The SWORD OF THE LORD Newspaper June 14th, 2019 | Page 3

June 14, 2019
SWORD OF THE LORD
“Big Beer Boom”
Is News but
Not Good News
DR. SHELTON SMITH
On the pages of this newspaper
and in hundreds of pulpits across
America I have stated firmly and
fervently that alcoholic beverages
should have no place with any of
us. Historically, that has been the
view of Bible-believing Christians.
The general population in
America and in most other nations
do not share our view on this.
Consequently, alcohol has become
a big business. It is a business that
results in devastation, defeat and
even death for many people.
The scourge that alcohol has
created in our nation is massive.
With millions of drunks and
problem drinkers, the social issues
as well as the medical costs are
astronomical. But the advocates
for the industry are very active in
the promotion of their various
alcoholic products.
In a recent biennial report jointly
commissioned by the National
Beer Wholesalers Association and
the Beer Institute, it was noted
that there are now more than
7,000 breweries in the United
States. Many of them, like the 153
in Tennessee, are small business
craft breweries.
They boast that “the beer
industry nationally had a $328.4
million economic impact in 2018
and generated a total of 2.19 million
jobs” (USA Today Network—Ten -
nessee).
No doubt that is putting the most
positive spin on the numbers that
they can, but one thing is clear:
Alcohol is flowing like a river at
flood stage all across the land.
When you consider the tens of
thousands of broken marriages,
abused kids, lost jobs, traffic deaths
and lots of other tragic scenarios
that are directly attributable to
alcohol, the positive spin is greatly
overshadowed by its negative
consequences.
While the liquor lobbies strut
their stuff with shameless, arrogant
pride, the Word of God has not
changed about it.
Remember this—
(1) “Wine is a mocker, strong
drink is raging: and whosoever is
deceived thereby is not wise.”—Prov.
20:1.
(3) “Who hath woe? who hath
sorrow? who hath contentions? who
hath babbling? who hath wounds
without cause? who hath redness of
eyes?
“ey that tarry long at the wine;
they that go to seek mixed wine.
“Look not thou upon the wine
when it is red, when it giveth his
colour in the cup, when it moveth
itself aright.
“At the last it biteth like a serpent,
and stingeth like an adder.
“ine eyes shall behold strange
women, and thine heart shall utter
perverse things.
“Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth
down in the midst of the sea, or as he
that lieth upon the top of a mast.
“ey have stricken me, shalt thou
say, and I was not sick; they have
beaten me, and I felt it not: when
shall I awake? I will seek it yet
again.”—Prov. 23:29–35.
(4) “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it
is not for kings to drink wine; nor for
princes strong drink.”—31:4.
(5) “But they also have erred
through wine, and through strong
drink are out of the way; the priest
and the prophet have erred through
strong drink, they are swallowed up
of wine, they are out of the way
through strong drink; they err in
vision, they stumble in judgment.”—
Isa. 28:7.
(2) “Woe unto them that rise up
(6) “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor
early in the morning, that they may
follow strong drink; that continue to drink wine, nor any thing whereby
until night, till wine inflame them!”— thy brother stumbleth, or is offended,
or is made weak.”—Rom. 14:21.
Isa. 5:11.
3
(7) “Woe unto him that giveth his
neighbour drink, that puttest thy
bottle to him, and makest him
drunken also, that thou mayest look
on their nakedness!”—Hab. 2:15.
Moving Day
Is Coming
Shortly before his death,
(8) “And be not drunk with wine, Dr. M. R. DeHaan took great
wherein is excess; but be filled with
comfort from a little tract
the Spirit.”—Eph. 5:18.
Here’s My Advice written by J. E. Campbell. It
With all of this in view, let me
offer some sound counsel about it.
To every dad and mom, let me
urge you to keep it out of your
house and out of your life. Indoctri -
nate your kids that it is bad stuff.
To every pastor, let me urge you
to tell the truth about alcohol, tell
it fully and tell it frequently. Let
your pulpit be a trumpet sounding
the alarm.
To every employer, keep your
workplace free of it.
To every public official, use
your influence and your vote to
curtail and impede the flow of the
poison in your jurisdiction.
Although it made the news
recently, the “Big Beer Boom” is not
good news for any of us. Furthe r -
more, it is not good news for
America. It is a sad commentary
on the lack of discernment in our
so-called enlightened culture.
I pray that you will heed the
warnings and take a stand against
the use of beverage alcohol. All
forms of it and any amount of it
should be totally off-limits. May
God give you conviction and
❚
courage to do what is right. spoke of death in this rather
unusual way:
“Moving day is coming. Just
when the van will stop at your
home we do not know—but
for everyone it is sure; and
for those along in years, it is
soon.
“As the day approaches,
we realize the necessity of
leaving our present abode and
occupying the new house ‘not
made with hands, eternal in
the heavens.’ Death for the
believer is a Home-going and
not a dreaded parting.
“The Owner of the house I
have occupied here on earth
has served notice that I must
soon move out. The foundation
is crumbling, the heating
system is failing, and the
windows are getting dim.”
Editor’s Notes
■ Continued from p 2■
to preach for Pastor Jason Myers
at the Victory Baptist Church.
Hanover sits just five minutes
above the Pennsylvania-Maryland
state line in the south central part
of the state. Gettysburg is just ten
miles to the west.
Brother Myers has served here
for the past 20 years and is leading
the church successfully in its growth
and development. With a choice
location (25 Breezewood Drive)
two to three minutes west of the
town center just off York Road
(Route 116), the church is accessible
and easy to find from anywhere in
York County.
