New York Conference Report
by Gail Bedell

The Zerubbabel New York Fellowship Weekend took place at the Joe and Sherryl Laffin home in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 7-9. This event, an annual tradition, brought folks from North Carolina, Mississippi, and Massachusetts to the rolling hills and late autumn colors of upstate New York. On Friday evening the tradition continued as Chris Anderson treated us to his culinary talents for a late dinner followed by informal sharing. We enjoyed catching each other up on news since Summer Camp about families, jobs, and moving. The focus of the evening shifted when it became apparent that unbelief was hindering one of the conference-goers. The body rushed to her aid with keen perceptions and insight to help her through it.

Saturday morning, Joe Laffin eloquently introduced a video of Norman Grubb–reviewing his life and accomplishments and the unique message he brought to the Church. It was clear to all that Joe’s passion stemmed from the impact of Norman’s teaching on his life, personally. In this video, made shortly after Norman was recovering from a heart attack, he mentions having immersed himself in the book of Romans and being struck anew by the impact of the Cross and how radical it is. In sharing the message of Christ in us and as us, he emphasizes that our revelation of the truth by the spirit must be backed up by the scriptures. Then it becomes real to us. From his unique perspective, Norman reminds us that the Bible is about "the Holy Spirit getting people to be people."
He traces God’s purpose in bringing mankind to Himself-from being sin-expressers to being Christ expressers. It was a joy to see the zeal of Norman, in his late eighties, sharing the truth God had revealed to him.

Saturday afternoon we gathered for a teaching session by Page Prewitt. Page began with the question, "What is important?" The answer is that there is another reality–a spirit dimension. Usually we get stuck in the third dimension, the world that we can see, hear, touch, taste. The problem is that we think it is reality instead of merely a manifestation of the fourth dimension–God.

Every born-again person is a fourth dimension person. Because of who we are, God’s zeal is our zeal and we enter into His warfare to set captives free-those still trapped in Satan’s world and robbed. Battle with Satan is costly. Like Isaiah, we are called to stand in the gap. We "rejoice in [our] sufferings…and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ" (Col. 1:24).

To answer a question on prayer from a newcomer, Page discussed the word of faith and how it differs from traditional prayer. Prayer is not begging God for something, as though He is afar off, but God awakening us, by means of our own desires, to a need for which He has already made provision. He desires that we become the agents of redemptive faith. Because of who we are, we can trust that our desires are God’s desires, as long as they do not contradict scripture: "And all things, whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matt. 21:22). We see a need, speak out our desire, and continue to affirm and thank God for what He has done. In Norman’s words, "We practice the habit of seeing the thing as done with the eye of faith."

Page illustrated this principle through a moving testimony about her word of faith for her son, Tommy, in his efforts to become a surgeon. Listening to her, we could see how God honored the "holy boldness" with which she stepped out on His promises. She urged others to take hold of this truth in their own lives.

It was our privilege Sunday morning to witness the new birth of a longtime friend of Joe Laffin’s, who made the decision to ask Jesus Christ into his heart. What a joy to be able to welcome our new brother into God’s family! His motivation to accept Christ was his inability to be the kind of person he knew he should be. Page encouraged him by pointing out the similarity between his struggle and Paul’s struggle in Romans 7. Then she began some foundational teaching on what a person is and how we operate in union with Christ after salvation. What a wonderful celebration as we saw the fulfillment of God’s purpose for all mankind in a single individual!