Most believers have barely scratched the surface of the powerful revelation in Psalm 110. In this conversation with Paul Hubbard, Brian Del Turco unpacks why Christ is reigning right now, not waiting. From the Melchizedek priesthood to the stunning story of Abigail and Nabal, this episode is a full-spectrum call to maturity — to become the kings and priests that Psalm 110 and Revelation 1:6 describe. If you’ve been waiting for Jesus to act, this episode will reframe everything. It’s your move.
See the complete episode transcript below.
A few episode Highlights
✅ Christ Is Already Reigning. Psalm 110 is not a future promise waiting to be fulfilled — it is a present reality demanding a present response. Christ is on the throne now, and he is waiting for his people to administer what he has already accomplished.
✅ The Call to Maturity and the Cornelius People. Hebrews 6 issues an uncomfortable challenge: are you still on milk when you should be teaching others? Perhaps most surprising is Paul Hubbard’s observation that some outside the visible church are carrying more spiritual discernment than many inside it … what he calls the Cornelius people.
✅ Abigail and David: Priest and King in Action. First Samuel 25 gives us one of the most vivid Old Testament pictures of the Melchizedek order: Abigail as a heavenly priest interceding before David the king, carrying grace, truth, and the Father’s heart into a moment of crisis. This is the model for how kings and priests are called to operate together in this hour.
"A quick and easy read. There's depth. Highly recommended!" — Bruce
"Powerful Biblical truths, Kingdom concepts, and 'Higher Thoughts'... in a concise, intelligent way." — Stephanie
"Even something as simple as how God chooses us to partner with him can bring fresh new perspectives." — Joshua
"Insightful truths that can propel you into your future." — Karin
Scripture
Psalm 110:1-7 NKJV — The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; therefore He shall lift up the head.
Hebrews 6:1-3 NASB — Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.
Revelation 1:5-6 NLT — And from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
Paul Hubbard
Paul Hubbard carries a powerful apostolic and prophetic calling — to the Church, to the nations, and to leaders in high places. With over 40 years of global ministry experience, Paul has provided apostolic oversight to churches across the UK, Kenya, Nepal, Norway, Italy, and the USA, while also mentoring business leaders and bringing prophetic wisdom to kings, presidents, and government officials. He is a founder, father, and master builder who has spent four decades establishing Christ within believers, discipling nations, and raising up spiritual sons and daughters around the world. The author of 9 books, Paul has also served as a police chaplain, advised Christian education movements for over 25 years, and helped launch initiatives including Christians Against Poverty UK. He currently serves as a consultant for organizations such as Isaiah 61, High Light, and The ARC education teams. While teachers are many, true spiritual fathers are rare. Find him on Rumble by searching Get a Life! Check back with this show notes page as more resources come online.
Resources
Jesus Isn’t Waiting to Be King (Jesus Smart article) Discover the Psalm 110 meaning the New Testament apostles and Century One Christ-followers used to explain Christ’s present reign. Why Jesus isn’t waiting to be King—He’s ruling over history right now.
Every-Increasing Kingdom (from the Jesus Smart Core Beliefs)
GOD’S KINGDOM HAS COME in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, that it continues to come in the ministry of the Spirit through the Church, and that it will be consummated in the glorious, visible, and triumphant appearing of Christ – His return to the earth as King.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD is the future reign of God breaking into the present through the life and ministry of Jesus and through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit. We are forward-leaning in faith as we “taste the powers of the Age to Come” in both message and practice. We emphasize the ever-reforming nature of the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives and in the renewed church.
The Jesus Smart X podcast
👉 Support the podcast (use the Smart Edit BMAC page): buymeacoffee.com/SmartEdit
👉 Explore more episodes: JesusSmart.com/podcast
👉 Stay current via The Smart Edit newsletter—Elevate your faith. Live smart. Make an impact. Free. Weekly. 5 minutes to grow. Sign up at JesusSmart.com.
If this episode gave you a fresh perspective on Kingdom Living, share it with someone who needs encouragement.
Be sure to follow the podcast—each episode is designed to help you think more clearly and pursue the kind of life only Jesus makes possible.
Episode Transcript — Christ Is Already Reigning — Are You Living Like It?
A New Heart: Paul’s Encounter with Jesus
Brian: Welcome to Jesus Smart X. I’m Brian Del Turco, and today I have a remarkable guest — Paul Hubbard, joining us from England. Paul has walked with Jesus for over 44 years, ministering apostolically and prophetically across the UK, Europe, Africa, and beyond. Paul, how did you first encounter Jesus?
