The Camp Meeting
In Psalm 50:5, it says,
- Psalm 50:5 “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
Brothers and sisters, this message is not simply address to ancient Israel, but it’s an urgent call to those of us who are part of the remnant, living out the covenant by obedience, faith, and surrender. The word “gather” echoes prophetic scenes where God brings His people together for judgment, worship, or deliverance. The Lord is gathering His people to come into His presence with self-sacrifice and consecration.
God commanded Israel to keep a feast.
- Exodus 23:14 “Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.”
Thinking about this, they used to have holy convocations 3x a year before, they have the Passover, Pentecost, and the feast of Tabernacles. Why? To renew faith, to confess sins, to present offerings, to strengthen unity, and to hear the word of the Lord.
But we only have the camp meeting once a year, yet it is more needed now.
- “If the children of Israel needed the benefit of these holy convocations in their time, how much more do we need them in these last days of peril and conflict! And if the people of the world then needed the light which God had committed to His church, how much more do they need it now! { 6T 40.2}
- Romans 13:11-12 “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”
Camp meetings are an opportunity to wake up from spiritual sleep that might be keeping us from those eternal blessings, and to actively engage with God’s Word and Spirit. We must wear the armor of light and leave behind the works of darkness and really embrace the light of Christ fully in our lives.
Some may ask: Why are these gatherings so important? What’s the reason for us leaving our homes, our livelihood, our work, and all our comforts to assemble together? How can we live in the light?
- “In order to live in the light, you must come where the light shines. Brother K, at any sacrifice, should feel under solemn obligation to attend, with his family, at least the yearly gatherings of those who love the truth. It would strengthen him and them, and fit them for trial and duty.” { 4T 106.3}
Object, purpose and spiritual benefits of the Camp Meetings.
“What is the object of assembling together? Is it to inform God, to instruct Him by telling Him all we know in prayer? We meet together to edify one another by an interchange of thoughts and feelings, to gather strength, and light, and courage by becoming acquainted with one another’s hopes and aspirations; and by our earnest, heartfelt prayers, offered up in faith, we receive refreshment and vigor from the Source of our strength. These meetings should be most precious seasons and should be made interesting to all who have any relish for religious things.” { 2T 578.2}
- “The object of a camp meeting is to lead all to separate from business cares and burdens, and devote a few days exclusively to seeking the Lord. We should occupy the time in self-examination, close searching of heart, penitential confession of sins, and renewing our vows to the Most High.” { 2T 601.3}
- “And our camp meetings have another object, preparatory to this. They are to promote spiritual life among our own people… { 6T 32.2}
“God has committed to our hands a most sacred work, and we need to meet together to receive instruction, that we may be fitted to perform this work. We need to understand what part we shall individually be called upon to act in building up the cause of God in the earth, in vindicating God’s holy law, and in lifting up the Saviour as the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. We need to meet together and receive the divine touch, that we may understand our work in the home. Parents need to understand how they may send forth from the sanctuary of the home their sons and daughters so trained and educated that they will be fitted to shine as lights in the world. We need to understand in regard to the division of labor and how each part of the work is to be carried forward. Each one should understand the part he is to act, that there may be harmony of plan and of labor in the combined work of all. { 6T 32.3} - “Every camp meeting should be an object lesson of neatness, order, and good taste. We must give careful regard to economy, and must avoid display; but everything connected with the grounds should be neat and tidy. Taste and tact do much to attract. And in all our work we should present the discipline of organization and order.” { 6T 34.3}
I remember the camp meeting we had in the Philippines 2years ago when the owner of the camp site shared a bad experience she had with the SDA group that rented her property a week before us. She said we were exactly the opposite of them because we were clean and well-organized. She also said that our gathering was solemn and I praise the Lord for that wonderful experience proving that our influence really has a positive effect.
- “Many need instruction as to how they should appear in the assembly for worship on the Sabbath. They are not to enter the presence of God in the common clothing worn during the week. All should have a special Sabbath suit, to be worn when attending service in God’s house. While we should not conform to worldly fashions, we are not to be indifferent in regard to our outward appearance. We are to be neat and trim, though without adornment. The children of God should be pure within and without.” { 6T 355.2}
Last Camp Meeting too this year in the Philippines we are also thankful for the rebuke and reminders on this area of neatness, order and good taste especially in our clothing and the way we present ourselves during the sacred meeting that we must wear our best because we meet the Lord and visitors were there observing us.
We all know that the day of the Lord is coming soon since we can see before our eyes the fulfilment of the signs of the times. We need spiritual awakening now. We must realize that our salvation is drawing near, and each day is precious as we get ready for eternity. And we have a solemn obligation to attend to the camp meetings.
