Radical Transformation: A Jewish Man Receives the Holy Spirit
One Sunday morning in December of 1941, the son of a rabbi was visiting San Diego from New York. The young Jewish man had nothing to do on Sunday since most businesses were closed. So he got up, got dressed, and took a walk.
He was standing near a corner when the First Assembly of God Sunday School bus stopped and some people including children got on the bus. He got on the same bus to see where it would take them. The bus took them to the church on 6th and Fir streets. So he went in the church with the other people and attended the morning service.
During the service, a little lady stood up and spoke in tongues (in a language unknown to her). It was perfect Hebrew. After the service, the Jewish man went up to the pastor and said he wanted to meet the little Hebrew lady who stood up during the service and addressed the congregation. Pastor E. E. Fullerton said, “We don’t have a Hebrew lady here.” The Jewish man said, “Yes, the lady that stood up and addressed the people during the service.” Pastor Fullerton said, “Oh, that was by the Holy Spirit—a gift— that she spoke.”
Pastor Fullerton introduced the Jewish man to the lady who had spoken in tongues. The Jewish man talked to her in Hebrew. She did not understand a word he said. So the pastor explained how what had happened was similar to the events on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. It was an act of God and a moving of the Holy Spirit. The Jewish man gave his heart to God and accepted Christ into his life right then.
Wednesday night he was back in church, and after receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit as confirmed by speaking in tongues, he told the congregation he was going back to New York and tell his people about Jesus Christ.
Verna M. Linzey, D.D., is an Assembly of God minister who was impacted by those who were at the Azusa Street Revival. She preached at the Azusa Street Mission site and the Bonnie Brae Street house in December 2012 where revival broke out under her ministry.
