Go ahead and be turning to Mark chapter. I'm sorry Luke Luke you got to get to the right the right set of notes here Luke chapter 19 Luke 19, go ahead and take your copy of God's word there. And let's look at Luke chapter 19 together this morning. And we're going to look at a parable that I've never preached on here. I've preached on it before in the past, some several years ago, but at least as far as I can remember, I've not preached on it here. Been on my mind lately. Luke chapter 19, beginning of verse 11. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable because he was nigh to Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And he called his 10 servants, delivered them 10 pounds and said unto them, occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. It came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained 10 pounds. And he said unto him, well, thou good servant, because thou has been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over 10 cities. The second came saying, Lord, thy pound hath 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, which I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man. Thou takest up, that thou layest not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he said unto him, out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man. That word, by the way, austere, or however way you pronounce it, it means severe or strict. It's not a word that we use anymore in common vernacular, but that's what that means. It means severe or strict. I knew that you were a severe man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow. Wherefore, then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds. For I say unto you, that unto everyone which hath shall be given, and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me. When he had thus spoken, he went before ascending up to Jerusalem. From time to time, I do enjoy a good study of the parables. And as I mentioned, this is one that I don't believe I've preached on here. The title of my message is, Till Jesus Comes. Till Jesus Comes. The key phrase coming from The passage here, occupy till I come, that's where we are in this parable, occupy till I come. You and I, we often spend time looking for, watching, waiting, We spend our time talking about the Lord's return and well, we should. Jesus is coming and that's a very exciting thing to consider. We ought to think about that and consider what that means for us. We ought to think about and consider what that means. But let us not forget to occupy till he comes. What does this mean, this word occupy? English is a very complex language, and the word occupy can mean a lot of things. If you have ever been in a public restroom and they have those knobs that you turn and if somebody's inside, it'll say occupied. It means somebody's in there. Somebody's filling up that space. And sometimes that's what we think of when we hear the word occupy. That room is occupied, someone is filling up that space. Sometimes occupy may mean to hang out. But we must not think about that our time here on earth, in this time between the Lord's first coming and his second coming, that we're just supposed to hang out or take up space. That's not what's being taught here. And indeed, if there's any confusion about the English, we can get the idea of what he means by reading the entirety of the parable. He means what occupy can also mean. Occupy can also mean to do business or maintain business or to continue in business. We must avoid the thought process that says, well, we just need to hang out and hold on until Jesus comes, the idea that Jesus is almost here, so now it's time for us to camp out and wait for him, that the time of working is done, that Jesus is almost here, and now we need to just hold up, wait on, and see what happens next. Indeed, what if the Lord comes back tomorrow? That'd be great, wouldn't it? But what if he doesn't? What if he doesn't? What if he doesn't come back tomorrow? What if he doesn't come back for another 50 years or another hundred years or another two or 300 years. The reality is that we don't know when the Lord's coming back. But what we do know is that in the context of this, we're to be doing business, engaging in business, engaging in God's business until he returns. And since we don't know when he's coming back, we're to be busy. We're to be busy. Can you imagine if the churches of the Middle Ages took the idea that because of the heavy hand of persecution, that because of the trouble in the dark ages that they were in, that Jesus was about to return and they decided to hole up in the caves and just wait? how church history would look if it was like that. It would look a lot different, wouldn't it? Can you imagine if during World War II, the churches of Europe, thinking about like the churches of Germany, if they thought, because of things going on there, that that was a sign of the times and that Jesus was about to come back, that they should just hold up and wait? even on our own continent, the churches that were around during the Revolutionary War, terrible times, or even during the war to prevent Southern independence, and the terrible reconstruction that followed. They could have said, well, this is just signs of the times. Let's hold up and wait. But what we find in each of those terrible times, though they could have looked in their own little world and said, here it is, Jesus is about to come back. These are all signs of the times. Our people are dying. The churches are small, and Jesus is about to come back, so let's just wait for him. Let's just maintain, occupy space, and not do anything. If they would have done that. Things would have been a lot different, but they didn't. They pressed forward with a mindset that, a thought process that was forward thinking. They were visionaries. They were multi-generational in their thought process. They didn't know, and I remind you, we don't know either. God is not done working in and through his people. And indeed, I've been a Baptist while I was saved and baptized at the age of 11. I'm 43 now. In all those years, I've heard all my life that Jesus