- Hebrews 10:22-25 ”24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
The Testimonies echoes this truth:
- “Never entertain the thought that you can be Christians and yet withdraw within yourselves. Each one is a part of the great web of humanity, and the nature and quality of your experience will be largely determined by the experiences of those with whom you associate.“ { 7T 190.3}
- “We sustain a loss when we neglect the privilege of associating together to strengthen and encourage one another in the service of God. The truths of His word lose their vividness and importance in our minds. Our hearts cease to be enlightened and aroused by their sanctifying influence, and we decline in spirituality.” SC 101.2
- “Let all who possibly can, attend these yearly gatherings. All should feel that God requires this of them. If they do not avail themselves of the privileges which He has provided that they may become strong in Him and in the power of His grace, they will grow weaker and weaker, and have less and less desire to consecrate all to God. Come, brethren and sisters, to these sacred convocation meetings, to find Jesus. He will come up to the feast. He will be present, and He will do for you that which you most need to have done.
Your farms should not be considered of greater value than the higher interests of the soul. All the treasures which you possess, be they ever so valuable, would not be rich enough to buy you peace and hope, which would be infinite gain, if it cost you all you have and the toils and sufferings of a lifetime. A strong, clear sense of eternal things, and a heart willing to yield all to Christ, are blessings of more value than all the riches and pleasures and glories of this world. { 2T 575.2}
These camp meetings are of importance. They cost something. The servants of God are wearing out their lives to help the people, while many of them appear as if they did not want help. For fear of losing a little of this world’s gain, some let these precious privileges come and go as though they were of but little importance. Let all who profess to believe the truth respect every privilege that God offers them to obtain clearer views of His truth, of His requirements, and of the necessary preparation for His coming. A calm, cheerful, obedient trust in God is what He requires.” { 2T 576.1}
You need not weary yourselves with busy anxieties and needless cares. Work on for the day, faithfully doing the work which God’s providence assigns you, and He will have a care for you. Jesus will deepen and widen your blessings. You must make efforts if you have salvation at last. Come to these meetings prepared to work. Leave your home cares, and come to find Jesus, and He will be found of you. Come with your offerings as God has blessed you. Show your gratitude to your Creator, the Giver of all your benefits, by a freewill offering. Let none who are able come empty-handed. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” { 2T 576.2}
- “It is important that the members of our churches should attend our camp meetings. The enemies of truth are many; and because our numbers are few, we should present as strong a front as possible. Individually you need the benefits of the meeting, and God calls upon you to number one in the ranks of truth. { 6T 38.3}
“Some will say: “It is expensive to travel, and it would be better for us to save the money and give it for the advancement of the work where it is so much needed.” Do not reason in this way; God calls upon you to take your place among the rank and file of His people. Strengthen the meeting all you possibly can by being present with your families. Put forth extra exertion to attend the gathering of God’s people. { 6T 39.1}
“Brethren and sisters, it would be far better for you to let your business suffer than to neglect the opportunity of hearing the message God has for you. Make no excuse that will keep you from gaining every spiritual advantage possible. You need every ray of light. You need to become qualified to give a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. You cannot afford to lose one such privilege.” { 6T 39.2}
- “It is important that the members of our churches should attend our camp meetings. The enemies of truth are many; and because our numbers are few, we should present as strong a front as possible. Individually you need the benefits of the meeting, and God calls upon you to number one in the ranks of truth. { 6T 38.3} “Some will say: “It is expensive to travel, and it would be better for us to save the money and give it for the advancement of the work where it is so much needed.” Do not reason in this way; God calls upon you to take your place among the rank and file of His people. Strengthen the meeting all you possibly can by being present with your families. Put forth extra exertion to attend the gathering of God’s people. { 6T 39.1} “Brethren and sisters, it would be far better for you to let your business suffer than to neglect the opportunity of hearing the message God has for you. Make no excuse that will keep you from gaining every spiritual advantage possible. You need every ray of light. You need to become qualified to give a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. You cannot afford to lose one such privilege.” { 6T 39.2}
There are plenty of excuses out there: “I am too busy,” “It is too far,” “I cannot afford it.” “I will just stay home.” But can we afford to miss Heaven’s blessing? To neglect the camp meeting is to neglect a divine opportunity. To stay home is to risk spiritual dryness. So, if we neglect the camp meeting, how shall we expect to stand in the time of trouble? If we cannot leave our homes and worldly cares for a few days to meet with God’s people, how shall we leave all when the decree goes forth that no man might buy or sell except, he or she has the mark of the beast?