Paul: I encountered him after a very difficult operation in which I actually died on the operating table. They brought me round again, and the first words out of my mouth were, praise God, I’m alive. Seven days after being released from hospital, Jesus came to meet me in my bedroom. It was an awesome encounter. I experienced having been given a totally new heart — not physical, but it was like a physical heart that Jesus actually gave to me. I experienced every emotion going in the following few hours after him being with me. In the morning I was completely changed. I looked out the door, I looked at the trees and went, the trees are green, the sky’s blue. It was that radical. I went around telling everybody I loved them, that God loved them. People didn’t really understand, and to be honest, I didn’t really understand what had taken place. But over the following months and years, he taught me. I was a new creation immediately.
Brian: Born again. Radically regenerated. Paul has since served globally — UK, Norway, Italy, Kenya, Nepal, Paraguay, the USA, Canada — and is presently, along with his wife Corinne, seeking to see the true ecclesia emerge. He describes ministering amongst the dying embers of the church at large, believing we have entered a new era since 2020 — one that looks dark and dangerous on one side, but on the other, the glory of God is arising within his people. A company of burning hearts is being prepared for this moment.
Paul: This is a new time. It’s a new era. On one side it looks very dark, dangerous, and depraved. On the other side, the glory of God within us is arising — not only within us, but within the earth as well. There is a people that are being prepared for that which we are now in transition with. A lot of the church as we see it now will be devoid of power and real authority and any kind of genuine life. But out of that, there are people that God has raised up, is raising up right now, and preparing for this new era.
Brian: Paul currently has a channel on Rumble called Get a Life! — and you can check the show notes at jesussmart.com/374 for links as more of his resources and channels come online.
Psalm 110 — The King Is on the Throne Now
Brian: Psalm 110 is the most quoted psalm in the entire New Testament. I want to read it as a background framework — from the New King James, my analog Bible. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power. In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand. He shall execute kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the nations. He shall fill the places with dead bodies. He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall drink of the brook by the wayside. Therefore he shall lift up the head.
This is not a seeker-sensitive psalm. It is potent, urgent, and demands a response. Paul, what is your assessment?
Paul: Jesus has finished and accomplished everything the Father wanted him to do. It’s all wrapped up, everything is done, everything’s finished, and it’s all under his feet. He’s the King — not just in heaven, but over the whole cosmos. People are waiting for Jesus to do something more, whilst Jesus is waiting for us to actually administer his kingdom on the earth.
Brian: Jesus raises Psalm 110 in Matthew 22, just before his crucifixion. He confronts the Pharisees and says, how then does David in the Spirit call him Lord? And right after the Holy Spirit is poured out in Acts 2, Peter preaches — therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. I find it remarkable that in that first apostolic sermon, immediately after Pentecost, Psalm 110 is front and center.
Paul: It’s been the same down the years. People say we’re waiting for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we’re waiting for God to do something. But have you not read Acts 2? It says the Holy Spirit has already been poured out on all flesh. So why are we waiting for Jesus to do something more? He has done everything. He is the king. He says, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod — which is speaking about government, the government of his strength out of Zion. Jesus is seated with all government, with everything possible in heaven. But we are his body. We’re his hands, his feet, his beating heart. We’re the ones that carry the kingdom of God onto and into the earth. He’s not doing it the way we think he ought to. He’s already here. He’s just waiting for us to administer what he’s already done.
Brian: This is the weight of Psalm 110 pressing down on you and me right now. Not someday. Now. And the first century believers understood this. They loved Psalm 110 because they saw themselves in it. Even under Roman persecution, they understood who the real king was. And even though Rome looked unstoppable, Christ in them outlasted Rome. Psalm 110 is a framework — a revelation we need to be carrying throughout our time now, since the ascension of Christ. It’s already in play. But if we’re going to flow with it and play our role in it, we have to have the foundations laid in our lives and move on to more mature things in Christ.
Hebrews 6 and the Cornelius People
Brian: That raises the uncomfortable question — are we actually equipped to administer the kingdom? Hebrews 6 is direct. Though you should be teachers by now, you need someone to teach you again. You need milk, not solid food. You are underdeveloped, arrested in your walk with God.
Paul: If the elementary principles of Christ — the living letters of Jesus himself, the life of God inside us by the Spirit — if that is not alive on the inside of us, then we’re not carrying the kingdom of God at all. We haven’t even started. And each one of those foundational things that Hebrews talks about — repentance, faith toward God, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, eternal judgment — each one of those things means something inside of us. It’s not some dry theological statement. It’s real life. And then he says, this we will do if God permits. I need his permission to go on.
Brian: What does it mean if God permits?
