"Welcome Friend. As you go through life's journey you can discover the Lord Jesus at every stage and in every experience, if you will allow Him. 1 Corinthians 2:9 states: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.' Come and let me introduce you to Him..." - This is the essence of Harald Bredesen, our Pastor and mentor for 6 years in the early 1970's. This is also Harald's heart's desire for you.
Here on this site you can access messages from Harald. Content is being added regularly so please revisit. - M. Stone, Victoria, BC Canada
What is the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit?"
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is evidenced in the Christian's experience by nine "gifts", listed in the the Bible under the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 4-11. The gifts are apportioned by the Holy Spirit, as He intends (verse 11). The Greek word translated as "gifts" is XAPISMATA which is pronounced "Charismata" - hence the term "Charismatic Renewal". When a non-believer accepts Jesus Christ as personal Saviour by faith, then also by faith these nine gifts are also available. One of these gifts is the ability to speak in other languages or tongues, as prompted by the Holy Spirit. Speaking in "tongues" is the only gift that is for the sole purpose of worshiping and praying to God.The New Living Translation of the Bible in 1 Corinthians 14:22 says this:
"So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers."
Harald Bredesen recounted the first time he had spoken in tongues. "He headed for the Allegheny Mountains, ensconced himself in a mountain cabin and there began to pray around the clock. He made up his mind to stay in that cabin until he reached a new level of communication with God. Day after day he kept up his prayer vigil. At last one morning while he was standing outside the cabin praying aloud, a stillness seemed to settle over the hills. Every fiber of Bredesen's body tensed, as if his whole being were entering into a new plane of awareness. He stopped speaking for a moment. And when he began again, out of his mouth came, and here are his words as I [John Sherrill] wrote them down that day: '...the most beautiful outpouring of vowels and consonants and also some strange, guttural syllables. I could not recognize any of it. It was as though I was listening to a foreign language, except that it was coming out of my own mouth.' Amazed, curious, and a bit frightened, Bredesen ran down the mountain, still talking aloud in this tongue. He came to the edge of a small community. On the stoop of a cabin sat an old man. Bredesen continued to speak in the tongue which was coming so easily and naturally from his lips. The man answered, talking rapidly in a language which Bredesen did not know. When it became obvious that they were not communicating, the old man spoke in English, 'How can you speak Polish but not understand it' the man asked? 'I was speaking in Polish?' The man laughed, thinking that Bredesen was joking. 'Of course it was Polish,' he said. But Bredesen wasn't joking. As far as he could recall he had never before heard the language."
"Bredesen told me of a second experience, this one in a lobby of a New York hotel. Bredesen was attending a breakfast meeting, and had left his hat on a chair outside the dining room. When time came to leave, he found the chair occupied not by his hat, but by a pretty lady. At the time, Bredesen was a bachelor and his male instincts prompted him to extend the conversation beyond a formal excuse-me-have-you-seen-my-hat? The girl noted the clerical collar and in a few minutes they were deep in a conversation on religion. After a while the young lady volunteered the information that her own religious life somehow left her dissatisfied. And soon Bredesen was telling her that he too had felt this lack, but that he had found a new dimension in his devotional life through speaking in tongues. 'Through what?' asked the girl. 'Speaking in a language that God gives you,' Bredesen said, and went on to tell her a little about his experience. In the girl's eyes he read disbelief and also something like apprehension. 'Can you speak in these tongues any time you want to?' she said, and he thought she edged almost imperceptibly to the far side of her chair. 'They're given us for prayer.' 'Well can you pray in tongues whenever you want to' 'Yes. Would you like me to pray this way now?' The girl looked around the lobby, outright alarm in her eyes this time. 'I won't embarrass you,' said Bredesen, and with that he bowed his head slightly and after a short silent prayer began speaking words that to him were unintelligible. The sounds were clipped and full of 'p's and 'k's When he finished, he opened his eyes and saw that the girl's face was ashen. 'Why...why...I understood you. You were praising God. You were speaking a very old form of Arabic.' 'How do you know?' asked Bredesen. Then he learned that the girl was the daughter of an Egyptologist, that she herself spoke several modern Arabic languages and had studied archaic Arabic. 'You pronounced the words perfectly,' she said. 'Where on earth did you learn old Arabic?' Harald Bredesen shook his head. 'I didn't', he said. 'I didn't know there was such a language.'
The above is an excerpt from the book written by John L. Sherrill, "They Speak with Other Tongues" (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Spire: a Fleming H. Revell Company), p.19-20.
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