Now is the time to learn self-denial, to make sacrifices, and to prize spiritual things above temporal convenience.
Let nothing keep you away! When God’s people gather in unity, in prayer, in consecration, the devil trembles. He knows that during these holy convocations, sinners are converted, the church is revived, and God’s people advance in strength.
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“This is a time for everyone to come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. The forces of the enemy are strengthening, and as a people we are misrepresented. We desire the people to become acquainted with our doctrines and work. We want them to know what we are, and what we believe. We must find our way to their hearts. Let the army of the Lord be on the ground to represent the work and cause of God. Do not plead an excuse. The Lord has need of you. He does not do His work without the co-operation of the human agent.
Go to the camp meeting, even though you have to make a sacrifice to do so. Go with a will to work. And make every effort to induce your friends to go, not in your place, but to go with you, to stand on the Lord’s side and obey His commandments. Help those who are interested to attend, if necessary providing them with food and lodging. Angels who are commissioned to minister to those who are heirs of salvation will accompany you. God will do great things for His people. He will bless every effort to honor His cause and advance His work.” { 6T 40.3}
Brothers and sisters, God is calling you to participate in these holy convocations. By God’s grace, make a sacrifice for spiritual blessings in exchange for business and comfort. We, as a church must represents God’s cause in the defense of truth. Our attendance strengthens our witness to the world. And God will honor everyone one who takes part faithfully and promises a divine reward to those who seek Him.
- “It has been shown me that our camp meetings are to increase in interest and success. As we approach nearer the end, I have seen that in these meetings there will be less preaching and more Bible study. There will be little groups all over the ground with their Bibles in their hands, and different ones leading out in a free, conversational study of the Scriptures.” { 6T 87.4}
This is what we expect at the camp meeting. Everybody has their Bible and study together. We will have also Question and Answers so that we will all be firm and grounded with the truth to equip us up to defend the faith, especially when time comes we will not be allowed to speak the truth.
- “In Revelation, the messages that are to be given to the world are plainly stated. When the Lord's servants fail, as they will, to gain admission to the churches, they are to reach the people by holding camp meetings and by distributing our literature. The truth for this time is to shine forth in clear, steady rays.” Letter 177, 1900, p. 3-6 (1MR 234)
Preparation is so important before the camp meeting so that we will receive the blessings it brings us.
The Testimonies emphasizes:
- "The same work of humiliation and heart-searching should also go on in the church, so that all differences and alienations among brethren may be laid aside before appearing before the Lord at these annual gatherings. Set about this work in earnest, and rest not until it is accomplished; for if you come up to the meeting with your doubts, your murmurings, your disputings, you bring evil angels into the camp and carry darkness wherever you go." (5T 165.1)
Attending alone is not enough. We must come in the right spirit, laying aside doubts, murmurings, envy and bitterness. Before we come, we must take a moment to reflect on ourselves. Let’s set aside our business cares. Are there unresolved conflicts in our family and with our brethren? Doubts or murmuring that may hinder your blessing at the camp meeting? God calls us to prepare, to seek Him earnestly, and to come with hearts ready to receive His Spirit.
In these last days, God has provided a sacred, appointed opportunity for His people to strengthen, renew, and revive our spiritual lives — and one of them is the camp meeting.
- “The convocations of the church, as in camp meetings, the assemblies of the home church, and all occasions where there is personal labor for souls, are God’s appointed opportunities for giving the early and the latter rain.” RH March 2, 1897, par 6
These gatherings are not merely social events like a vacation or fun activities or amusements. These are divine appointments, ordained by God, meant to refresh our soul, bring His church together as one, and prepare us for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which is the latter rain.
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“But let none think that in attending these gatherings, their duty is done. A mere attendance upon all the meetings that are held will not in itself bring a blessing to the soul. It is not an immutable law that all who attend general gatherings or local meetings shall receive large supplies from heaven. The circumstances may seem to be favorable for a rich outpouring of the showers of grace. But God Himself must command the rain to fall. Therefore we should not be remiss in supplication.
We are not to trust to the ordinary working of providence. We must pray that God will unseal the fountain of the water of life. And we must ourselves receive of the living water. Let us, with contrite hearts, pray most earnestly that now, in the time of the latter rain, the showers of grace may fall upon us. At every meeting we attend our prayers should ascend, that at this very time God will impart warmth and moisture to our souls.
As we seek God for the Holy Spirit, it will work in us meekness, humbleness of mind, a conscious dependence upon God for the perfecting latter rain. If we pray for the blessing in faith, we shall receive it as God has promised. RH March 2, 1897, par 7
Camp meetings are God’s appointed channels for the early and latter rain. But the rain does not fall automatically—it must be prayed for earnestly, received with contrite hearts, and welcomed by humble spirits. We must pray that God will unseal the fountain of the water of life”
The early rain at Pentecost gave the disciples power to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. The perfecting latter rain will ripen the harvest of the earth, preparing the church for the final crisis and the second coming.
