The Mandate

Luke 19:¹³ “Before he departed he summoned his ten servants together and charged them, ‘I am entrusting each of you with fifty thousand dollars to invest while I am away. Trade with it and put the money to work until I return.” (TPT, emphasis added).

You and I are to bring the invisible Kingdom of Jesus to bear until He returns with the physical Kingdom and His rewards. We have a mandate to bring the invisible Kingdom of God to all our situations, to all our spheres of influence. That is why before Jesus left, He said “…Occupy till I come.” In other words, spread the invisible Kingdom. Therefore, what you and I need to wrestle with is how to occupy? How do we leverage the creative Spirit that God has given us to occupy until Jesus comes? To occupy simply means to fill, to take over, to control. How do you and I use the giftings that we have been given to fill, to take over for God, and to control for God?

The New Revised Standard Version of Luke 19:¹³ “…and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back” (emphasis added). To do business means to engage in a profitable venture. You cannot be a Christian and be passive. You have to be active in the marketplace, you have to be active in spreading God’s Kingdom. So, whether you are a painter, a baker, a homemaker, a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer, you are called to serve wherever you are. Your preoccupation is how do I bring the God’s Kingdom business, how do I expand the invisible Kingdom in this sphere of influence. Wherever you are, it is to the extent to which you are able to bring the Kingdom, it is to that extent that you are useful to the King. To the extent to which you are able to influence your sphere and bring righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit [the Kingdom of God], it is to that extent you are to be useful to the King. This is what you and I need to wrestle with.

The New Living Translation of Luke 19:¹³ “…saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone” (emphasis added). Engaging in investment is some sort of a risky venture. Anyone that has made any form of investment knows it is a risk. Investments are a risk, reward thing. But if you look at the story in Luke 19:11-13, 15-26, none of the servants that invested the Master’s money returned with a loss. What does that tell us? The first thing is, the only problem God has is when people do not take the risk to invest, to occupy, to engage. The second thing is, when you actually take the step, in faith, and in obedience to God, you never come short. The times you come short, go, and check, you took your own way, your own route, you do it with your own brain.

Therefore, it seems as though some people have money in a bag of holes. Why? It is because they take their own way, so they always come short. Jesus says invest. It is important to note that we are part of these ten people in the parable Jesus told. So, which group are you going to be in – the group that multiplied to ten, or the group that multiplied to five, or are you going to be in the group that wrapped it up and did nothing with it? Rom.12:⁶ “Having then gifts differing according to the grace given unto us.” (KJV). We have been gifted and we are to occupy until He returns.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the grace given and gifts You have invested in me. In obedience, I will invest it into spreading Your invisible Kingdom until You return, in Jesus Name. Amen!