The Camp Meeting
Joe and Alfred had been busy men before the meeting at Myers’, but now they were doubly busy, trying to arrange their work that they might be away from home and attend the campmeeting. To do so someone must be found who would care for the stock on the place while they were away. Much as Joe desired to go, he would always ask God in his daily devotion, “If it be thy will, Lord, open the way that I may go.” The way was opened and in such manner that Joe and Alfred both felt free to attend the meeting without care or worry about the work at home.
Susie’s brother John decided to take unto himself a wife, and as they had not fully decided where they would locate it was an easy matter to persuade them to care for things on the farm while the Holmier and the Giese families attended the campmeeting in Michigan.
As this was before the day of the automobile, or rapid and easy transportation, some thought and arrangement for travel must be made. The men thought of a way they might all go and with less expense than if they should make the trip on the train. Joe had a light farm wagon, and they decided to travel in it, like the Western pioneers had crossed the plains. Accordingly bows were placed on the wagon-bed and over them was drawn a tarpaulin and the schooner was in readiness for the trip. Much preparation was made by the women also, for they must see that the children were made as comfortable as possible for the trip, and arrangements must be made that they might take their daily nap, and provision made to satisfy the appetite of hungry children. Bedding was placed in the rear of the wagon, and this made a nice place for the children to ride, as well as a comfortable bed for them when they took their naps. They packed lunch also, sufficient for one day, deciding to cook their meals by an old-fashioned campfire along the route. As it would take them about four days to make the trip, they would have to camp at night, and provision must be made for this also. It was decided that the women and children occupy the wagon for the night, and Joe and Alfred would spread some horse blankets on the ground under the wagon and sleep there. After all arrangements had been made and plans completed, one June morning, bright and early, the loaded schooner rolled out of the Holmier barn lot and the two families were on their way to the camp meeting.
The first day was ideal for traveling, and, as the team was fresh, and there was no need of stopping to prepare a meal, they got well on their way, and at nightfall found they had traveled forty miles. They camped beside a little stream, had supper, and then put four sleepy children to bed. After reading a portion of Scripture, and having prayer, the adults retired for the night also, the women lying beside the babies in the wagon and the men rolling up in their blankets on the ground underneath. All were soon sound asleep, to be awakened when the first streaks of morning light tinged the eastern sky, and the birds began caroling their morning praise to their Maker.
After a hasty breakfast from the fragments of the lunch of the day before they were again on their way. Noon found them by a small stream. The women prepared their meal, cooking it on the open campfire. The sun had been riding in a clear sky, but in mid-afternoon clouds could be seen arising over the western horizon and the rumble of distant thunder told them that a storm was approaching. It was soon upon them and traveling was impossible. Driving into a schoolyard, they took shelter by the side of the school-building, thereby breaking the force of the wind, but the rain fell in torrents and the wagon cover could not keep out the dampness. In preparing the bed in the rear of the wagon, so the children might take their nap through the day, the women would place all the bedding in the wagon and then cover them all with the horse blankets, thereby protecting their quilts and pillows from the dust and dirt of the road and also from the trampling of the children’s feet. After the rain had subsided the bedding which was used in the wagon for the women and children was found to be dry but the horse blankets which the men used to sleep on under the wagon were too wet to use that night; so the men sat up in the wagon, as there was not enough room for them to lie down, and in this position took what little sleep they could.
The remainder of the trip was made without any inconvenience, and on the afternoon of the fourth day they drove onto the campground. They found they had not been alone in their mode of travel, for a number of others there had also traveled by wagon. How strange everything was to them, and no one was there whom they knew. It was not long, however, until the evangelist located them and they were meeting other ministers; and soon the strangeness began to wear off, for they saw a friendliness among these people such as they had never seen among any class of people before. The fellowship and brotherly love manifested among them was felt by all.
Joe and Alfred had always joined in singing wherever they had been in meetings heretofore, but as they assembled together in the tabernacle for services the first evening they could only sit and listen. Such singing they had never heard. They gazed in astonishment as the singers lifted their voices in praise with a shine of victory and glory on their faces. But much as they enjoyed the singing they became lost to their surroundings as they listened to the expounding of the gospel in the evening service. Many times they were moved to tears as they listened to the word of God delivered under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
As they left the tabernacle that evening Joe slipped his arm through Alfred’s and said, “Did you ever hear anything like that in your life?”
