The Stages of Occupation

Call To Prayer

Topic: The Stages of Occupation

Date: 15.09.2022

By: Daniel Peter

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And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. Luke 19:13 KJV

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As we established yesterday, the word occupy is similar to the word possess as used in the Old Testament when God was instructing the Israelites to take over territories currently inhabited by the enemy. Seeing what existed in the Old Testament, we gained understand of what  Christ meant when He said “occupy till I come”. Today, I will concentrate on the different stages of occupation.

The first stage occupation is for you to have a revelation of what you have been given. This is very important as you can only receive (possess) only what heaven has released to you (John 3:27). In the Old Testament, before the armies of Israel went to war, they seeked counsel from the Lord. Many times, we will hear God say things like “go, I have given it or them to you (Deu. 2:24, Judges 6:14, 1Samuel 30:8 )”. By the revelation that God has given them the territory, they made war. Meaning, they have been assured of victory before they set out for war. The same applies to us in the New Testament. By His death and resurrection, Christ has made us joint heirs with Himself (Rom. 8:17). So whatever we see in the word of God, that is what we have been given. The Lord can also tell us by His Spirit within us, the people, places or things He  has given that are not specifically captured in the word. As we gain this revelation, we set out to possess or occupy.

The second stage of occupation is warfare (or conquest). Seeing from the Old Testament, despite the Lord had given the children of Israel the Land of Canaan as their inheritance, through the promise given to Abraham, they still needed to wage war against the inhabitants of the land and claim it by military conquest. This is true for us in the new too. Though our warfare is not against humans, we war against principalities and powers (Eph. 6:12). These entities try to stop us from inheriting that which the Lord has freely given to us. Unlike the Israelites that used natural or carnal weapons, ours are spiritual (2Cor. 10:4 ), and are utilized in the place of prayer. Prayer is how we make war. But we must understand that the fight is a fight of faith and that we have already been given the victory.

The final stage of occupation is for us to engage with, or do business with or in what we have been given. The word occupy in the Greek literally means “to busy oneself with, that is, to trade”. To understand this, let’s consider what happened during the industrial revolution. As industries expanded in Europe, there became less markets within Europe to trade. Because of this, European nations set out for world conquest. As they make colonies of nations they had conquered, they make trade (do business) with them on their own terms. So, the aim for their military conquest was expanded market. This is similar to what exists in the Kingdom. Though the kind of business we do with the world is the Father’s business (Luke 2:49), infusing it with His will, resulting to the salvation of Souls

In summary, to occupy until He comes, we need a revelation of what we have been given, then we claim by the fight of faith that which we have been given. Finally, we engage (trade) with what we have been given.

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for His word today. Let’s ask for the grace to occupy till He comes

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