In a town (population 20,000)
that is famous for making potato
chips and shoes, the Victory Baptist
Church is getting its own reputation
as a solid, soul-winning, funda -
mental church.
Over the years I have preached
for them a good number of times.
This time, as always, the people
were friendly, their fellowship was
warm and they were fully attentive
at preaching time.
If you live in or near Hanover,
let me recommend that you go
visit Pastor Myers and the Victory
Baptist Church sometime soon.
Memorial Day Weekend
Westminster, Maryland
Church of the Open Door
good, strong crowds starting with
the 8:30 a.m. service.
On Saturday the soul-winning
director, Ray Shutt, took a busload
of soul winners into Baltimore
city. In a few hours’ times they led
46 people to receive Christ as
Savior.
On Monday (Memorial Day),
Don Frazier took another group
of soul winners to Washington,
D.C. They set up a tent on the mall
right near the White House. When
the day was done, they had led
100 people that week to receive
the Savior.
In a church like this that has had
a soul-winning training program
for almost forty years, the fruit
that it produces is ongoing and
amazing.
With a pastoral staff of ten men,
the ministry of the church is focused
outward but also balanced with
full attention to the needs of the
church family.
At one of the services I quoted
Dr. Tom Wallace’s favorite statement
that “there is no other place
anywhere near this place like this
place, so this must be the place.”
If you have any doubts about it,
just ask Dr. Belcher or me. We will
tell you quickly and enthusiastically,
“Indeed, this is the place.”
He and I have done a lot of things
through the years as we have served
the Lord together. This day in May
was one of those times. Betty and
I enjoyed every minute of it.
If you are moving to the
Baltimore or Washington, D.C.,
area, you would be well advised
to locate here in Carroll County
so that you can have your family
in the Church of the Open Door
and your children in the church’s
Carroll Christian Schools.
We were blessed on this weekend
and we are rejoicing in the Lord
because of it.
Betty and I flew to Baltimore on
Friday before Memorial Day. Dr.
Norris Belcher invited me to preach
all three services on Sunday, May
26. It is always a special delight to
be back at the Church of the Open
Door where I was privileged to
serve as pastor for the 17 years
prior to coming to the Sword of
the Lord. Dr. Belcher has led the
church now for the past 23.5 years. November 8–9, 2019, the
Sword Men’s Conference
With its being a holiday, a good
number of people were away for
We are getting set for our
the weekend; but we still had Sword Men’s Conference which is
held here at Sword of the Lord
headquarters in Murfreesboro,
Tennessee.
Dr. Mike Allison, Dr. Jeff Fugate,
Dr. David Sumner and I will be the
main speakers and the workshop
leaders. Some very special door
prizes have been donated and will
be given away during the con -
ference. The preaching and teaching
sessions will be on target for men.
Pastors, church workers and
new converts alike will find good
things at the Sword Men’s Con -
ference.
You can register anytime now
to reserve your seat by calling our
customer service department
(800-247-9673).
If the truth be told, many of our
churches and many of our families
are failing miserably. The children
are entertained by programs, but
they are not converted and they
are not discipled. That is a tragedy
that should be addressed forth -
rightly.
Let me suggest that you order
Reaching Our Children in quantity
and give them away generously.
You may order at swordbooks.com
or by calling our customer service
department at 800-247-9673. Pricing
without shipping is 1–9 for 85¢
each, 10–74 for 68¢ each, 75–149
for 60¢ each and 150 and up 51¢
each.
New Spanish Book
New From the Sword Presses
Reaching Our Children
24 and up $4.77 each.
This and That
On the first Wednesday of June
the staff ladies at the Sword of the
Lord hosted and entertained Betty
at lunch in celebration of her
birthday. Her birthday is actually
June 14, but she and I are planning
to be in Michigan all that week.
On Thursday, June 6, we got
together with both of our children
and the grandchildren to have a
birthday party for her. We had
dinner and enjoyed a great time
together.
When we returned from Mary -
land, Marlon picked me up at the
Nashville airport and we made an
overnight trip to Lexington, Ken -
tucky. Dr. Fugate had arranged for
a private lunch with Senator Mitch
McConnell, the majority leader of
the U.S. Senate. He, some of his
staff and a half-dozen others of us
enjoyed lunch followed by a time
of conversation with the Senator.
I was pleased to be invited and
thankful for the opportunity to
have this interchange with him.
Your Missionary to the World
En El Altar Del Hogar
by Dr. Smith
Here is a new 30-page pamphlet
that should be in the hands of all
your church workers and all your
families with children. In fact, I
would encourage you to make them
available to everybody. It is filled
with detailed information that
will both instruct and encourage
about getting our children saved
and walking with the Lord. I’m
talking about practical help that
gets to the heart of the matter.
We have just published a book
for Dr. Hebert Rodriguez (Iglesia
Biblica Bautista, Hammond, Indiana)
entitled En El Altar Del Hogar (In
the Altar of the Home). It is a 64-
page paperback book. If you have
a Spanish congregation this will
be a real help to them.
You may order at swordbooks.
com or by calling our customer
service department at 800-247-
9673. Pricing without shipping is
1–5 for $7.95 each, 6–11 for $6.36
each, 12–23 for $5.57 each and
We are thankful for our labors
in the Lord’s vineyard. With the
circulation of the Sword of the
Lord, our publishing of books and
other materials, the conferences
and our soul-winning training, we
are “your missionary to the world.”
Thank you for being our friend
and serving alongside us in the
harvest fields of this world.
I appreciate your praying for us
and I am always glad to hear from
you. So keep the prayers going up
and do stay in touch.