7:14) which I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man, 

(7:22) thou takest up that thou laidest not down, and rippest that thou didst not sow. And he said (7:31) unto him, Out of thy mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant.

Thou knewest that I was 

(7:39) an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and ripping that I did not sow. Wherefore then, 

(7:46) gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 

(7:56) And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that has ten 

(8:02) pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he has ten pounds.

For I say unto you, That unto every man, 

(8:12) or unto everyone, which hath, shall be given, and from him that hath not, even that he hath, 

(8:20) shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign 

(8:26) over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. And when he had thus spoken, he went before, 

(8:35) ascending up to Jerusalem.

Praise God. That's the end of our reading and I pray that the Holy (8:40) Spirit will help us and grant us wisdom to understand what the Master is saying unto us, 

(8:46) that in his return, on the day of his return, we will not be ashamed when we stand before him. (8:53) Praise God.

So we are going to look at this parable and we are going to ask ourselves like (8:59) why Jesus is telling this parable. The setting and why Jesus told this parable. Luke tells us (9:10) why Jesus spoke this parable.

It says it was because he was near Jerusalem and because (9:19) they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Many people expected Jesus to 

(9:25) establish a political, visible kingdom right away. They thought he would overthrow the Roman 

(9:34) the Roman empire that was ruling over Jerusalem at that time and that he would become king (9:43) instantly and reign.

Jesus corrects this misunderstanding and that is why he tells (9:50) this story. It explains why there's going to be a delay. It explains things about responsibility.

(9:57) It explains things about accountability and it even explains things about judgment. 

(10:07) Now, the Jews were right. They were right to expect a physical kingdom or to expect a kingdom.

(10:15) When you look at the books of the prophets, the different prophets that prophesy that many years (10:23) before Jesus was born, they talk about how the Messiah was going to be a conquering Messiah.

He was going to reign and I mean he was going to subdue the enemies of the children of Israel. 

(10:33) So when they saw Jesus Christ and he was like that Messiah, that picture of the Messiah, (10:39) he was helping the suffering people.

They had talked about how he was going to heal their (10:43) diseases.

This same Jesus had healed their diseases.

They talked about how he was going to give wise information like he was not going to rule by the hearing of his ears or by the seeing of his eyes.

He would make sound judgment. He would make sound judgment in different scenarios (11:02)

 like when they asked him that there is a coin here that has the face of the Roman governor. 

(11:12) Should we pay taxes or should we not pay taxes? And he told them things like yeah, 

(11:17) whose face is there? And he said you give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and you give to 

(11:22) God what belongs to God.

As if it is offering worship to God going to the temple, you go up 

(11:30) and offer worship and sacrifice to God. But when it comes to obeying authority and rulers, 

(11:36) yes you submit to Caesar and you know he could not get in trouble with the Roman government. 

(11:42) He would not get in trouble with the children of Israel because he was telling them here 

(11:48) you need to worship God because God is God and Caesar is Caesar.

But worship goes to God, 

(11:55) Caesar receives taxes as in he put both of them in their rightful place. God received his honor 

(12:01) and Caesar received what was due to him. So they saw this wisdom and they said hey, 

(12:07) this guy I think is the one who is supposed to be king.

But they forgot a certain part 

(12:11) of the prophecies in the Old Testament because there is prophecy about the suffering Messiah.

 (12:18) And at this point they did not want to look at that, they did not want to pay attention (12:23) to that part. And Jesus Christ is now trying to explain to them that there is going to be a delay.

(12:30) There is going to be a delay in the way things are being done right now. I am not going to be king 

(12:36) right away. And in fact, when he is talking about this, he is also talking about his coming (12:44) ascension.

When he says that, when it says here that a certain noble went into a far country 

(12:53) to receive for himself a kingdom and to return, just that part of verse 12, it means that Jesus 

(13:01) Christ is going to go through all the sufferings that I talked about in Isaiah 53 and in all the 

(13:09) books of the prophets. I talk about how he is going to suffer, how he is going to die, 

(13:15) and then how he is going to ascend into heaven to go to a far country and obtain for himself a 

(13:22) kingdom. It shows that he is talking about his coming ascension and time, and time will pass (13:33) before he returns.

There is like an interim period. And I think that that interim period, 

(13:40) that where the delay is, is what we currently call the church age. You see, when you look at 

(13:47) the prophecies of the Old Testament, there is nothing that talks about the church.

And that (13:53) is why Paul writes and says that was the mystery that is now being revealed, because that mystery 

(14:00) about the church, about the Gentiles coming into relationship with God, being, how do you call it, 

(14:10) being planted into the main vine, that God was going to put a new, he was going to create a way 

(14:18) for the Gentiles to come into relationship with God. That mystery had not been revealed 

(14:24) through the laws and the prophets in the Old Testament. So, it was a mystery to them.

(14:29) And I think that is why there is that interim period of the church age, which is not explained 

(14:35) to them. So, they do not understand. They are expecting that since the prophets say there's 

(14:40) going to be this Messiah, he's going to come.