could come back this year. And if I just camped out and just said, well, he's coming back, anything that's worth anything is done. no need to evangelize, no need to continue working, no need to continue going to conferences, no need to plan conferences, no need to anything, then forget it. Jesus is coming back. Where would we be? Where would I be? No need to try and instruct my family. and on and on we go, but we must not take that kind of fatalistic approach. Jesus is very, very clear here in this text. This word, occupy, engage in business, they would have had It would have been very clear to the hearers of what he meant with this. And again, when we look at the context, we see what's going on here. In verse 11, as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable. because he was nigh to Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God should immediately appear. Here again, we find these people, they think that the kingdom of God is going to immediately appear. Why are they so concerned about the kingdom of God? Because beloved, these were Bible students. They knew something about the kingdom of God and they saw what was going on. We've been going through the book of Mark. and we see some of the things that were happening in the time of Christ. Let's read Isaiah chapter 35 for a moment, just to give you an idea of what would have been going through the minds of the apostles as they saw the things that were happening when Jesus came on the scene. Look at this in Isaiah chapter 35, beginning of verse four. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance. Even God with a recompense, he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as in heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the habitation of dragons, where each one lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And the highway shall be there in a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those, the wayfaring men, though fools shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up therein. It shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return. and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and singing shall flee away. This is a marvelous prophecy, a great prophecy of things to come. And as these Jewish scholars read this, they knew what to look for. And guess what happened when the Messiah came? It was partially fulfilled, wasn't it? Some things were happening in the ministry of Jesus. There were some kingdom conditions that were being laid down that they'd never seen before. The eyes of the blind were opened. The ears of the deaf were unstopped. The lame man was leaping like the deer, like the heart, and the tongue of the dumb saying, You know, these were things that were exciting them. They knew what the Bible said, but what's not clear in here is that there's a gap. There's a space of time. what they read in places like Isaiah chapter 35, sounds wonderful. Because indeed, the curse is gonna be lifted. There's coming some great times on this earth. And as they were seeing what Jesus was doing, surely the kingdom is about to appear in all of its glory. Rather than to tell them, you've misinterpreted the Old Testament, which, by the way, he never does tell them that, he tells them instead this parable. He tells them this parable that lets them know, yes, the kingdom is coming. but there's some things that have to happen first. Luke chapter 19, sorry, verse 12. First of all, he said, he said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. This is the journey of the nobleman. This is none other than Jesus. He was there with him, but he would eventually leave. And we know from the scriptures that he did leave. he went to go get kingdom authority. Praise the Lord, he will come again. The distant country that he speaks of here appears to be connected with our Lord's resurrection and his ascension. Now, again, this wasn't real clear in the Old Testament, but it's clearer here in the New Testament. We see that as he clarifies this for them. Verse 13, he called his 10 servants, delivered them 10 pounds, said unto them, occupy till I come. The nobleman entrusted servants. Here he mentions 10. Who are they? Who are they? Well, we find the word being used in other places, like for instance, in Philippians chapter one, Philippians chapter one, verse one, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, Paul and Timothy are the servants of Jesus Christ. That Greek word there can also be translated slave. We stiffen sometimes in our culture at the thought of being slaves to anybody. But understand this, everybody in this world is a slave to somebody or something. No one is really a free man. No one is really a free woman. You're either a slave today to the world, to sin, you're a slave to Satan, or you're a slave to Jesus. Nobody is on his own. Let me tell you something, Jesus is the best master that you or I could ever have. I can tell you this, as it was in the, this is an illustration, but I just want to point this out. In the days of this country when slavery was legal, what happened? A slave master, a slave owner would go, and what would they do? They would purchase that person. They would purchase them. You and I are bought with a price. Jesus bought me, and if you're saved, he bought you. How? With his own blood. You understand that? You were bought with a price. Therefore, we have become servants. We have become slaves to him. Now I owe him everything. He's not just mine on Sunday morning. I'm not just his on Sunday morning. But every day, every day, And in Luke chapter 19, we find this parable he gives and the nobleman goes away and he leaves his servants with a task. He gives them charge. Why? Because he has the authority. You see, we don't have the authority, he does. The commission, all power is given unto me. All authority is given unto me. Go ye therefore, you see, he's the one that's in charge, not us. And what's he say here in verses 13 and 14? And he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and sent them to them occupied till I come. But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. The nobleman's servants are