Tape Talk
by Jamie Resset

TAPE REVIEW:

Our Spiritual Lineage

by Page Prewitt

 

I’ve noticed that in the last few years there appears to be more interest taken in tracing ones genealogy. No doubt a lot of this has been fueled by the advent of the Internet and its vast databases that are available to anyone. Modern technology has certainly made the search easier, but throughout time there have always been people interested in the history of their families, their cultures, their countries, and their religious heritage. History provides a sense of where one fits in the “big picture.” An understanding can be gained about the factors that contribute to how one came to be who he is. Obviously, much of who one is is determined by the choices that individual makes. But, there should be no discounting the impact—either positive or negative— that those who have gone before us have made.

 

On this tape, Page Prewitt provides a historical overview of some of the people and events that have had a huge impact on how Zerubbabel Ministries came to be, often times using excerpts from many of Norman Grubb’s books. She begins by telling of Hudson Taylor, an Englishman in the 1800’s who made a decision to do whatever God wanted him to do. God gave Taylor a vision to evangelize inland China during a time when it was basically closed to foreigners. Persevering in faith, Hudson was able to open up a mission and blaze a trail for others to continue evangelization.

 

One of these men was C.T. Studd, a cricket player well known throughout England. He along with 6 other Cambridge graduates followed Hudson to China. Later C.T. went to India but eventually was forced to return home because of illness. God then called C.T. to evangelize the heart of Africa. With no money and poor health, C.T. believed, in spite of impossible circumstances, that God would get him to Africa, and He did! C.T. founded the Heart of Africa Mission and was soon joined by others, including a young military officer named Norman Grubb.

 

Norman Grubb, along with his wife, Pauline, one of C.T.’s daughters, became an integral part of the mission. It was during a difficult time in Africa, that Norman learned what would be the cornerstone of his writings and Zerubbabel’s mission—that we do not receive love, patience, peace, etc., from God. We instead receive the person of God in the form of the Holy Spirit who is all of these things. We receive all in Christ at our rebirth and our old life has been put to death.

 

Page then tells of the dark times when almost everyone in the mission, with the exception of Norman and Pauline and a few others, wanted to remove C.T. from the ministry he founded. C.T. had caused controversy with his hard stand against sin and his use of morphine for his physical pain (it was illegal in the African country he was in).

 

In the midst of the controversy C.T. died, leaving Norman and Pauline with a fractured mission. Despite this fact, God told them to keep going. The mission now known as WEC (Worldwide Evangelization Crusade) learned from reading the story of Joshua crossing the Jordan, that if there is a need that only God can supply, He already has, provided they speak a word of faith for that supply. Norman wrote that this principle “they were to repeat in an endless succession of instances for an endless variety of needs.” In a matter of years, this little band of believers became a mission of thousands who went to all parts of the world, as they continued to apply this principle.

 

After Norman retired from the WEC, he settled in the U.S. and began traveling around visiting those who expressed interest in what he had been writing and teaching. He began to teach with much more clarity the Biblical truth that as Christians, the Spirit of Christ operates us and that previous to our born again experience, Satan operated us. Page tells of how conferences began to be held, so that Norman could teach many of them at once. At one of these conferences, Page spoke of her desire to have a fellowship that believed the Biblical principles that Norman taught. Norman spoke a word of faith for her and that word materialized into the fellowship and ministry known as Zerubbabel.

 

Page leaves what has transpired in the last 15 or so years to be talked about on another tape, but suffice it to say that the positive fruits born of these faith ancestors are still being enjoyed and built upon by us today. As I listened, it is clear how much our predecessors have meant to Page in her life of faith. Similarly, as I listen to her talk I am so grateful to her for the influence she has had in my faith life. I find much encouragement in the words on this tape, particularly as I think of a personal word of faith I have and think of others close to me who have their own words of faith. We rest on the fact that God already has the supply in hand.

 

Any Christian who listens to this spiritual “history lesson” will gain much from these men and women of faith. Give it a listen. You’ll be glad you did!

 

In addition to contributing to the Tape Talk column, Jamie is active in the Zerubbabel music ministry. He and his wife, Robyn, live and work in Boone, NC and are Zerubbabel Contacts.