Occupy Till I Come

Jesus once told a story about a nobleman, ten servants, and ten minas — and hidden inside it is God’s answer to one of our most common prayers: “Lord, give me more.”

Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’”

Luke 19:12–13 (NKJV)

Notice what he did not say. He did not say, “Be preoccupied with my coming till I come.” He said, “Occupy till I come.” Do business till I come. What business? Trade till I come — what trade? Occupy till I come — occupying what? What are you buying up? What are you increasing?

Our God-given assignment is to dominate — to expand the land the King owns, to increase the space and territory over which He is landlord. Because this world is in rebellion against God. The ways of men are not the ways of God. The parable says it plainly: “But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14).

We sing, “Just take the whole world and give me Jesus.” But Jesus says no — take the whole world and give me more land. Occupy till I come.

Kingdom-mindedness comes before kingdom resources

Here is the first principle: the level of kingdom-mindedness that possesses you determines the level of kingdom resources you will be given.

Hear the assignment personally, with your own name in it: “Okezie — here are kingdom resources. Increase the amount of land I own in this world. Dominate it. Bring it under subjection to the will of God.” Until you recognize that everything God does is to help us perform and execute this original mandate of humanity, you will waste time — and God’s possessions will never come into your possession.

The only reason God will put God’s possession into your possession is that you have been possessed by God’s mandate: to gain more territory for God. To make this land, this nation, this city, that office, that industry — wherever you are — a part of the King’s domain.

And notice: the nobleman gave minas to his servants according to their abilities. Not according to their righteousness. Not according to their faith. According to their ability — their ability to give the king more land in the world.

So here is the first prayer you must learn to pray with your full chest if you ever want to possess God’s possessions: “Let Your kingdom come everywhere I am — beginning with me.”

A king in search of a dominion

The second principle: the more dominion you gain for God’s kingdom, the more kingdom resources you will gain. The more territories you win for God, the more God will reward you with territories to win.

Then came the first, saying, “Master, your mina has earned ten minas.” And he said to him, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.” And the second came, saying, “Master, your mina has earned five minas.” Likewise he said to him, “You also be over five cities.”

Luke 19:16–19 (NKJV)

Look closely at the story. The nobleman had gone to receive a kingdom — yet it was his servants who would give him dominion. There is a difference. You can have a kingdom — the authority to rule over a territory — and yet not have dominion, a territory over which you actually rule.

God is King. This planet is part of God’s kingdom. But how many of us would agree that God does not have dominion on this earth? Why not? Because the citizens of this earth have said, “God will not rule over us.” So what does the King do? He hands kingdom resources to kingdom-minded people and says: go and occupy, go and trade, go and do business till I come. In effect: I am a king without a dominion. I need landlords who are loyal to me — who will increase the territory in my kingdom over which I have dominion.

O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

Isaiah 26:13 (KJV)

God wants you to trade kingdom resources — to take what God has given you and deploy it in exchange for the land, the territory, the people God wants. When God gives you anything, it is because God has someone else in mind. He wants you to use that thing to win Him that territory — that person’s heart and mind and soul.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

Colossians 1:13 (NIV)

Who will God use to rescue people from the dominion of darkness? You and me — those to whom He has given kingdom resources to exchange for heart-territories still in rebellion. Kingdoms belong to kings; dominions belong to lords. God has the kingdom, but the dominion belongs to God’s landlords — those who will intentionally go after territories for Him.

So your second prayer point is not “O Lord, give me more money,” but “O Lord, give me more territory. Expand and extend my coast — the sphere of my influence, the places and people I can have dominion over for You.”

Kingdom intelligence: why God says “not yet”

The third principle explains the servant who lost everything: God will decrease the kingdom resources you possess to increase the kingdom intelligence you possess — and He will increase the kingdom resources you possess as you increase the kingdom intelligence you possess. Whenever you are not deploying kingdom resources toward kingdom dominion in some area, it is because you lack kingdom intelligence in that area. And whatever kingdom resources you are not deploying toward kingdom dominion, you will lose.

“Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you…” “Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.” “Sir,” they said, “he already has ten!” He replied, “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

Luke 19:20–21, 24–26 (NIV)

God does not respond to “why do the rich keep getting richer?” God is not running an equality program. God’s interest is interest. The problem with this servant was not the one mina — think of it as one million dollars — it was his mindset. He lacked a kingdom mindset. He was paralyzed by fear. He did not think like his master. In fact, listen to him lecturing the master who handed him a fortune to trade for free: “You are a hard man” — as if the servant were better than his master.

God knows that if you do not have kingdom intelligence to match the resources you are praying for, you will squander them like the prodigal son. And the devil of one million dollars is very different from the devil of ten thousand — I can tell you that from my own personal experience.

Do not say “I could never be like that person” until you have handled the kind of money you have never handled, the kind of power you have never been given, or the kind of pleasure you have never tasted. You have not yet been given a million, and already you feel the whole church should bow because of your tithe of twenty thousand — what happens when you tithe a hundred thousand? Then you will want to own the whole church. No one can talk to you now because you make twenty thousand a month — you have become big Madam or big Oga. And you think God will hand you two hundred thousand a month? There are people who give away that much quietly, every day, and no one has ever heard of them.

So ask yourself honestly: what would you do with one million dollars in cash? If you do not have a clear, concise, well-prepared plan — the intelligence needed to win territories for God with that money — your imagination and dreaming will get the better of you, and you will lose the money if you are lucky. A windfall should never fund your dreams; it should fund kingdom demand. And what would you do with one thousand dollars? Spend it acquiring the kingdom intelligence that will help you win territory for God.

So your third prayer point is not “O Lord, increase my money,” but “O Lord, increase my kingdom intelligence to match the kingdom resources You want to put into my hands.”

Doing business till He comes

• The level of kingdom-mindedness that possesses you determines the level of kingdom resources you will be given.
• The more dominion you gain for God’s kingdom, the more kingdom resources you will gain.
• God will decrease the kingdom resources you possess to increase the kingdom intelligence you possess — and increase your resources as your kingdom intelligence grows.

The nobleman is coming back, and the question he will ask is not how eagerly we waited but how much we gained by trading. So take the three prayers home and pray them this week: Let Your kingdom come everywhere I am, beginning with me. Give me more territory for You. Increase my kingdom intelligence to match what You want to place in my hands. Who is ready to go do business for Jesus — till He comes?