given 10 pounds. They were expected to do something with those Those are, as I mentioned, those are the Christians. That's you and I. That's this generation, every generation before us, and every generation that may come after us. We're expected to do business on the behalf of the nobleman. We're expected to do business on the behalf of our Lord. We're expected to do business on behalf of King Jesus. You say, well, I haven't been given a handout. Well, yes, you have, and so have I. Each of us have gifts and talents and time. What we do with that is part of what this parable's about, right? What will we do with this? What will we do with what the Lord has given us? Now, the citizens, it says, they hated the nobleman. And they sent a message after him saying, we will not have this man to reign after us. Who is that? Well, I believe that's the world, the unbelievers. Let me tell you something, in case you haven't realized it yet, But we live in a world in which not everybody is as excited to serve the Lord as what we are. Not everybody is as excited to be a servant of Jesus Christ. What do they want? They want to hold on. to their master self, they want to hold on master Satan, they want to hold on master world, but they can't imagine having Jesus to reign over them. He's the only hope that they've got. But they said, we won't have him to reign over us. And in their pride, they will die and go to hell, holding on, holding on to their, to the world. Verses 15 through 26. In these verses, we find the nobleman returns. It says here, it came to pass that when he was returned, it came to pass that when he was returned, mark it down, Jesus is coming. He's not here, that's a fact, but he is coming. It doesn't say, if Jesus comes, but when, when he returned, when he returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded those servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. He comes and he inspects what's happened. And as he inspects, as he judges, this is what's happening. Every one of us will stand before the Lord, the judgment seat of Christ, that great Bema seat, and he will judge our work that's happened while he was gone. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. He said unto him, Well done, or rather, well thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a very little. have thou authority over 10 cities. And the second came saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said, likewise to him, be thou over five cities. And another came saying, Lord, behold, here's thy pound, which I've kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee because thou art a strict man. Thou takest up that thou layest not down and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he said unto him, out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was a strict man, taking up that I laid not down and reaping that I did not sow. Wherefore then gavest not my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury. The nobleman came and he inspects what happened. Notice that every man will be judged according to his own work. He found that some were faithful, but one was not. He rewarded them based on their own work. They said to him, Lord, he hath 10 pounds, or sorry, verse 24. He said unto them that stood by, take from him the pound and give it to him that hath 10 pounds. And they said unto him, Lord, he hath 10 pounds. For I say unto you that unto everyone which hath shall be given and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. Every, One will be judged according to his word. Everyone will be rewarded according to their word. When the nobleman returned, he found and he rewarded faithful service. And faithful service will be based upon Faithful service, rather, will result in positions of authority later. Now, where's he talking about? Where's this gonna happen? What's he saying? Whenever he says, have authority over 10 cities, have authority over five cities, what's he talking about? Well, in Revelation chapter two, Revelation chapter 2, verses 26 and 27. He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter, shall they be broken to shivers, even as I received of my father." You see, he's got the authority from the father, and he's going to give to the ones who overcome and keep his works to the end. He says, I will give power over the nations. Chapter 5 and verse 10, he says this, here in the scriptures, it says, and hath made us unto our God, kings and priests, we shall reign on the earth. So where's this happening? Over the nations and on the earth. There is indeed a coming kingdom. And so the apostles weren't wrong in looking for the kingdom, but they needed to know that it just wasn't yet. The kingdom program was still on track. The application is for us and for them that they were to be faithful until he comes. You and I are to be faithful till he comes. Now here's the thing, guys. None of us knows when he's coming back. It may be in our lifetime or it may not be. It wasn't in their lifetime, was it? The reality is that everyone, everyone will meet Jesus in their lifetime. Every Christian will meet Jesus in their lifetime, regardless of when the timing of the second coming is. Because we'll either meet him when we die, or we'll meet him in the rapture. We're all going to meet the Lord face to face in our lifetime. And what's that mean for us? Well, it means that right now, we're in this period when the nobleman has gone. He's going to come back and we're to occupy till he come. We're to be busy till he comes. Our situation's a little bit different than the apostles insofar as they were really excited about the kingdom. And we, in our background, in our situations, we all get excited about the rapture. But in essence, it all comes down to this. They were excited about Jesus, and we're excited about Jesus. They had work to do, and we have work to do. Jesus is coming, he will destroy his enemies, and we will live and reign with him forever. Isn't that a wonderful thing? I look forward to that, but until he comes, Let's engage in business, the Lord's business, till he comes. May God hand a blessing to the preaching of his word.