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.