Paul: God looks at us at this point and goes, what is the life that is flowing out of you? What is the establishment of truth within you? Who is it that you are living out of? Is it your own mind, your own philosophy, someone else’s ideology? And he looks at us, and of course we have been tested. There is no one in these last five years that has not gone through massive tests. And I would venture to say that millions of people have failed the test because they have not managed to discern between good and evil. They are immature. And even now we are surrounded by an ideology that is just eating people up.
Brian: Even church people. Even those who identify as Christians.
Paul: Yeah. Without discernment, love becomes mere tolerance. Truth gets lost. And that shows me that the church is not where it thinks it is. This is not me being down on the church — this is me observing where we presently are.
Brian: And yet — surprisingly — there are people outside the visible church who are carrying something of God. Paul calls them the Cornelius people, after the Roman centurion of Acts 10.
Paul: There are people who would not call themselves Christians who are discerning things in ways that Christians are not even seeing. Cornelius was a Roman centurion — not the kind of man going to the synagogue every week. But inside him was this other life pouring out. He was a builder, an encourager. He prayed, he gave alms. God saw this monument that Cornelius had built and went, there is life inside him. Therefore send Peter. And the door to the Gentile world opens. I think we are seeing Cornelius people all over right now. People who somehow have captured something that is like life — beginning to come forth from them. And because of that God is taking notice.
Brian: Cornelius people are among us. Discerning. Giving. Building. While parts of the church remain on milk. That tension ought to humble us. Check the show notes at jesussmart.com/374 for related episodes on ecclesia and Kingdom theology.
Abigail and Nabal: A Picture of Kings and Priests
Brian: Revelation 1:6 says Christ has made us kings and priests. That is Psalm 110 language. The Melchizedek order — king and priest in one embodiment. And there is a picture of it in 1 Samuel 25 that is stunning in its clarity.
Paul: The characters: David, the anointed but not yet enthroned king, going through a hugely testing time. Abigail — her name means the Father’s joy — a woman of good understanding and beautiful in every way. And Nabal, whose name literally means fool, stupid. He was completely dense — and it wasn’t just that he was a fool once. He lived a life of foolishness. David comes with his mighty men — hungry and weary — and sends them to Nabal asking for provision. And Nabal in his usual way is dishonoring, disrespectful, and turns them away.
Brian: Turns them away. David prepares to respond with the sword.
Paul: And Abigail hears what has happened. She discerns that David is the coming king. She understands it somewhere in the spirit — that David actually is the one who will sit on the throne. And she thinks, this fool of a husband has dishonored David in every possible way. And now David is furious. So she loads the donkeys with every provision. When you are loaded with grace, it looks like donkeys full of provision. And she goes to meet him. She is weighed with grace. She understands, she discerns. She is another Cornelius. I don’t know where she learned this. But somehow inside her she had life, and she carried life. She carried grace and she carried truth.
Brian: She says it plainly — as his name is, so he is. Nabal is his name and folly is with him. She sees reality and names it. She doesn’t hide behind false respect.
Paul: She saw reality. She didn’t look at it and go, I better respect and honor my husband. No. She went, he is an idiot and a fool and he is going to get us killed if we carry on like this. And she said it in front of David, clear as anything. We need people right now who are going to see what the reality is — who actually discern properly and are true to that reality. We are not of the world, but we live in it. We have to be true to that reality and at the same time carry the Father’s heart. That is what Abigail was doing. She is a priest of the most high God. And the king is present. A king and a priest coming together. The king wants to deal with Nabal outright — that is it, finish, game up. But she intercedes on her husband’s behalf before David and causes heaven to come to earth.
Brian: She falls before David on her face. She recognizes that he is carrying government from another place. She discerns it and honors him. And she speaks something beautiful — the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God, and the lives of your enemies he shall fling out as from the pocket of a sling. She reminds David of who he is and what God will do through him.
Paul: She shares his memories and his pain. She knows his past. She acknowledges what he is dealing with. She reminds him how his life is wrapped up in a bundle of the living with the Lord. And then she reminds him of his glorious victories — how that had propelled him, like that sling, into his future and his destiny. She speaks of a future and a hope. In that picture you see a priest operating from another dimension — a heavenly dimension, like the Melchizedek dimension. She is moving in that place and bringing it to the earth. And then you see the king himself coming together with her. And of course the outcome is that they get married. They become one. Completely unified. That picture is absolutely fantastic.
Brian: What happened to Nabal?