They expect him to go to Jerusalem. They expect (14:46) to crown him king there. They expect him to subdue the Roman empire and to drive away the Romans.

(14:53) And yet that is not going to come. It's not going to happen like right now. Of course, (14:58) Jesus Christ is going to go and he says and he will return.

In his second coming, of course, (15:04) he returns and he subdues the enemies of Israel and he comes and reigns on the earth.

They call (15:11) it the millennial reign of Christ Jesus. There will be a millennial reign.

That is when Jesus (15:19) Christ returns and takes over and becomes king over all of Israel and in fact, over all the world (15:27) and everyone must submit to him.

So, he's explaining very, very crucial things in this (15:34) parable. Okay.

The noble man going to a far country, that is verse 12 to 14, a certain (15:43) noble man went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

What Jesus is 

(15:51) pointing to is that I am the noble man, like Jesus is the noble man, the far country, 

(15:57) his ascension to heaven, receiving a kingdom, his exaltation by the father, being made king of kings 

(16:05) and lord of lords and then he's returning, that noble man returning, talking about Jesus' second 

(16:12) coming and he says, I am going away fast.

My kingdom will be established but not in the way 

(16:22) or in the timing you are expecting it.

This immediately shatters the idea of an instant 

(16:29) earthly reign. What they were expecting is not what is going to happen. So, I love, one thing 

(16:39) that I love about this is that Jesus Christ is now going to even explain things further than

(16:46) just his second return, talks about the pound that is going to be given to each and every one of us.

(16:53) He says the pound are the gifts according to the purpose of his will for each of our lives, 

(17:02) like each and every one of us. First of all, we've been given the same, I like the fact that each one 

(17:09) has been given the same amount, one pound, means we've been given the word of God. We've been given 

(17:16) the spirit of God.

He has given us the gifts of the Holy Spirit and he expects that what he has 

(17:22) given us, his word and his spirit, we'll be able to produce for the kingdom that which he expects 

(17:29) us to produce. We are supposed to occupy until he comes. We are supposed to win souls for Christ 

(17:36) until he comes.

We are supposed to bring comfort to many until he comes. We are supposed to 

(17:40) encourage one another until he comes. We are supposed to gather together, not give up gathering 

(17:45) together and learning from the word of God until he comes.

We are supposed to do great things. We 

(17:53) are even supposed to have places of leadership, wherever he has placed us in places of leadership, 

(18:00) as teachers, as leaders, even in governmental positions, our area of influence that he has 

(18:10) given us, we are supposed to occupy until he comes. So, the servant and the pound or in fact, 

(18:22) in some versions, they call them the minas.

Verse 13 and 15, they say, he called 10 of his servants, 

(18:32) delivered to them 10 minas or the pound and said to them, do business till I come or occupy 

(18:41) till I come. The servants are those who belong to him, his followers or those who have put their 

(18:48) faith in Jesus Christ. The minas or the pound is what he has entrusted to us, the spiritual gifts 

(18:56) he has entrusted to us, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the opportunities that he has given us, 

(19:02) the time he has given us to live in this world, the influences, the positions of influence he has 

(19:08) given to us or we have been granted in our lives, the resources that he has given us, the calling 

(19:17) that he has given us over our lives, the responsibility that he has given us.

Each servant 

(19:23) receives one pound, the same starting point. This emphasizes faithfulness, not comparison, 

(19:34) like we have to be faithful. Jesus says, while I am away, you are not to wait idly, like you're not 

(19:41) to be idle.

There are people who think that as long as I pray, I read the word of God, 

(19:50) I don't want to disturb anyone, I don't want to interfere with people's beliefs. 

(19:57) He doesn't want us to live like that. He wants us to go out.

He wants us to reach out to people. (20:04) He wants us to have conversations with people. I'm not talking about arguments.

I'm talking about 

(20:09) conversation, where you ask, where you talk to people, where you slowly bring them to a place

(20:14) of belief in Jesus Christ. You are a steward of what God has given you. You are a steward of the 

(20:22) resources God has given you.

You are a steward of the opportunities God has given you, the time 

(20:27) that he has given you here on earth, the resources he has put at your disposal, the influence he has 

(20:33) given you, all these opportunities that he has laid before you, you are stewards of these 

(20:41) opportunities. Verse 14, but his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him saying, 

(20:54) we will not have this man reign over us. This is a very crucial point.

Who are these citizens 

(21:05) they're talking about? Okay, I can place them like in different categories. Those who reject Christ, 

(21:13) those who reject his authority over their lives. Historically, I can also say it echoes 

(21:20) Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ.

And spiritually, it represents all who refuse 

(21:27) his kingship. You know, Jesus is very clear. There is no neutral ground that you say 

(21:36) I have a neutral ground.

You either have Jesus Christ reigning in your life, or you do not have 

(21:44) Jesus Christ reigning in your life. I would like to read John chapter one, verse 11. His citizens 

(21:55) hated him.

John chapter one, verse 11 says, he came unto his own and his own received him not. 