We are also warned that the spiritual success of these gatherings is not dependent solely on ministers. Yes, ministers facilitate, but each member must seek the blessing themselves.
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“None of us should go to the camp meeting depending on the ministers or the Bible workers to make the meeting a blessing to us. God does not want His people to hang their weight on the minister. He does not want them to be weakened by depending on human beings for help. They are not to lean, like helpless children, upon someone else as a prop. As a steward of the grace of God, every church member should feel personal responsibility to have life and root in himself.
Each one should feel that in a measure the success of the meeting depends upon him. Do not say: “I am not responsible. I shall have nothing to do in this meeting.” If you feel thus, you are giving Satan opportunity to work through you. He will crowd your mind with his thoughts, giving you something to do in his lines. Instead of gathering with Christ, you will scatter abroad.” { 6T 41.2}
Every church member is called to come prepared — to participate, to pray, to seek God earnestly, and to cooperate with the angels in the great work of spiritual revival.
We all depend on the Holy Spirit for the success of the Camp Meeting.
- “The success of the meeting depends on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. For the outpouring of the Spirit every lover of the cause of truth should pray. And as far as lies in our power, we are to remove every hindrance to His working. The Spirit can never be poured out while variance and bitterness toward one another are cherished by the members of the church. Envy, jealousy, evil surmising, and evilspeaking are of Satan, and they effectually bar the way against the Holy Spirit’s working. Nothing else in this world is so dear to God as His church. Nothing is guarded by Him with such jealous care. Nothing so offends God as an act that injures the influence of those who are doing His service. He will call to account all who aid Satan in his work of criticizing and discouraging.” { 6T 42.1}
But each one of us has spiritual responsibility for the camp meeting. Each must contribute to making it interesting. We must avoid murmuring, jealousy, and criticism because these block the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes when all these sins are put away, and when we gather in unity and faith.
And how will the Holy Spirit be poured out to us? Will we see the tongue of fires above our heads, as the disciples did during Pentecost? Keep in mind that one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is oil. And oil is conveyed through the messages of the Spirit.
- Oil Conveyed Through Messages —[Zechariah 4:1-3, 11-14 quoted.] By the holy beings surrounding His throne, the Lord keeps up a constant communication with the inhabitants of the earth. The golden oil represents the grace with which God keeps the lamps of believers supplied. Were it not that this holy oil is poured from heaven in the messages of God’s Spirit, the agencies of evil would have entire control over men. God is dishonored when we do not receive the communications that He sends us. Thus we refuse the golden oil which He would pour into our souls to be communicated to those in darkness.” RH, February 3, 1903, par. 5, 6
We receive the golden oil of truth through God’s messages. Let God’s grace flow through messages to others.
- “To neglect or treat these messages with indifference is to slight the mercy of God and His voice of warning and entreaty. Your absence from these meetings has been very detrimental to your spiritual welfare. You have missed the strength that you might have gained there by listening to the preached word of God, and mingling with the believers of the truth.” 4T 115.1
Indifference is a grievous crime before God that need to be repented.
In these last days, as the Sunday law crisis approaches and the sealing work is in progress, Satan trembles when we the remnant of her seed assemble in unity. That’s why he invents many excuses to keep us from these meetings lest we be revived and prepared for the sealing and the latter rain. Camp meetings are more than earthly gatherings. They are a rehearsal for the eternal assembly of the redeemed. If we are faithfully seeking God here on earth, we are also preparing for the heavenly camp meeting, the Bible called it the marriage supper of the Lamb, where Christ will present His church spotless and glorified.
And do you want to glorify the Father? Of course we are. And there is one place where can we glorify him?
- “Herein is My Father glorified,” Christ says, “that ye bear much fruit.” John 15:8. If there was ever a place where the believers should bear much fruit, it is at our camp meetings. At these meetings our acts, our words, our spirit, are marked, and our influence is as far-reaching as eternity. { 6T 42.3}
QUESTION:
- “These yearly gatherings may be seasons of special blessing or they may be a great injury to spirituality. Which shall they be to you, dear reader? It remains for each to decide for himself.” { 5T 167.2}
Each one of us must choose whether the gathering will be a blessing or a curse. We must choose wisely — to attend in humility, with hearts prepared to receive God’s blessing, and to participate actively in His work.
I hope and pray that you are blessed! Amen.
