September 18, 2020
“This is the LORD’S doing; it is
marvellous in our eyes.”—Ps. 118:23.
The psalmist knew how sacred
and supernatural it is when God
steps into special situations or a
service somewhere. It is interesting
how, in God’s inspired and pre -
served Word, His attribute “for he
is good” (vss. 1, 29) is sandwiched
around what His children’s attitude
ought to be.
“It is marvellous in our eyes.”
Never let it slip from your heart.
When we sense those special sea -
sons of Heaven’s visitation, may
we be the first to say, “This is
something that only Heaven could
set into significant motion!”
Without question this very thing
happened the second week of
July 2020 in the shadow of our
nation’s capital at the Frederick
Baptist Church in Frederick, Mary -
land. What was on the calendar to
be a four-day meeting turned into
an old-fashioned, protracted, eightday
meeting with the fingerprints
of Omnipotence all over it.
As preachers and people, we
must always yield priority when
God interrupts and intersects our
personal plans. As soon as the
pastor, Dr. John Seay, and I could
sense in a real way that the “goal
line” of the meeting needed to be
extended—with one hundred
percent support of the church—
we did so.
There were three significant
things about this meeting under
the “canvas cathedral.”
1. The Topography
In the Shadow of the
Nation’s Capital
A significant thing that stands
Editor’s Notes
■ Continued from p 2■
ference. I have been greatly
encouraged.” (Renee S.)
“We thank you for this Con -
ference online so we could enjoy
it this year.” (Bill and Shirldine M.,
West Virginia)
“Thanks, Sword of the Lord, for
putting this Conference on Face -
book.” (Mark L.)
“Thanks, Dr. Smith! Long live
the Sword!” (Ray K.)
“Big thanks for giving us the
privilege to join in this great
fellowship and Conference.” (Pastor
Edgar Alulod, Covenant Baptist
Church, West Sydney, Australia)
“Thank you, Pastor Smith. This
week was wonderful!” (Shirley P.,
Maryland)
“What a blessing! Thank you
from Dawsonville, Georgia.” (Frank
W.)
“What a year to make this
available! America needed this.
Hope to see you next year.” (Sandy
and Mike D.)
“Thanks so much for making
this live.” (Jamie P.)
“Great Conference! Thank you.”
(Arturo L.)
“Thank for this Conference.
Thank you, Sword of the Lord
ministries.” (Sonny G.)
“My wife, Linda, and I thank you
for this Soul-Winning Conference
in spite of the plague. Thank the
Lord for inspiration, orientation
and revival this week. May souls
be saved and confess Christ even
by sending a message. As I dedi -
cated my life to soul winning at
the Sword Soul-Winning Confer -
ence after Dr. Rice preached and
Evangelist John N. Hamblin
out about this protracted tent
meeting was the topography (the
lay of the land). Frederick is a city
of 72,000 in western Maryland. It
is forty-eight miles from Baltimore;
twenty-one miles from the entrance
of Camp David, the famous presi -
dential retreat; and forty-eight
miles from Washington, D.C.; thus,
the tent was truly in the shadow
of our nation’s capital.
This municipality is rich in its
Civil War history. Buried at the
Mount Olivet Cemetery is Francis
Scott Key, the writer of our
beloved national anthem “The
Star-Spangled Banner.”
But there’s another topographical
feature of this city with such
beautiful mountainous views and
that’s its spiritual landscape. Within
these city’s limits on every street
can be found lost people (Luke
15:4), deceitful people (Jer. 17:9),
spiritually blind people (II Cor.
4:4), idolatrous people (Acts 17:16)
and even sin-sick people (Mark
2:17).
You may be thinking, That sounds
like the city or town where I am a
pastor! And you, preacher, are 100
percent correct! While preaching
with Dr. Shelton Smith, editor of
the Sword of the Lord, I heard him
say one night in Baytown, Texas,
“Preacher, you might as well stop
looking for an easy place. They
have been all taken, so just do
something great for God where
you’re at!”
Since there isn’t a shovelful of
ground that hasn’t been touched
or tainted by sin, preacher or
personal soul winner, let’s just
remember what the lovely Lord
gave an invitation, I rededicate
my life to win more.” (Thomas
Gilmer, Brazil)
“Thank you for having the faith
to have this Conference live
streaming.” (Thomas A. Family,
Maynardville, Tennessee)
“What a blessing we have
received this week. The music and
the sermons have been outstanding.
We have been charged, challenged
and encouraged to pick up God’s
mantle and serve Him with re -
newed hope and faith in Jesus
Christ. Looking forward to next
year at Gospel Light unless the
rapture happens first. Every year
is the best year at the Sword of
the Lord Conference. It doesn’t
get better than this. Thank you,
Lord, for the Sword of the Lord and
Dr. Shelton Smith! Hallelujah!”
(David and Ruth E.)
“My cat and I sat and enjoyed
the entire Conference! I sincerely
hope we can be at Gospel Light
again next year.” (Louis E., Jr.)
“It was an awesome experience
for me. I set the alarm on my phone
for all three times each day.” (Debra
W.)
“Had wanted to attend the Sword
of the Lord Conference since I
heard of it several years ago. Thank
you for live streaming the Confer -
ence so we could enjoy the
services.” (Janey A.)
“It was such a blessing to be able
to attend via livestream. Thank
you so much for everything you
do. God bless.” (John Q. A.)
“Thank you, Sword of the Lord.”
(Arv N.)
“I watched every night. It was
great.” (June Q.)
“We have been blessed.” (Lou
O.)
SWORD OF THE LORD 3
Jesus Christ said: “Let your light so
shine before men, that they may
see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in heaven”
(Matt. 5:16) and be a bright light
in a dark location!