(22:03) When I talk about the historical part where Israel rejected Jesus, he came unto his own and his own 

(22:13) received him not. But as many as received him at that time, because there are those who did, 

(22:22) to them gave him, they say, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become 

(22:33) the sons of God.

Even to them that believe today, that believe on his name, those who received him 

(22:43) at that time, and those of us who believe on his name, he has given us power to become children 

(22:52) of God. He has given power to become children of God. So, when this man returns, 

(23:02) he returns and he calls his servants first to account.

And I think when he's talking about 

(23:09) this, he's talking about the bimmer judgment or the judgment of rewards.

 (23:16) And then they say, then he calls his citizens after to give an account, those who had rejected 

(23:23) him. And I believe this is what they call the great white throne judgment about the way those 

(23:30) who have rejected Christ.

So, there's that judgment that comes where it is about what we have done 

(23:40) with the gospel, the judgment of rewards. And I just want to make it clear that just as Psalm 

(23:49) chapter one says, those who have been following this podcast, you know, we discussed Psalm chapter 

(23:54) one, that the ungodly or the wicked will not stand in judgment with the righteous. David had that 

(24:02) revelation granted him by God.

And that is true. Even when you look in the book of Revelation,

(24:08) our sins were put on Christ Jesus. The judgment for our sin was laid on him.

Jesus Christ took 

(24:18) our place on the cross. The Bible says, God made him who knew no sin, Jesus Christ, to be seen for 

(24:26) us that for us who are sinners may receive the righteousness of God that comes through faith in 

(24:34) him. So for us, we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

God has given us a gift. 

(24:42) The Bible says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. It is not by works.

It is the gift 

(24:50) of God. It is not by works that any man should boast. It is the gift of God.

Righteousness was 

 

(24:57) gifted to us. As long as you put your faith in Jesus Christ, as long as you declare him Lord 

(25:03) over your life, your sin is dealt with. The Bible says that all the wrath of God, he was made as, 

(25:11) his soul was made a sacrifice, was made a sacrifice.

The wrath of God was laid upon him. 

(25:18) The wrath of God for sin was laid upon him. And that is why Jesus says at the end, before he 

(25:25) takes his last breath, he says it is finished.

He dealt with sin once and for all. And if you put 

(25:32) your faith in him, you will receive salvation and you are made righteous by the blood of Jesus, 

(25:39) because he became sin for you, that you may receive the righteousness of God. 

(25:44) But there is a judgment that is coming for what we have done with the gospel.

What have you done 

(25:51) with the gospel of Jesus Christ? What have you done with the time he has given you? What have 

(25:56) done with the responsibility? What responsibility have you taken for the places of authority that 

(26:03) he has given you? The jurisdiction that he has given you as a child of God, the power of the 

(26:09) Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What have you done with the gospel? So this is what 

(26:15) he's talking about when he talks about that when he returned, he called for his servants first 

(26:22) to give an account. So let us look at the return of the king and accountability.

Verse 15 to 26 

(26:33) says, when the noble man returns as king, the first thing he does is call the servants to account. 

(26:43) Faithful servants, this is what happens, one turns the one pound into ten pounds. 

(26:51) And he's rewarded with authority over ten cities.

Another returns with five pounds, 

(27:00) he has made five pounds, and he's rewarded with authority over five cities. Now, I want you to 

(27:08) take note of this, the reward is greater responsibility. Like you have had responsibility, 

(27:16) like he gave you something and you have used it well.

You've used that position of influence

(27:22) to help those who are below you to turn to Christ. You've used that time that he has given you to 

(27:30) preach the word of God. You've used that talent, that voice he has given you to sing to God.

(27:36) You've used that talent he has given you to organize people to be in a place of authority

(27:41) and organize people and teach them what to do. And this time when he rewards you, he rewards you 

(27:47) with greater responsibility, not with leisure. Faithfulness is like faithfulness in small things 

(27:57) leads to authority in greater things.

Faithfulness in small things leads to authority in greater 

(28:05) things. Jesus is teaching what you do now determines your role in the coming kingdom. 

(28:15) What you do now with what you have been given determines your role in the coming kingdom.

(28:20) Many of us Christians do not understand that this thing or what we hold is so precious. 

(28:29) The kingdom that has been given to us is a real kingdom. Many people are chasing after 

(28:36) political positions and there's nothing wrong with that.

Many people are chasing after growing to 

(28:45) become CEOs in their companies. They are studying one thing after another. They are struggling 

(28:49) to do this and that, but they are not understanding that there's an eternal kingdom 

(28:56) where we will be rewarded with responsibility over bigger things, that Jesus is real, 

(29:03) that Jesus is a real king.

He's returning after having obtained a kingdom and that those who do

(29:10) their best with what they have been given in this lifetime will be given responsibility 

(29:16) in that coming kingdom. What they call it the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. You will rule 

(29:23) the earth.

I want to prove that when you look at faithful servants reigning with him, 

(29:38) what God has gifted you for the kingdom has responsibility. Let's read the book of 

(29:42) Revelation 5 verses 9-10. This is a confirmation to this particular parable.

(29:55) This is what John is writing.