Jesus Christ: Arms Dealer -- by Ward Draper

Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'? The woman said to the serpent, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.[1]

That simple act of consumption created the battle we find ourselves in today. It is the bullet that struck Archduke Francis Ferdinand, it was the bullets screaming across the waters in the Gulf of Tonkin, it was the creation of the nuclear bomb, and simply put it was the beginning of The War to end all Wars. The War God desired would never come to pass. A battle that has raged for millennia, pitting brother versus brother, sister versus sister leaving a swath of destruction so horrendous that there are no words to express the devastation. However, as with any war, weapons are crucial to victory. If used correctly in conjunction with solid battle strategies victory is ensured.

It is awesome that we know that our victory is complete because of our ultimate weapon, the Cross. The nuclear weapon in the Kingdom of God is a blood soaked piece of wood, a tree. A Tree for a tree, wielded by the greatest soldier Jesus Christ, our King, our Lord, our Saviour and our Dealer. Alas though we still have the last push to the top of hill. The final stage of the battle is raging as we push through the enemies that attempt in futility to overturn our victory. The last desperate attempts from a vanquished foe whose ploys are laughable to those that have ears that hear and eyes that see.

This battle has cost so many lives. The tears and blood which have fallen on these fields are greater than all the seas and oceans on this great big planet. So many heroes have fallen to the sword; so many great soldiers fallen to the earth with eyes filled with love. Brothers and sisters whose names are known only in the halls of Heaven, where they are exalted. One day soon we will have the honour to dine with them as we celebrate our King and His glorious victory.

A beauty in this hell known as war however is the provision of our King, His constant armament of the troops as they battle for the Kingdom as well as needed seasons of “R and R”.  All who have answered Christ’s call are given the keys to Heavens Armoury. It is teeming with an amazing array of arms, such as prayer, love, service, mercy, grace, smiles, hope, peace, and so many more. Unfortunately many in the Kingdom are AWOL and are neglecting their posts and still others are misusing the weapons they have been entrusted with. Sort of like playing with a grenade as if it is nothing more than a tennis ball, that is stupidity at its finest.

As with any war there are decisive battles which are crucial to optimizing the outcome of the war. The great thing about these decisive battles is that God throws a huge Weapons Show just before another offensive is to be taken. It is here in the following paragraphs that a perspective not commonly acknowledged or maybe even considered will be presented regarding a recurring event in Gods Kingdom as we wage war on the enemies of His Creation.

Revivals. The Revivals of history can be understood as a Weapons Show where the soldiers are rallied and encouraged. It is here that God demonstrates His weapon arsenal either to refresh the troop’s memories on basic weapon use or to recruit new soldiers and introduce them to the weapons at their disposal.

Revivals are to be a door to a next step in the battle, a rung in the ladder as we scale the gates of Hell reclaiming Gods property. The purpose of all revivals be it the Welsh Methodist revival of the 18th century , The Toronto Blessing, The Manchurian revival, The Cambuslang Work, and on and on is to prepare the Church for the next major battle and the desired maneuvers for establishing His Kingdom.

A recurring folly is that the weapons demonstrated at the shows become hypnotic. The shiny goodness of Gods weapons can sometimes awaken the lower nature which in turn generates a deification of the created and not the Creator. The deification or worship misplaced on these weapons is a corruption for which they were not displayed. The flesh arises in an attempt to usurp the glory meant for God and God alone which these weapons were designed to demonstrate. It is why so many churches have fallen; ministers have disappeared into obscurity cloaked in shame, why so many have fallen into the enemies hands after these shindigs. We must never let Gods weapons become a god unto themselves. We are not to place healing, miracles, love, the Bible, service, grace, etcetera above God.

These are nothing more than weapons, glorious gifts, tools designed to kill the enemies of God as we press forward into eternity. On the continual offensive for our awesome God we must not lose sight of who we serve and why. If you ever find yourself lost as to how to handle these weapons go to the Arms Dealer himself, Jesus. Jesus demonstrated the proper use of every weapon in the Gospels, He demonstrates every single day how to use these weapons, pay attention, focus. Additionally look to your family, in the Church there are many seasoned soldiers who have harnessed these glorious weapons, ask to see the scars they have from mishandling their weapons in their early days on the field. We have access to all we need to fight for the Kingdom but never lose site of who is to be worshiped.

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[1]NIV 3:1-6

Comments

[Eric H Janzen]

Thanks Ward for your candor.

After reading your article I was reminded of something I once said to a pastor friend of mine after a period in which I was hearing a lot of talk about 'coming revivals'. The talk was frustrating me, but I was not sure why, and then in a conversation I simply said "The Kingdom of Heaven is not a revival. It is always present and always in action."

Like many, I'm tired of waiting for 'the next big thing' or 'the next move of God' as though Jesus is somehow stuck in a mud pit trying to come up with a fancy new idea. On the contrary he has given us the keys to the kingdom and is wondering why so many of us are sitting in mud pits waiting for him to pull us out when he has already done so.

I am not anti-revival nor anti-God moves, but I don't think we are meant to spend the bulk of our spiritual lives ignoring what he has given us in the present: Love God and Love your neighbour...surely these two aspects of the kingdom don't require renewals/revivals every three to five years for us to put into action.

I'll stop there...
cheers,
Eric H Janzen

[Ward]

Thanks Brad for the feedback.

[Ward]

Thanks Adria for the recommendation.

[Adria]

Perhaps "God's Generals: Why They Succeeded and Why Some Failed" by Roberts Liardon would be a useful read in conjunction with this article.

[brad]

Hey Ward,

Thanks for this article. Three quick comments:

First, I have yet to hear such a clear explanation of how some of the revivals that start out as a genuine work of God can go sideways so badly. Your reference to the lure of "shiny" things really highlights how prone we are to a sort of spiritual autism... being mesmerized into other-worldly realms. Contrary to our greatest hopes, such cul-de-sacs are NOT always the "third heaven."

Second, this reminds me of the great "bronze serpent" healing revival of Moses' day (Numbers 21:6-9). It was doubt established by God, but the community was so wowed by the power inherent in that piece of metal that they ultimately named it (Nehushtan) and began to worship it. Hezekiah finally had to destroy it (2 Kings 18:4) It was meant to point to Christ himself (John 3:14-15), but like the dog who looks at the tip of his master's finger instead of where the finger is pointing, they became fixated and idolatrized the sign. I hear you describing this as a repeatable offense in Christian revival history.

Finally, lest the literalists and militarists miss the forest for the trees, I will point out that your call to use God's weapons to "kill God's enemies" is to be read in light of 2 Cor. 10:3-4 -- "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."

Ward, I commend you today for faithfully taking your stand on the front lines with the mighty weapons of prayer, mercy, service and a prophetic voice of justice.