Occupy Till I Come Luke 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. Why is this verse here, what does occupy mean? Does this word suppose to mean something to us? How many times have you seen another Christian do something that was wrong and you’ve hesitated to rebuke him or her for the transgression of Gods law? What does occupy mean? Strong says,
A primitive root; to occupy (be driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin: - cast out, consume, destroy, disinherit, dispossess, drive (-ing) out, enjoy, expel, X without fail, (give to, leave for) inherit (-ance, -or), + magistrate, be (make) poor, come to poverty, (give to, make to) possess, get (have) in (take) possession, seize upon, succeed, X utterly. Now, what about faith,
Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Will Jesus find faith on this earth when He returns? Can we, as Christians be occupiers and spread the word correctly, or is there something in us that has to be removed before we can rebuke the transgressions of others? Can you say that when you find a brother at a fault, that you can rebuke him or her, can you use the power that God has given you to eradicate sin from the body of Christ? Or is there a hesitation in you that is a little afraid to act? Is there a beam in your eye that prevents you from removing the mote from your friends’ eye? To occupy is to have power, Satan is not going to just stay away from the body, just because you tell him to. You must use the Power of the Holy Ghost and invoke the Name of Jesus, with full authority. Christians have become timid today, they have become afraid to speak out and make a stand. But when someone else does use the power that we are all entitled too, they become a target of reproach to the church. Did or did not, Paul rebuke Peter on one or more occasions because of hypocrisy? Wasn’t Peter even rebuked by God Himself? The answer is yes. Jesus expects us to occupy, to take charge of the Church that He established, to maintain it in righteousness. Doesn’t God chastise His Children? Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Mar 9:5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
Mar 9:6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
Mar 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
Mar 9:8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. God rebuked Peter, for not understanding that, all that had happened was not for the acknowledgement of Moses and Elias but for His Son Jesus. We all make mistakes but when we get out of line, such as Peter did here, its reassuring that someone will stand up and correct us. Mar 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
Mar 9:39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
Mar 9:40 For he that is not against us is on our part. 2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. In verse 39,Jesus rebuked ,John, for stepping out of line. This is healthy for the body, it gives us boundaries. John tried to stop an evangelist of God from carrying out his mission. {Point for discussion, who was the man John rebuked? & Where did he come from?} Rebuke! Reprove! Exhort! Strong words that are not just suggestions but these are Commandments. Use your power over the forces of darkness, let Jesus find faith, let your brothers and sisters know that you are a friend to them when you try to correct them in a fault. We are to look out after one another and strengthen one another. I’ve thought many times, “Oh, Lord. Where have all the Preachers gone? The hell fire and brimstone men of the past? The ones that when they preached, you could feel the Power of the Holy Ghost come upon them and you could smell the brimstone and feel the fire, swelling up in your souls. And the lost, Oh the lost, making their way to the alter, to be saved. Where is the power of the Christian in these days of war and famine? Will Jesus find faith when He returns, will He finds you occupying, will He find you awake? Occupy, seize upon the opportunity to spread the gospel, work, stand up for Jesus, stand and be counted, cant you hear the angels of heaven shouting, March forward with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Don’t be concerned with the world and what they think, we are a peculiar people ,we are different, we are who we are by the grace of God. To occupy is to be different, taking chances, taking risk, and taking control. We as Christians have a destiny to fulfill, a work to be done, a task at hand, brothers and sisters, Occupy till He who saves returns in the Clouds of Glory. When people start asking, where have all the Preachers gone, when people start asking, where have all the Christians gone? , You can then stand tall and say, “ We are Strong, Alive and we are Occupying, Emissaries of Jesus the Christ. Ars.
