Welcome, Holy Spirit!

By Helen Jesze, 15th May 2016

“But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth,”

Acts 1, 8 The Amplified Bible

Acts 2, 1 -­ 4

Harriet Fisher sang the words as she had done so many times in the little church: “Take my life and let it be, Consecrated, Lord, to thee...”, but that day she was overwhelmed with what he had done for her, and she sank to her knees in a new dedication to her Lord. Suddenly, she was speaking sounds and words in a strange language! Confused and bewildered, she had no idea what was happening. From that day, she was filled with a new boldness, and began to pray out loud in the service, and to preach in the open air, both things that were forbidden for women to do in the church she went to! They were to be seen but not heard! But no matter how much the church people complained about it, something new had happened to Harriet!

Healed by the Spirit

Miss Fisher came from a Close Brethren family, and had five older brothers and sisters, all who were born with a crippling disease. During her last pregnancy, her mother had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and she cried to God to give her one healthy child! In the night she was given a dream where a voice told her not to fear, and that the child would be born well! Harriet was born in perfect health.

When Evangelist George Jeffreys came to Birmingham to hold six weeks of meetings, Miss Fisher went along and there she met people who also spoke in ‘strange languages’ when they prayed. They showed her from the Bible that this was a sign that Jesus had baptised her in the Holy Spirit, and that this was called “speaking in tongues”. There were 10,000 new converts, others were healed from sicknesses through the power of Jesus in the meetings and several new churches were established. A mega baptismal service was held where 1,000 people were baptised in water, and the whole of Birmingham was stirred through the power of God.

A God­-ordained partnership

During the campaign, Miss Fisher met Miss Olive Reeve, one of the new converts, and it was prophesied that they would work for the Lord together. They began by preaching the Gospel in the local women’s prison. Several women were saved and delivered from evil spirits. These two untrained on fire for God women felt God was calling them to India, so they bought a piece of land there, and started to prepare to go as missionaries. The start of the Second World War put a stop to this, as the ships were filled with soldiers. While they waited, Miss Fisher and Miss Reeve started a Sunday School for the slum children in their area.

Mums and Grandmas came too and were getting saved, so they started regular services. Often having to move from one rented room to another, they realised they needed a building of their own. Like Nehemiah who viewed the broken walls of Jerusalem, they and a small band of prayer­ warriors went one night and looked at the ruins of a bombed­ out church, claiming it for their congregation. Through much sacrifice and hard work, they bought and rebuilt it. Miss Fisher led the project with a small band of men, as most were still at the war. The builder told her they needed a “joist”. She did not like to say she had no idea what that was, so she prayed. God showed her a joist in a dream. She went and bought an old one at a builder’s yard, and dragged it home through the Birmingham rush ­hour traffic!

The Sunday ­School children built the brick wall round the church and the newspapers ran reports and photos of all these enthusiastic and unorthodox happenings; then Hockley Pentecostal Church was officially opened with great rejoicing! The church continued to grow and God moved mightily in their midst. They later joined the Assemblies of God movement.

The Spirit made the difference

It was in 1963 that I came to work in Birmingham and started to go to Hockley church. Although I had come from a Pentecostal church, here I saw and heard many things that had not been in my home church. There was great emphasis put on prayer, believing and obeying the Bible and also great freedom given to the Holy Spirit to move in the meetings. The Gifts of the Spirit were in manifestation; adults and children were saved, healed and baptised in the Spirit almost weekly. I had never been part of such wonderful ‘singing in the Spirit’, never seen such praise and worship, clapping, and dancing to the Lord, never heard so many prophecies, each giving a new side of the theme, like a bouquet of flowers, each truth like a flower giving its own colour and fresh beauty to the whole.

When cars were stolen while the people were in church, through a Word of Knowledge, God would show where they had been taken! When somebody would try to steal money from people’s pockets and things from the cloakroom, God would show this to Miss Fisher. She would march down the aisle, often speaking aloud in tongues and the thieves would run in terror! There were six Sunday Schools (600 children in all), one being entirely made up of children from India. They never got to India, but India came to them!

Saturday night was “Revival night at Hockley”, where many visitors would come, sometimes whole busloads from Wales or other parts. I remember a large group of students came from Kenley Bible College (now Mattersey Hall AOG ) to be prayed for. God worked powerfully and set many free in different areas of their lives. Academical training was important, but here they received a fresh divine touch of the Holy Spirit, which would launch them into new vision, ability and fruitfulness.

At Hockley, God touched me too, in so many ways, and taught me lessons which were to shape and enrich my life and ministry. Every weekend there was a different minister or missionary from around the world, to bring the Word. I was active in playing the piano, working in the open ­air, door-­door visitation, singing in the choir and loved every minute. After almost three years there, George and I met when he came, a young pastor from Switzerland, to interpret for a Bulgarian pastor, Haralan Popov. We were married there one year later by Evangelist Henry Shave.

Welcome, Holy Spirit!

I learned to honour and appreciate the Holy Spirit in an entirely new way in this unusual church. This is Pentecost weekend, when we remember how the Father sent the Holy Spirit to Earth. Jesus had told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for this “Promise of the Father”, and after waiting and praying for ten days, when they were together and became “in one accord” – that means of one heart and mind, not divided with hearts full of criticism against their Brother or Sister – a great noise like a violent wind filled the house. They were all filled with this divine power and began to speak in tongues – languages they had not learned – and tongues of fire appeared over their heads. This infilling of the Spirit gave them a great boldness to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.

Still it flows

Born again at the age of nine, I received this infilling or baptism in the Holy Spirit at fourteen, which opened a new dimension in my life. This experience is for every born­ again Believer in Jesus Christ, who is open to receive. Some Christians think they must wait until they have reached some very holy state. My mother­-in-­law, Emma, prayed for forty years before she received this baptism! We have met many who thought God must get ready to baptise them, when all the time he was more than ready! We are the ones who must put our denominational thoughts aside which might be hindering, and open our hearts to receive.

Have you been born again? If so, you have been “born of the Spirit” and he came to live in your human spirit, but Jesus wants to fill you with his Spirit to empower your own life and service – two different experiences for every Child of God. For all of us who have had this experience, it is also important to ask ourselves: Am I filled today?! Do I still speak in tongues? Am I learning new things in my life in the Spirit? Are the fruits growing and the gifts of the Spirit flowing through me? Or is my ‘well’ dammed up; no longer a fountain of fresh springing water, but a muddy decreasing stream with stones and debris of doubt, care, worldly wisdom blocking the flow.

*​For more teaching on the Holy Spirit and how he works, see these DevotionalsJust4U devotionals:

• Come, Holy Spirit, Come! (Part 1)
• Come, Holy Spirit, Come! (Part 2)
• Come, Holy Spirit, Come! (Part 3)