Paul: That evening Nabal decides to have a party and becomes intoxicated with wine. We saw it during the pandemic — people intoxicated with power, with greed. Corruption got a hold of them. And right now we are in a moment where the sun is beginning to shine and expose fools and stupidity. Abigail cannot talk to him that night. But in the morning she tells him how a priest of heaven and a king from heaven came together and talked. And as soon as he heard it, his heart turned to stone in that moment.
Brian: Amazing.
Paul: And then God gave him ten days — the number of testing — in which he could have repented, in which he could have returned. This is the long suffering of God. But his conscience was so seared it was now flowing out everywhere. God could not stop him from being exposed. And he did not change. He died on the tenth day. He had sent a boomerang out, and while it cut people down, he didn’t realize it was going to return and cut his own head off.
Brian: We are surrounded by Nabals — in government, media, education, and yes, in the church. But Abigail shows us the way. Carry the Father’s heart. Discern the king. Intercede. Let heaven and earth come together. That is the Melchizedek order — and it is available to us now.
The Kindling Wrath and the Jesus We Don’t Know
Brian: Psalm 2 addresses the kings of the earth directly — be wise, be instructed, kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Are we seeing a kindling of that wrath now? A redemptive warning — a sampling of what is coming?
Paul: I think we are in the place we just talked about. People have sent boomerangs out and those boomerangs are returning upon their own heads. Is that God or is it them? The truth is that what is being returned to them is what they themselves have sown. God is not directly executing — he is just not keeping them from being exposed anymore. You are exposing yourself. You are in your shame. You are terrorizing and killing people in the way you are acting and behaving. And that cannot carry on. There is an end to it.
Brian: The earth is the Lord’s — Psalm 24:1. It has never belonged to Satan, nor the fullness thereof, nor the people who dwell in it. But God has coded creation in such a way that you will reap what you sow. The harvest catches up with you. The law of seed, time, and harvest will find you. The boomerangs come back. And in that sense the Lord snuffed Nabal out — not necessarily by direct execution, but by the consequence of what he sowed. There are people who have died. Herod. The wicked have no staying power on this planet. The Bible says they will be uprooted. We are looking for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
And there is a Jesus we do not fully know. We know the loving shepherd. The embracing lamb. But I don’t know that we know the Jesus who is coming back. I don’t think we understand his infinite sense of justice and holiness and righteousness.
Paul: And the Jesus who is coming back is coming back in us first. All creation is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God. He is coming back right now — leveling us up by a plumb line. Our own lives are being leveled by that plumb line and we are being called back to what we should be in him. An establishment of truth living out of us. As we do that we become those priests and kings that are to rule and reign on the earth. I am not waiting for Jesus to rescue me — he has already rescued me. I want to be the son of God I truly am, bringing something of heaven to the earth right now. And I tell you — if people do not stop like Nabal, there will be an exposure. Many hearts will stop just like that. We are in a very, very historic moment.
Brian: Psalm 110 is not relegated to the millennium. There is a way of reading it that puts all of it in the future — a hyper dispensationalism that postpones everything. But it may reach its zenith then while already being at play now. The wrath is already here — in lower intensity, redemptive form — giving us time to repent. It is not a switch that gets turned on eschatologically. It is kindling now. And it is redemptive in nature — chastisement, warning, giving time to repent and mature.
Paul: Like the zealousness of Jesus at the temple. We have played that down. He was not nice. He overturned those tables. He sat and watched, he made a whip overnight — he knew exactly what he was doing. That was intentional. And that is why kings and priests together must rule in this time. Because when Jesus moves like this there is no joy in him in the sense that he does not want anyone to perish. If he is angry, it is not an anger moved by his own desire for vengeance. He is angry because people he loves refused to receive life. And by refusing it they cannot live in the way he purposed for them. So behind the anger is a sadness. Those decrees that come from the king, out of the king’s counsel — they are full of the heart of Abigail, full of the heart of heaven. He doesn’t want this. But he is holy. And he will not be mocked.
Brian: No, it is motivated by something else entirely. And that is the kind of kings and priests he is looking for. A royal priesthood. People who rule and reign from the Melchizedek order — not from earthly seeing or earthly judgment, but from a different place entirely. There is a lamb’s heart in the lion. But when he roars — you are going to feel it.
Paul: Just a breath. He is just breathing. And the breath slays the wicked.
Brian: Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. This is the appeal — understand the moment we are in. Take a look at Psalm 110. Read it alongside Psalm 2 and Psalm 149. Why is it the most quoted psalm in the New Testament? Why were the first century believers so enamored with it? Why does Hebrews reference it fifteen times? It lines up with Revelation 1. It is already in play. Brace yourself to meet this moment. We want to give an account to the Lord that we were absolutely all that he wanted us to be. Christ is reigning. Know him. Live the difference.