May Your Kingdom Come

Copyright © 2022 Dr Nomvuyo Methuse

First edition 2022

Published by Dr Nomvuyo Methuse at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

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All scripture in the book, unless otherwise stated, is taken from NIV.

Published by Dr Nomvuyo Methuse using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Nikki Burnett for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

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E-mail: [email protected]

Dr Nomvuyo Methuse

[email protected]

Preface

The life of Jesus Christ on earth was about the kingdom of heaven. He preached and demonstrated for us everything we need to know about this kingdom and emphasised to us that the kingdom of heaven should be our first and foremost priority as we navigate the earthly domain.

This message of the kingdom of heaven is a very political one, which might not be easily understood by many people. This book tries to simplify it, breaking it down, to be easily understandable by believers at all levels. The subject of kingdoms and governments is also vast, but here one is introduced to the basic aspects that one needs to grasp, to know and understand the kingdom of God, making it a priority, and thus enabling one to live the kingdom’s royal life in the now. I believe this is the era when Christ wants us to really understand the kingdom of heaven and reclaim it with everything we have, making every effort to advance it. We are in the last days; every aspect of the kingdom is coming into full view of man. Joel spoke about these times in Joel (2:28) and again in Acts (2:17), God is making all things visible, revealing all truths in His word to all His people.

At times, when we say Jesus is the King of kings and our Lord, we do not put much thought into it. This book clarifies what that means, and it gives us an idea of how to treat Him as our King and Lord. Jesus is the Lord of all, and He is the King of kings, and we are those kings, and we get to understand our kingship. The one thing that every king is known for is a kingdom, the king’s domain, the land ruled by the king. Here we get to see our Lord Jesus’s domain, and we understand why He is our King and Lord.

When Jesus came, man was expecting a king for temporal deliverance from the Roman oppression and earthly reign; God far exceeded our expectations. Through Jesus Christ, God brought us an eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken; He reinstated us to His everlasting kingdom; the kingdom that we had once rejected because of our ignorance and rebellion. This is the utter display of our God’s amazing grace, His unfailing love, and His faithfulness to us, mankind.

It is so important for mankind to fully pursue the kingdom of God with all our might because deeper knowledge of the Kingdom will help us grasp how such Kingdom works, and who God is. All that knowledge is crucial as it helps us know and understand our purpose, and how to run our race to the end.

Prologue - The coming king

Over 2000 years ago, a seemingly simple man with no exceptional visible credentials, or even any kind of political background, walked this earth and changed it through His life and teachings. He was a man of impeccable moral character who obeyed every command of God, with knowledge and wisdom beyond that of any man who had ever lived. Old Testament prophets had foretold of His coming, the Messiah. Jesus Christ came, walked the earth, chose His disciples, taught us about God and His ways, and performed many signs and wonders, displaying much authority and power. People saw His power; they saw that He was very different from them. They saw something in Him; that is why such big crowds followed Him. People came from all over the world to come and listen to Him and receive from Him knowledge, wisdom, healing, and deliverance. He obtained a great following, and He had His inner circle of the twelve disciples. In just three years of His ministry, He was probably the most talked-about man; He was probably the most trending person for three-and-a-half years, even after His death and beyond. He is still trending, in fact, the most trending man today. More books are written, and more are still being produced on Him than any other man who ever lived. If there had been social media in those days, videos of His miracles and teachings would have gone viral every day. People travelled from far off places just to meet Jesus. There has never been a man who had such following, had such influence, and was as famous as Jesus.

People could see there was something about Him. They could see His kingship. Jesus is the king. But a lot of people mistook Jesus’ kingship:

First, Herod thought, at the birth of Jesus, that Jesus was coming to take his throne. He tried his best to get Him killed at infancy but failed. Herod thought Jesus was to be the king on his earthly throne. He did not know that Jesus came to be the king in his life. He was not to be an earthly king yet, military or politically, but He came to be a spiritual king with thrones in the hearts of man. The kingdom of God was revealed to us when God, our Lord and King, came down to earth as a human being in Jesus Christ. He had come to re-establish His reign in our hearts, and to all those who welcome Him, He becomes their King. Jesus says, You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this, I have come into the world (John 18:36–37), and Paul writes, For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Colossians 1:13).

He came to give us His kingdom, the kingdom of heaven on earth. His reign is in the believer’s hearts for now. In the Gospel according to Matthew, he writes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven" (5:3). God’s kingdom on earth means His reign in our lives, and it will be complete when Christ comes to rule in the new heaven and earth, following the destruction of sin and evil. His is the kingdom where no one comes because of heritage, politics, or connections but because of choice. His is the kingdom open to everyone, where there are no subjects and all who belong to it become kings. Jesus told the disciples to preach, The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mathew 10:7 NKJV). The Kingdom arrived with Him; He had brought this Kingdom.

