May 13 , 2022
Editor ’ s Notes
■ Continued from p 2■
Baptist Church in Cadillac , Michi - gan .
Even though it was mid-April , this is northern Michigan . It snowed most of the day on Monday and again for a brief time on Tuesday . The ground was white but the roads stayed clear . The folks here are accustomed to winter , so a little snow is no big deal to them .
Both nights the folks turned out strongly . We also had a good num - ber of visitors from the region , including about 15 pastors .
Dr . Godsey had prepared well and everything was ready to roll at church time . Dr . John Hamblin preached all day Sunday and then we preached together Monday and Tuesday nights .
With seven salvation decisions on Sunday , Brother Godsey bap - tized one on Monday night and had others lined up for the weekend .
The city of Cadillac ( population 10,300 ) sits right on the banks of beautiful Lake Cadillac . The church is on the west side on West Watergate Road ( Route 55 ).
Since Brother Godsey came in 2010 , the church has relocated and grown significantly . He is a funda - mentalist in full measure and takes a solid stand . He is also involved in working with local officials and using his influence for good in the region .
You ’ ll like Faith Baptist Church of Cadillac and I recommend that you go for a visit soon if you are in the area .
Brother Godsey has already scheduled us for next year and we look forward to being there again , April 9 – 11 , 2023 .
Mesquite , Texas , Parkside Baptist Church Baptist Leadership Conference
Just east of downtown Dallas you ’ ll find the city of Mesquite ( population 151,000 ). Of course it is surrounded by cities such as Garland , Forney , Balch Springs and others which put many hundreds of thousands of people within easy driving distance of Parkside Baptist Church .
Dr . Mike Wells and his people are still rebuilding after the pandemic , but they are aggressive in their efforts . Currently they are averag - ing 650 per Sunday , but they had over 800 on Easter Sunday . With almost 200 people out soul winning on Saturdays , you can understand why the church is alive with excite - ment and growing every week .
The Baptist Leadership Confer - ence is also growing . Pastors were in attendance from Ohio , Florida and a number of other states . Since I was in Michigan early in the week , I was in Mesquite for just the last two days of the conference . I taught daytime sessions Wednesday and Thursday after noons on soul win - ning and preached in the closing service on Thursday night .
Dr . Wells and the Parkside Baptist Church have something very special in Mesquite . If you live anywhere near there , I encour - age you to go for a visit and check them out .
National Sword Conference , July 18 – 21 , Gospel Light Baptist Church , Walkertown , North Carolina
With the National Sword Con - ference only weeks away now , we are getting excited and so are a lot of other people that I ’ m hearing from .
We are excited to be back in North Carolina at Gospel Light
Baptist Church . The Sword Confer - ence crowd loves Gospel Light Baptist Church and Gospel Light loves the Sword Conference crowd . That ’ s a great combination any - where , anytime .
We are excited to have seventeen main speakers . These men are preachers , good men , who are being blessed of the Lord in their labors . They are Matt Morrison ( Gospel Light Baptist Church , North Carolina ); Mike Allison ( Madi - son Baptist Church , Alabama ); Jim Townsley ( Central Baptist Church , Connecticut ); Jerry Ross ( Blessed Hope Baptist Church , Indiana ); Kevin Wynne ( Mount Zion Baptist Church , Mexico ); Jeff Fugate ( Clays Mill Baptist Church , Kentucky ); Joe Arthur ( Harvest Baptist Tabernacle , Georgia ); John Hamblin ( Michigan ); Lou Rossi ( Granite Baptist Church , Maryland ); Dennis Leatherman ( Mt . Lake Independent Baptist Church , Maryland ); George Alquist ( Grace of Calvary Baptist Church , Pennsylvania ); Norris Belcher ( Church of the Open Door , Mary - land ); Dan Carr Sr . ( Faith Baptist Church , Mississippi ); Mike Wells ( Parkside Baptist Church , Texas ); Jayson Godsey ( Faith Baptist Church , Michigan ); Richard Harper ( North Carolina ) and myself .