To which Alfred replied, “No, I don’t believe I ever did, and somehow I feel that God has directed us to this place.”
“I believe He has, too,” replied Joe, “and if I get no more in the entire meeting I feel repaid already for all the trouble I have had in getting ready to come, and for the trip here, even to the night I had to sit up in the wagon. Surely God is in this place, and I am sure He wants to get something to our hearts.”
Susie and Tillie were so worn out with the trip and the care of the children they decided not to attend services the first night, but to rest, that they might be able to attend next day. So they remained in their tents that evening while the men attended, and when they returned with such an account of the meeting, both decided to miss no more meetings unless entirely unavoidable.
The meeting progressed, and such truths as sanctification, unity, and healing were set forth in such clearness, and yet with such force that all must acknowledge them as Bible facts. Not only was healing preached, but many who were sick came, and as prayer was offered for them, healing came and they were made well. These four searchers for truth looked on in amazement as they saw the blind eyes opened in answer to prayer, and those who had to be led about by the hand of someone else go about seeing. They saw the deaf ears unstopped and those who could not hear rejoiced to know they could hear the slightest sound, even to a whispered word. Ankle-braces and crutches were discarded and their users walked freely without them; wheelchairs were vacated, and those who had not walked for years received strength in their weak limbs and leaped and shouted praises to God. Although Joe had prayed for a number of sick folks and had seen them healed, he did not know it was a Bible doctrine, but as he saw the sick healed, the lame made to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear, he rejoiced as never before to know his God was “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hewbrews 13:8)
Although Joe recognized the truths of God, and knew he was among the people of God, he could not tolerate the public altar. He was seeking God with all his heart for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and trying to get to the place where his vessel was entirely emptied, that the Holy Spirit could come in, but as he would pray, the question of the public altar would come before him, and often he would cry out, “Fill me, Lord, in the same way that you spoke peace to my soul. You did this in the privacy of my own room; now fill me the same way.” But the filling did not come. One night, as the invitation was given for those to come forward who desired the Holy Spirit, the first one to go was Alfred, and he was soon followed by Tillie. Both poured out their hearts to God, and soon arose with the glory of God in their souls, for they had obtained that for which they had long been searching. In the privacy of their tent that night Alfred approached Joe on the subject of his soul’s need, and Joe opened up his heart to Alfred, telling him he could never go to a public altar, as he did not believe that was the way God meant to get things to His children, stating also that God had saved him when alone, and he felt that was the proper way to come to God for any need of the soul.
In telling Alfred this he felt he would be relieved, but the reply was such as to burden him more, for Alfred said, “That may all be true, but you must remember God dealt with you then because he knew the tradition under which you were brought up and the teachings of former years, and it would have been a difficult thing to have got you to a public altar then, but you now are to walk in light as it comes to you, and remember, if you ever get anything from God it will come God’s way. As for me, I was so hungry for the things of God and felt such a need of something more in my soul that I was willing to bow in the pigpen among the swine, if that was the place the Lord wanted me to that He might fill me. Joe, when you get to that place also, you will find the thing for which your soul is longing.”
Alfred did not know how his words were striking home, but they sank deep in Joe’s soul. Joe had always spoken so boldly against the public altar that now to humble himself and consent to go to an altar of prayer for some need of his soul was more than he could think of. But there was no sleep for Joe that night. Rising early before any others in the tents were stirring he went to a secret place, there to commune with his God and again ask Him for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. As Joe knelt before the Lord he again petitioned Him, as he had often done before, to grant unto him His Holy Spirit. As he did so on this particular morning a vision arose before him, and he saw the altar rail of the tabernacle rise before him as a mountain. There were no words of prayer that he could form. He knelt there for some time sobbing like a child. He knew what he would have to do to get the desire of his heart, and as he knelt there, self died, and he cried out to God, “Oh, Lord, if that is what you require of me, I shall bow at that altar this very day.” He arose with that settled peace in his soul that only those know who have crucified self and humbly submitted to the will of God. That day he bowed at the altar, and as he cried out to God, “Now, Lord, I have completely surrendered; fill me with the Holy Spirit,” the fire of God touched his soul and he arose and shouted the praises of God. He did not care who heard nor who saw, for God had granted unto him the thing for which his soul had been longing for some weeks. As his shouting subsided he looked about him for Susie, but found she had gone to her tent, in which place he found her, she wearing a very puzzled expression on her face. It did not take long for him to explain everything to her, but it did not erase the troubled look from her countenance. She, too, was thinking deeply.
