Occupy Till I Come

Of course any person who has been saved surely appreciates what the Lord has done for him, but many times those who have been in the depths of sin almost seem to appreciate their salvation more than those who had led good moral lives. Well, it seems that this man, who had been demon possessed was thrilled at what the Lord had done for him and he wanted to follow Jesus wherever He went. You would think that his request would have pleased the Lord greatly, but notice, Jesus denied his request to follow Him. Instead He said, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."

You and I, as children of God, can relate to what Jesus said, because basically this is what He has said to all of us. He did not take us to heaven as soon as we were converted. Instead, Jesus tells us, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."

In Luke 19:13, Jesus has this to say TO US who have been left here on earth, "And he called his ten servants,...and said unto them, Occupy till I come..." The word that was translated "occupy" here is the same word we get "occupation" from.

When you ask a sinner what his occupation is, he may say, "I am a dentist," or, "...a lawyer," "...mechanic," "...carpenter," etc. But, when a Christian says that one of these is his occupation he is scripturally incorrect.

Illus: A man told a Christian, one day, "I thought you were a brick mason." The Christian responded, "No. I work as a brick mason to earn a living, but my occupation is serving God each day."

It is important for Christians to realize why God leaves them here after they have been converted. Many mistakenly feel they have been left here to buy and possess as many material things as they can. One day they will stand before God and hear Him remind them, "I told you to occupy until I come, but you made collecting things that rust and deteriorate your occupation."

How can we keep that from happening to us? How can we "occupy"?

I. LOOK AT WAYS

There are many ways to "occupy," but we want to examine two that are pleasing to God.

A. We need to be faithful

As Christians we are "the bride of Christ," and as the "bride of Christ," we are to BE FAITHFUL to Him.

Illus: There is only one man that a woman has to answer to if she is not faithful - that is the one she is married to and that she promised to be faithful to!

As Christians, as God's church, the "bride," we all have been given TALENTS and RESOURCES to work with and God expects us to use them to advance His kingdom.

Look at the parable in Matt. 25:14-30, "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."