We are also excited to have the following special music personnel . They are Sterling Walsh , the Barnes Family , Chuck Harding , the Lawson Family , Lonnie Moore , Sounds of Faith and the Smith Family .
Pastor Matt Morrison and his good people at Gospel Light Baptist Church will roll out the red carpet of welcome and the fellowship will be something really special too .
There is no advance registration and there are no fees to attend . Every seat is a free seat , first come , first served .
You can check the Sword of the Lord website for hotel and motel information or see the ad on pages 12 and 13 .
Starting , Staying and Finishing
As is often said , “ It is one thing to start something ; it is something quite different to stick with it and finish it .”
Let me suggest what I believe will help us all to finish what we start and finish well .
1 . Stay true ! Truth is precious . It is a nonnegotiable commodity . The Bible says , “ Buy the truth , and sell it not ” ( Prov . 23:23 ).
2 . Stay close to the Lord ! Read your Bible , pray , go to church ( often ). Start your day and end your day — every day — with some time with the Lord .
3 . Stay on duty ! All of us can serve the Lord in some capacity . We can do what is our duty to do .
4 . Stay clean ! Don ’ t run close to the edge . Listen to the Lord ’ s instruction ( commands , rules , etc .) and live by them .
5 . Stay alert ! We are welladvised to be wary of the Devil ’ s schemes ( II Cor . 2:11 ). He will send people your way with a deliberate intent to sidetrack you and subvert your energies .
6 . Stay encouraged ! When dis - couragement enters your mind , push it away . Remember , you are saved , you are a child of God and your heavenly Father will see you through the valley .
7 . Stay happy ! If you will allow the Spirit of God to work in your life , He will produce “ the fruit of the Spirit ”( Gal . 5:22,23 ) in you . That means you will have joy within that can express itself happily in your countenance and in your behavior .
I ’ m convinced if you will stay where you ought to stay , that will enable you to start and finish well .
As with the great preacher , may our testimony be “ I have fought a good fight , I have finished my course , I have kept the faith ” ( II Tim . 4:7 ).
Amen ! Let ’ s stay at it ! Amen !
This and That
Right at the end of March we celebrated the staff birthdays for the first quarter of 2022 . There are nine of them . We had a baked potato lunch which we enjoyed very much . The Lord has given us a good team of dedicated workers . These get-togethers are always special times for us .
With my rather intense travel schedule in April , the Lord has blessed in every service in every place . I ’ m thankful for every time I get to stand in front of people with a microphone and a Bible . What a privilege it is that a human being , such as we all are , could be an ambassador for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords . I have been doing it for a long time , but I ’ m still amazed . Amen !
May will be a month with just one preaching trip . So with almost a full month at home and in the office , I hope to get a lot done — writing , the broadcast , catching up on things and continuing to make ready for the National Sword Conference .
When April 27th rolled around , many of you remembered that was my 27th anniversary at the Sword . I appreciate very much all the expressions of love and support that were done on social media , by phone and in the mail . I ’ m thankful for your friendship and your sup port . As we labor to - gether we are seeing good results each and every day . Thank you for your friendship which means much to me .
• • •
SWORD OF THE LORD 3
Open Now ; Shut Then !
In the silent midnight watches , List ! Thy bosom door !
How it knocketh — knocketh — knocketh —
Knocketh evermore ! Say not ’ tis thy pulse is beating :
’ Tis thy heart of sin ; ’ Tis thy Saviour knocks and crieth ,
“ Rise and let Me in .” Death comes on with reckless footsteps To the hall and hut ; Think you Death will tarry knocking Where the door is shut ?
Jesus waiteth — waiteth — waiteth , But the door is fast ;
Grieved , away thy Saviour goeth ; Death breaks in at last .
Then ’ tis time to stand entreating Christ to let thee in ;
At the gate of Heaven beating , Waiting for thy sin .
