Threshing Floor Tabernacle

“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.” Lk 19:12-13

In the beginning of creation God gave us dominion over the earth. He created it for us to enjoy. “The heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but theearth hath he given to the children of men” Ps 115:16. In the beginning we were to fill the earth and subdue it, bringing everything under the dominion granted to us by God. We lost it in Adam but we regained it in Jesus, which leads us to the word “Occupy”.

Occupy in this context is a business term which simply means, “do business”. The Greek word is “pragmateuomai” which means “turning something over, making a good trade”. The Gospel is Good News. When we preach it, we are to expect a return – that it will produce more than what we began with. Jesus is that nobleman who having returned to Heaven to receive the Kingdom, will return with the Kingdom. The far country indicates it will be a while but eventually He will return. He uses ten servants and ten pounds (ten = testing) as well as citizens to illustrate the following: His message is true; we must not only believe but act; out of the pool of citizens he called His servants; He’s given gifts to His servants to carry on the work He began; He’s coming back expecting more and ready to reward faithfulness.

Faith is the currency of the Kingdom. Without it we cannot please God. Faith is an ACT upon what you believe. To believe only and do nothing is to be as the servant who buried his pound in a napkin (that type of napkin was used either as a sweat cloth or to wrap the face of the dead for burial). Fear paralyzes. Some of you can relate to it when you were asleep and had a frightening dream where you could not move at all. It’s the enemy of your soul invoking fear upon your life to keep you from fulfilling the will of God.  

The “pound” given to each, is faith and the message of the Gospel of Jesus, seizing every moment and opportunity to do Kingdom Business. Evil never abdicates, never goes off on a vacation, and never rests. Everyday there is an ambush, assault, or attack of some sort against the people of God in order to bring about devastating defeat, BUT Jesus will always give us Ultimate Victory. Occupy – Till He Comes!

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Rom 12:3