2. The Testimonies
A significant thing that stands
out about this protracted tent
meeting was the testimonies. From
start to stop in this rare type of
special services, God certainly did
a considerable work.
With $2,000 needed for the
extended rental on the tent, lights
and fans, in less than twenty
minutes $7,500 was pledged with
over $10,000 coming in at the
close of the meeting!
There were impromptu altar calls,
even before the preaching. A young
man surrendered to preach. Men
made decisions to be better hus -
bands, fathers and Christians. We
had a full tent every service in spite
of temperatures above ninety
degrees.
Three boys were saved one night
and all came back the next night.
Pastor Seay asked one of them
how he was doing the following
night and he smiled and shouted,
“Saved!” Thousands watched the
service on social media platforms
and on the internet.
Exactly one week after the tent
came down a young preacher
called me and said, “I had only
read about this type of meeting in
old books about spiritual awaken -
ings. I always wanted to be a part
of one and I could be by way of
the internet. God worked not just
on your side of the camera but as
my wife and I watched, on our side
of the camera in our home and in
our hearts as well!”
Only eternity will tell the whole
story of all that transpired, not just
under the tent, but also on the
“Just wanted to let you know
we are watching every minute of
the Conference online from Oxford,
Mississippi.” (Ron and Judy R.)
My New Pamphlet, Selecting
Our Nation’s Leadership
(See Ad on Page 15)
On November 3 the American
people will go to the polls. This is
a presidential election year. All
435 members of the House of
Representatives are also on the
ballot and 35 of the U.S. Senators
will be up for election.
This is serious business to which
we need to give our full attention.
With that in view, I have written
this 22-page pamphlet entitled
Selecting Our Nation’s Leadership.
It lays out the issues of our time
and makes the case for Christians
to go to the polls and vote.
Pastors, I hope you will give out
hundreds of them to your church
folks. Get enough that they can
give them to their family and
friends. Scatter them all over your
town.
Please call customer service
(800-247-9673) to place your
order.
Sword Men’s Conference
Hey, guys—don’t miss this! Plan
to be with us November 13–14
right here at the international
headquarters of the Sword of the
Lord in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The Sword Men’s Conference is
a very special event. I know you
are going to like it a lot (see ad on
page 24).
Praying for Our Churches
Across the country some of our
churches have had cases of
COVID-19. In several instances the
Approaching November 3
An Appeal for Prayer
pastor and his family have gotten
it. Some have been very sick;
others had moderate cases. I do
know of a few deaths too,
including two pastors.
The constant press coverage has
created a sense of panic that has
affected all of us. Most churches
are still operating with greatly
reduced attendance.
In such times some people will
turn their eyes Heavenward. We
need to be at church, have our
doors open and be running full
throttle with the Lord’s business.
So let’s pray for our pastors and
the people of God. Let’s pray for
our churches. Let’s pray for revival.
Let’s pray for souls to be saved.
Let’s pray for people to serve the
Lord. Let’s pray for our country
and for our leaders. Yes, let’s do
pray fervently and frequently.
A Postscript
As you pray each day, please
pray for us. We are thankful for
the privilege to serve the Lord each
day and for all the opportunities
that come our way.
When you stand with us, we are
strengthened in our resolve to
tackle every opportunity that we
possibly can.
Thank you and God bless you.
Do stay in touch.
Dr. Shelton Smith
Yes, November 3 is a big day, a very special day in the
United States of America. It is a day that will determine
the direction of our country for the years ahead.
It is Election Day. We will elect a president and a lot of
others in government.
Whoever is elected president will determine the
makeup of the judiciary over the coming years. Whether
those judges are liberal or conservative is vitally important
to all of us.
So many things that affect your daily life will be
determined by who makes decisions for you at the White
House, the U.S. Capitol, the state capitol, the judge’s
bench and at city hall.
So I’m asking you. Join with me during October. Let’s
pray daily for what we need for our nation, its people, our
churches, our schools, our families.
Please set a time for daily prayer. Fifteen minutes? thirty
minutes? an hour? Please do something. Amen!
Let’s impact November 3 with our October prayers and
then with our vote on Election Day.
❚
other side of the world because
of the tent meeting in Maryland.
3. The Takeaways
The takeaways (lessons) that
linger from 5305 Mount Zion Road
where a “canvas cathedral” was
prominently placed during a coro -
navirus pandemic are the following:
Red-hot Bible preaching still
works (II Tim. 4:2)!
Hymns still work (Matt. 26:30)!
Revival-friendly special music
still works (Eph. 5:19)!
Confrontational soul winning
still works (Prov. 11:30)!
Altar calls still work (Rev. 22:17)!
Pointed praying still works (Matt.
7:7, 8)!
Biblical worship still works (John
4:24)!
Sacrificial giving still works (Luke
6:38)!
Separation, personal and ecclesi -
astical, still works (Amos 3:3)!
“Old-time” religion still works
(Jer. 6:16)!
Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., was right when
he said, “Old-time religion works,
if you will just work it!” While the
summer of 2020 will be remem -
bered for riots, political upheaval
and even economic calamity, up
in Heaven it will go down as the
season that God stepped under a
tent with much blessing in the
shadow of the nation’s capital!
So, child of God, may the old
gospel tent remind us in these
times that truth does not have an
expiration date. What God smiled
on in the past, He will smile on in
the present and even in a pan -
demic!
❚
October 25–27
(Sunday–Tuesday)
Ramsay Hills Baptist Church
13300 Joe Batt Road
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Dale Greenwell, pastor
228-392-1752