Artist bio

Sarah Buckland is a dedicated Christian youth with a passion for reaching others for Christ. Her varied interests span both the sciences and the arts. As an environmental researcher and award-winning poet and photographer in various National level competitions, Sarah hopes to hone her talents to reach more with the saving message of the Gospel.

Title

War Cry

Medium/Genre

Other

Artist Statement

“War Cry” is a spoken-word drama performance which embodies messages of the Spiritual War as depicted in Ephesians 6:10-20. Lyrical content, choice of setting and performance diction were all used to evoke the urgency of the reality of the Biblical spiritual war.

How it fits into contest

“War Cry” is a spoken-word drama performance which embodies messages of the Spiritual War as depicted in Ephesians 6:10-20. Lyrical content, choice of setting and performance diction were all used to evoke the urgency of the reality of the Biblical spiritual war.

The performance commences with a prayer by a young lady who is weary of the evil she sees around her and is begging the Lord for strength. In response to this action of faith, she briefly encounters an angelic visit, with the appearance of a set of armour, symbolizing all pieces of the Spiritual armour as described in Ephesians 6. The angelic voice greets her with the encouragement of the opening words of Ephesians 6:10: “Be strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might” and gives her the charge of going to wake up the saints by sounding the War Cry. This was then followed by a shofar, reflecting the traditional instrument used to alert the Israelites for war in the Old Testament.

The core of the piece is then the performance of an original poetic “War Cry”, which expressively describes the fall of humanity from God’s grace and the deceptions to which many in the world are blind. This poetic description alludes early to the first fall as described in Genesis 3, when the earth edition of the Spiritual warfare began (“Setting up himself high, man has fallen into a curse”). The return to dust was visually depicted, with the fall of dirt from the poet’s hands during the performance. Many further allusions were made to this inheritance of the sin-nature of pride and deception in today’s society, Including the spiritual disarmament in many public schools which persecute those who pray and read the Bible. The performance ends with a call for all to join the War Cry, knowing that God’s return is near. After this plea and warning, the act concluded with a resounding thunder and lightning. This was reminiscent of the description that Jesus gave of His Second Coming :Just as the lightning goes from the east to the west…” (Matthew 24:27), when finally the War will end in God’s Victory over death and Satan. The passage from Ephesians 6:12 is also displayed in the conclusion of the performance, reminding the audience that this war is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers.

Elements of the performance setting and backdrop effects were also factored into the message of Spiritual warfare. The performance was done with the backdrop of a wall with smooth stones. These may be thought of as symbolic of the simple weapons that God has used for His purpose to defeat His enemies, such as those used by David to defeat Goliath who defied the Living God (1 Samuel 17). Video effects of turmoil (smoke, lightning, fire) were also added to evoke the ‘war scene’ aura of evil opposition in portions of the performance (in lieu of projector screen displays in stage performances). During this portrayal, an oval-shaped mask surrounds the performer, which may represent a shield from these external terrors. The performer also wore a traditional Jewish prayer shawl to aid with the aesthetic of war in prayer.
It is hoped that this performance will awake the Warrior Spirit in all who seek to follow God. May we be discerning and reach out in love to fight against the spirits of deception. May we not be luke-warm in our service but serve God with all our might. Amen.

Credits

Inspirer: Jesus Christ (Eph. 6:10-20)
Scene Director and Choreographer: Sarah Buckland
Script Writer: Sarah Buckland
Performer: Sarah Buckland
Videographers: Sonia Buckland and Joseph Buckland
Costume and prop designer: Sarah Buckland
Editor: Sarah Buckland
All sound and video effects were included under the Creative Commons Licence (No attribution required).
Special acknowledgement from the following sites:
“Smoke”, “Hurricane”, “Prison”, “Storm”, “Thunderstorm”, “Sunset” Backdrop scenes from Pixabay.com
“Shofar” from Orangefreesounds
“Counter attack” rhythm from Melodyloops.com
To God be all the glory!

Transcript / Lyrics

Opening Scene
: “Oh God! There is so much evil going on in the world! How much more can Your people take? Please Give us the strength, O God! Give us the strength to go through and do all that you want us to do!”

Angelic voice: “Be strong in the LORD and in the Power of His Might! Rest assured my child, I have given you everything you need for this battle. Persevere in prayer. I want you to take these with you. Go out there. Be My ambassador and sound the War Cry to wake up the saints. Stay alert and never give up!

Poem recital: War Cry

Listen! Hear the war cry!
It is echoing through the earth.
One time lurking in the shadows,
Now, darkness has taken the turf.
Remorseful: Indifference
Has now met its fate
The monster has invaded
Could now be too late?

Listen! Hear the war cry!
It fills the universe
Setting up himself high
Man has fallen into a curse.
But eyes dimmed by darkness
Cannot stand the light of day
So they brand with fiery darts
Anyone showing they are going astray

Listen! Hear the war cry!
Our souls are under siege!
Apocalyptic explosions -
Yet many cannot even see.
Spirits stealthily seek
To slaughter their unwatchful souls,
They think they are free;
But are under Satan’s control.
Outflanked by the enemy,
Consciences stifled by the stench of sin
Casually going – ‘Yes, all is well’
While accelerating
Full-speed towards the pit of hell.
Eternal casualties
But warned many times from the start
Nailed the One who came to save them:
Deception has ambushed their hearts

Listen! Hear the war cry!
Disarmament at its depths.
Trying to silence God’s Spirit:
Yet paving their own deaths.
They seized our Swords from public places
Outlawed prayer from schools
Now a teacher cannot freely express his faith
Because it’s against the rules.
Truth has disappeared
Gone in this ‘post-modern’ age
“ ‘Indoctrination’ we cannot allow”
Imprisoned to share Christ’s hopeful message
Yet to secularism we must bow?
Justice has been perverted.
Wrongs are now seen as ‘rights’.
Being ‘lawless’, ‘sick’ and ‘wicked’ are now compliments
But you are punished for shining God’s light.
The world is rapidly ending
Look what we have come to now!
A soldier trying to show righteous example
Is criticized as acting ‘holier than thou’.

Come! Join the war cry!
This is full blown war.
If we sit by passively
Justice won’t be restored.
Many soldiers have fallen
Others try to ignore the war
But if you know the Lord Jesus
This is what you are living for!
Reach out for those in captivity
From bondage, let those who will, be free.
Take back what Satan has plundered
God will have the victory!
If you don’t fight in God’s army
You are really scattering abroad.
People may hate you
But you will receive your reward.
Though the battle is raging high,
We must stand strong and persevere.
Be on the winning side
As we know that Christ’s coming is near.

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