Luke 19:11-26 (BBE)
11 And while they were giving ear to these words, he made another story for them, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they were of the opinion that the kingdom of God was coming straight away.
12 So he said, A certain man of high birth went into a far-away country to get a kingdom for himself, and to come back.
13 And he sent for ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds and said to them, Do business with this till I come.
14 But his people had no love for him, and sent representatives after him, saying, We will not have this man for our ruler.
15 And when he came back again, having got his kingdom, he gave orders for those servants to whom he had given the money to come to him, so that he might have an account of what business they had done.
16 And the first came before him, saying, Lord, your pound has made ten pounds.
17 And he said to him, You have done well, O good servant: because you have done well in a small thing you will have authority over ten towns.
18 And another came, saying, Your pound has made five pounds.
19 And he said, You will be ruler over five towns.
20 And another came, saying, Lord, here is your pound, which I put away in a cloth;
21 Because I was in fear of you, for you are a hard man: you take up what you have not put down, and get in grain where you have not put seed.
22 He said to him, By the words of your mouth you will be judged, you bad servant. You had knowledge that I am a hard man, taking up what I have not put down and getting in grain where I have not put seed;
23 Why then did you not put my money in a bank, so that when I came I would get it back with interest?
24 And he said to the others who were near, Take the pound away from him, and give it to the man who has ten.
25 And they say to him, Lord, he has ten pounds.
26 And I say to you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Occupy means to keep busy, do business with the resources entrusted to us, the gifts, talents, and skills entrusted to us by God.
Christ gave us the mandate to occupy until He returns. How do we occupy?
We are to reside and do business with these gifts to expand the kingdom until Jesus returns. We are not to squander, waste or ignore them but be good stewards of everything put in our care.
There are three points to our occupying:
Occupy what? Occupy why and occupy how? The disciples probably asked themselves this in Acts 1:4-5 when Jesus asked them to wait, He didn’t tell them how long they were to wait, what do you do whilst waiting, why are you waiting and what are waiting for?
Do business with your resources, negotiate good deals for the Lord and keep busy for the kingdom of God. In other words, Luke 19:13 says: engage in trade with what you have been given. Take what you have and put it to work. Stay busy with what God gave you.
If you are in business and you are not growing, you have become stagnant. It’s no different with your life. If we aren’t going forward, then we’ve become stagnant. You can’t be both according to Revelation 3:16.
Occupy until I come doesn’t mean we’re free to live our lives according to whatever priorities we’ve established while we wait for the rapture. No! it means we’re to be occupied in the work of the kingdom we’ve been given, and to have something to show at Christ’s return.
Christ’s return should motivate us to work hard and give sacrificially for the work of God. In the parable of the ten minas in Luke 19, Jesus essentially said that we must busy ourselves for kingdom purposes.
One servant hid the money out of fear of failure. The master’s response to the servant is Christ’s response to us, “‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?
Like the servants in this illustration, there are two types of Christians: those who occupy themselves with God’s work and those who do not. Which one are you?
Are you taking advantage of every opportunity to witness for Christ?
Are you being faithful with God’s blessings and resources?
Are you serving God with all of your heart and soul? Or are you like the servant who kept his resources to himself?
What does God want us to do until He returns?
As Christians, we are called to serve Him willingly and obediently in whatever He calls us to do.
We are to witness to those who do not follow Christ, lovingly warn them of the coming judgment and joyfully share of God’s love and plan of salvation.
We are to equip and encourage our fellow believers so that they may also go forth and further God’s kingdom.
Jesus has placed power in our hands to use for the kingdom, to reap dividends and that He would reward us accordingly afterwards if we occupy ourselves while waiting for His return.
Shalom