That afternoon the four of them listened to a message on “Water Baptism, the Mode, the Purpose, and Conditions.” No one was stronger in his belief of water baptism than Joe. And he had boasted many times of his baptism and many times had mentioned the fact to Alfred, although the two of them could not agree for Alfred had not received the kind of baptism Joe had received. But as the evangelist that afternoon led them step by step into the truths of God concerning this ordinance, many glances were exchanged between them. The first thought was on the ordinance of baptism, and the minister handled the subject well, opening to the minds of those who heard the truth that it was an ordinance of God entered into by the Son of God, practiced by the apostles, and bearing the approval of God. The mode was next dealt with; and such conciseness as to convince any unbiased mind. He read Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” None could think other than of a burial where the body was completely put out of sight, as the speaker advanced with his message.
Next he spoke of the purpose of baptism and read Acts 2:37-39: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.”
“Here,” said the speaker, “is the real purpose of baptism set forth. Many have conceived the idea that as the text says ‘for the remission of sins,’ one cannot truly be changed unless he has been baptized, but such is not the case, for water baptism never actually cleansed a man from his sins and never will. We read in 1 Peter 1:18-19, ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.’ We must conclude from this text that water cannot actually cleanse the soul, for we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and that is the only thing that can reach the soul of man. There is no strength in water to erase the stains of sin, and God did not mean the ordinance of baptism for that purpose. ‘For the remission of sin,’ does not mean that they might be actually remitted, but figuratively remitted. Baptized ‘for the remission of sins,’ not that through the act of baptism the soul-stains are erased, for through the blood of Jesus they were already remitted. In the act of baptism you testify to the world by this outward act, which is a figurative remission of sins, that there has been a work wrought within the heart, and you are buried in a watery grave to rise and walk in newness of life with the Lord.
“We read in 1 Peter 3:21 another purpose of baptism: “not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.” If we want a clear conscience before the Lord we must do the things he commands of us, and one of the commands is to be baptized.
“And now to the conditions for baptism. I refer you again to the sermon of Peter on the day of Pentecost where they asked him what they must do and he said, ‘Repent.’ So one who desires baptism must be an individual who has repented of his sins. And he must be a believer also. In Mark 16:15-16, we have the words of the Master as He sent His disciples into the world and gave them the last commission before he ascended into heaven, ‘And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.’ We see here that baptism is for the believer, the one who has been made new in Christ. Many have gone to the water’s edge, and have even been buried in the water, who have never received real baptism, for it is not a real baptism unless the candidate for baptism has really been born again and made a new creature by obtaining the remission of sins, which comes only through the application of the blood of Jesus Christ to the soul.”
Many other rich truths were brought out in the speaker’s message, but those mentioned were the ones which struck a vital spot in the heart of both Joe and Alfred, for each saw where he had come short of real Christian baptism. Joe saw he had not been born again when this rite was administered to him and Alfred could not be satisfied to think of a few drops of water which had been sprinkled on his head as sufficing for a burial with Christ. As there was to be a baptismal service that afternoon on the campground, among those presenting themselves for baptism were Joe, Susie, Alfred, and Tillie. As Susie came up out of the water the Holy Ghost came upon her and she cried out, “He sanctifies me, He sanctifies me.” It was a precious baptismal service never to be forgotten by any who were present.
The next afternoon Joe was surprised to see Alfred step onto the platform with Bible in hand as the speaker for the afternoon. He had often heard him speak to the audience at Steele’s Crossing, but this afternoon he heard him really expound the Scriptures. In his message he mentioned how God had been leading him for the past few months, and as Joe knew the many times that God had directed both of them, his joy knew no bounds as he heard Alfred relate those instances so precious to him to that large assembly of people. At the close of this service Alfred and Joe fell into each other’s arms and wept like children. They were approached by the evangelist, who said, “I believe you two men are enjoying this campmeeting better than anyone else here.”
Joe replied, “God knows the sacrifice we had to make and the hardships we endured to get here, and it is only the pay we are receiving from Him.”
The meeting closed and preparations were made for the return home, but with a promise from the evangelist to give them a meeting as soon as possible. The return home was made without any incident of note, but Steele’s Crossing was to be stirred as never before because of those in her midst who had attended the campmeeting in Michigan.