Secondly, the followers of Jesus mistook Him as one coming to give them salvation from earthly oppression, to bring them out of the rule of the Roman Empire (the government at that time), and to bring back a kingdom like in the days of Solomon, David, and other kings. When Christ came, the Jews were waiting for a king, a messiah who would deliver them from the hands of the Roman Empire. The prophets had foretold of this. They were hoping for the continuation of the kingship like David and Solomon. They saw His ministry flourish and they perceived Him as their long-awaited king and had sought to make Him their king by force, as told in John 6:15. But He had slipped away from them. He chose the Passover period for His crowning (coronation/inauguration) when everyone would be in Jerusalem. He was celebrated as King in jubilation and rejoicing along the streets of Jerusalem. Everyone was happy that finally, the kingdom as they knew it was being restored. They still thought that was the period in which He was taking over His reign physically. In Luke (19:28–39), as great crowds of people resounded in great celebration and rejoicing along the streets, thinking the day had finally come for their freedom, the Pharisees tried to silence them for fear of revolt as they feared the Roman Empire’s response to the coup. But Jesus told them the day needed to be celebrated; if the people would keep quiet, then the stones would cry out because that was indeed a day of jubilee. But the people still had no understanding of the real meaning of that day. They still thought that Christ was going to be crowned earthly king that day. They were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel (Luke 24:21).

Thirdly, the disciples who had walked closely with Jesus and had the chance and privilege to be taught, trained, and mentored by Him, also thought His kingdom was of this age; they had listened to Him, talking and proclaiming this kingdom. As they sat around, they started discussing their roles in this new government and began arguing because it is human nature to want top positions. In chapter 10 of Mark’s Gospel, from verse 35, we see James and John coming to ask Him literally about their positions in His glory. As the people who were closest to Jesus, they saw themselves in ministerial positions. They also thought that Jesus was to be crowned an earthly king. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tried to enlighten them on that subject and highlighted the events of Him as the reigning King after evil and sin had been destroyed in the new Jerusalem (22:22–29). They did not understand when He explained to them that His death was going to save them not from the earthly oppression of the Roman government but from something bigger and greater, sin and death, and the kingdom of darkness. He had come to introduce them and recruit them into the kingdom of heaven. They were not expecting this, The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom to many (Mark 10:45). After walking with Him for so long, they still had not grasped His real kingship.

The Passover was His coronation in our hearts. His death and resurrection marked His reign in us spiritually. He had to die so He can live and rule in our hearts for this period.

I can imagine the disappointment of the followers and disciples when Jesus was seized, beaten, and charged. Their hope for a King was literally melting away from them. Everything had to happen as it did; no-one could have prevented it, although Jesus had such a huge following. In John’s Gospel, Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place" (18:36). Then Jesus died on the cross and their hope of a king was shattered.

Finally, his opposition, probably thinking He was going to be released and cause havoc and take over as earthly king, cried out that He should be crucified, although they could not find Him guilty of any offence (Luke 23:22–24).

The jubilee had turned into bitterness for all the followers of Jesus as they saw their hope vanishing in front of their eyes. Weeping, they decided to follow on to see if things would change, as He was led to the cross, His slaughter. Not realising that it was the slaughter, that altar, that would turn Him into the ultimate King. As lashes upon lashes fell on Jesus’ back, some saw defeat for the kingdom He had been preaching about. I guess they were all still hoping for a miracle as He shamefully hung on that cross. They remembered how He had made Lazarus and others rise from death and how He had healed many, and they started counting on all the miracles He had performed in their sight. The enemies looked on in delight as they saw defeat and an end to His reign. As He hung on that cross, others’ hope had not yet vanished when the soldiers, in mockery, cried out, "If you are the king of Jews, save yourself" (Luke 23:37), even when one of the thieves hung alongside Him said what probably was on everyone’s mind, "If you are the Christ, save Yourself and us." Then a miracle happened, one of the sinners who was crucified alongside Jesus was given the great revelation. His eyes were opened the moment he realised his sinful nature and turned to Jesus for forgiveness. He got to see that this was not the end … Jesus is indeed the King, and then he cried out, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42). Throughout His ministry, He had preached about this kingdom, the kingdom of heaven and of God.

Following His crucifixion, the disciples were scattered and a lot of them went into hiding, fearing for their lives. Peter and others even went back to their old occupations as fishermen. Although the Old Testament prophets had foretold of these events, they had not grasped them. Only as He broke bread with them, after the resurrection, in Luke (24:32–44), they realised He is risen, and their confidence started to return. Their hope was still there after the resurrection that maybe, maybe this time, He had come back for good, for the liberation of the Jews (Acts 1:6–8). As they watched Him rise to heaven, their hope was established in Him as they held on to His promise of the Holy Spirit. Their eyes of understanding had been opened to the fact that Jesus’ kingdom was not going to be a physical one for now but spiritual. It had taken a long time for them to understand that Jesus is indeed the King and His kingdom on earth is different. They knew not that the pain and suffering He had to be ‘baptised’ in, was for Him to come to the other side and enter into His glory. His service to us was more than what He did in casting out demons, opening blinded eyes, healing the sick and raising the dead, but was through the cross, through His death, resurrection, and ascension (through His blood). The miracles were just affirmation and demonstrations of His Kingship; His sovereign authority on everything. He had come to save us from the consequences of our sin; to save us through the cross, from eternal death. He had come to restore to us the Kingdom of heaven.

Even the enemy, the devil, thought it was over. He thought, by killing Jesus Christ, the game was over; he had won. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, "none of the rulers of this age