Nay , alas ! Thou guilty creature : Hast thou then forgot ?
Jesus waited long to know thee ; Now He knows thee not .
Thank you for praying for the work here and for all of our team of workers . We need the blessing of the Lord in all that we do .
God bless you all . Do stay in touch .
Oregon Ditches Residency Requirement for Terminally Ill Patients Seeking to Kill Themselves
The Associated Press reported that Oregon will stop requiring terminally ill people to be state residents in order to obtain deadly medication to end their own lives . A lawsuit targeted the residency requirement , according to the outlet , which reported that a settlement was filed in which the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Medical Board consented to cease enforcing the requirement and to ask the state legislature to nix the requirement from the law .…
… National Right to Life spokesperson Laura Echevarria has warned that in the absence of a residency requirement the state could turn into America ’ s “ assisted suicide tourism capital .”
According to an official state website , “ The Death with Dignity Act ( DWDA ) is a permissive law that allows terminally ill Oregonians to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of a lethal dose of medication , expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose .”
— theblaze . com
EDITOR ’ S COMMENTS : There are people who want to dispose of the elderly , the sick and the disabled as quickly as possible . When a person ’ s “ quality of life ” diminishes , obviously the cost of his care ( medical expenses , etc .) goes up . The radical liberal mindset figures out ways to end those lives ( they say ) “ with dignity .” It is evil and it is tragic !
Administration Invents “ Securities and Environment Commission ” to Force Climate Agenda on U . S Businesses
The Securities and Exchange Commission — a government agency established in the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash to protect investors and maintain fair markets — may soon become a key player in imposing President Biden ’ s climate agenda .
In a three-to-one vote [ March 2022 ], unelected Democratic bureaucrats who serve as the agency ’ s commissioners voted without authorization from Congress to impose sweeping new rules that require all publicly traded companies to disclose how their business affects “ climate change .”
According to a press release issued by the SEC , the proposed rules would require businesses to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions along with any and all information relevant to “ climate-related risks that are reasonably likely to have a material impact on their business , results of operations , or financial condition .”
In a lengthy statement of dissent , the SEC ’ s lone Republican commissioner , Hester Peirce , quipped that with the move , the agency essentially re-invented itself as the “ Securities and Environment Commission ” without any say from the American people .
Peirce emphatically argued that the new rules will hamstring businesses with unnecessary and burdensome regulations that will ultimately harm investors and the economy .… The SEC has no authority to enact such rules , seeing as Congress never gave the agency such broad power .
— theblaze . com
Indonesian Christian Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Posting Videos Critical of Islam
An Indonesian Christian YouTuber has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for posting a video that purportedly offended people across the Muslim-majority country .
… Kace , a former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity in 2014 and had been uploading videos to YouTube criticizing his former faith , was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Ciamis District Court in West Java .
— Anugrah Kumas , christianpost . com
Muslims Spray Acid on Family for Accepting Jesus
Radical Muslims in eastern Uganda sprayed acid on their family members during an argument over their conversion from Islam to Christianity and … told [ them ], “ You deserve death .” The family survived but remain in the hospital where they ’ re being treated for burns .
Reports surfaced … that Muslim relatives had sprayed acid on three new converts … to punish them for putting their faith in Christ , according to Morning Star News . One of the victims … said they converted to Christianity when a pastor visited their home and shared the Gospel on February 17 .
— Anugrah Kumar , christianpost . com
Muslim Woman Poisons Husband ’ s Food for Converting to Christianity
A Muslim woman in eastern Uganda added poison to the food of her husband , a former Islamic teacher who converted to Christianity … after noticing him praying in the name of Christ , according to a report .
Hiire Sadiki , 56 , who put his faith in Christ on March 27 , is recovering in a hospital in Butaleja District , Morning Star News reproted .
Sadiki … was poisoned on April 2 , as he had declined to observe the Islamic rituals of Ramadan and his wife noticed him praying in the name of Christ .
— Anugrah Kumar , christianpost . com