back to index2018 February Baptism
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But obviously, this is something grandly much more than that. 00:00:08.260 |
This is not a, "Oh, nice, you're taking your faith a little bit more seriously now." 00:00:12.560 |
This is an immense, immense moment because we realize that the baptism ceremony signifies 00:00:18.040 |
a grand spiritual truth of the salvation of your soul. 00:00:23.440 |
And so in order to prepare our hearts, I want to point our minds to the fact that, yes, 00:00:27.840 |
visually they're entering into water, coming out of the water, all to symbolize the truth 00:00:35.040 |
That as they do that by faith, they're uniting with Christ through faith. 00:00:41.040 |
That their lives will be wrapped up in Christ. 00:00:44.160 |
And that by their union, they would enter the water, symbolizing their death with Christ. 00:00:53.940 |
And so the penalty that they deserve for their sins is satisfied. 00:00:58.560 |
And in rising out of the water, they're uniting with Christ in His resurrection. 00:01:04.040 |
That they would symbolize their newness of life that they have before the Lord. 00:01:08.480 |
That God would cause them to be an absolutely new creation. 00:01:13.240 |
These are all immensely huge spiritual realities. 00:01:16.940 |
And a thing that I want to point to is the fact that this huge stark contrast is the 00:01:26.200 |
Is the contrast between far, far away from God as opposed to being one with God. 00:01:34.800 |
This is a huge chasm wider than the Grand Canyon. 00:01:38.160 |
And so when I say this is a huge moment for you not to be taken lightly, this is absolutely 00:01:43.760 |
But what's more, even what Jesus says in this passage that we're looking at, I'm going to 00:01:48.200 |
make the case that this is more important than obviously any graduation you would participate 00:01:52.440 |
in, especially because we have some students here. 00:01:54.920 |
It's bigger than your high school graduation. 00:01:57.440 |
It's bigger than even, may we say, marriage day. 00:02:00.960 |
It's bigger than perhaps in the future, the first time you grow your family and have a 00:02:07.560 |
It might be even bigger than 50th anniversary. 00:02:13.600 |
And Christ is going to explain all the more why it is so important by the way He describes 00:02:22.000 |
Taking a look at this passage again, in Luke chapter 13, an individual who was walking 00:02:27.840 |
with Christ simply asked a theological question or maybe even a question of reality. 00:02:33.280 |
"Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?" 00:02:37.840 |
And Jesus answers by saying, "Strive to enter through the narrow door. 00:02:43.240 |
For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." 00:02:48.760 |
That is quite one of the more difficult passages in Scripture to swallow, to comprehend. 00:02:54.880 |
Are you saying that there are individuals who would actually want, they have a desire 00:02:58.360 |
to enter into the kingdom and yet might not be able? 00:03:02.960 |
So the very first point I have for you in looking at that answer that Christ gives is 00:03:09.320 |
This is something of a privilege because there is a natural limitation to what Jesus says. 00:03:14.840 |
And the point is, what you participate in today, only very few can say that they have 00:03:26.560 |
Although yes, we understand that the gospel of Christ is an offer, is an invitation that 00:03:33.320 |
has been cast to many, the sobering reality of it is there is a limitation because Jesus 00:03:39.280 |
in his answer, he answers indirectly, but the way that he answers clearly says the statement 00:03:49.640 |
And therefore, we need to have a very thankful attitude, a very privileged attitude of this 00:03:58.400 |
A narrow door by which we must enter has been given to us. 00:04:03.200 |
He continues this theme of having a limited nature by the things he says next. 00:04:11.280 |
He says, "Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand 00:04:16.480 |
outside and knock on the door saying, 'Lord, open up to us,' then he will answer and say 00:04:27.280 |
Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets.' 00:04:34.240 |
And he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from, depart from me, all you 00:04:41.040 |
The next point I have for you is on top of the fact that this is something in many ways 00:04:47.680 |
reserved for a very few, there is the reality that God will close the door. 00:04:56.000 |
But there is a limitation, we can just simply say, on time. 00:05:01.800 |
That God says in this passage, or Christ says in this passage, in yes, this is parabolic 00:05:07.040 |
way, that God is going to, the owner of the owner is going to shut the door and even if 00:05:11.520 |
people ask, he's going to say, "I don't know you." 00:05:19.540 |
Have you heard perhaps a gospel message where somebody has said to you, "Take your time, 00:05:28.600 |
Now all that, fair enough, sure, of course you want to be informed. 00:05:33.120 |
But is it a true statement that God will always be there whenever you're ready? 00:05:37.840 |
That no matter how long you take, no matter how many chances you have, that God will extend 00:05:45.480 |
According to this, just as in the time of Noah, when Noah built an ark, and in the appropriate 00:05:51.840 |
time it says that as the animals entered, as the family entered, it was God who shut 00:06:03.600 |
For us, if ever we thought, maybe because we think, "I've got plenty of time, I haven't 00:06:13.600 |
There are a lot of people who are getting baptized who are really young. 00:06:16.960 |
They're high school students, they're freshmen in college, so what, 16, 17, 18. 00:06:21.960 |
I'm so glad that you have heeded this call of God. 00:06:27.400 |
Because although yes, you are young, you're absolutely right to feel a sense of urgency 00:06:34.080 |
Because it is an absolute lie if we believe, "I have plenty of years to decide." 00:06:40.880 |
If we believe, "I'm young and I have plenty of time. 00:06:43.200 |
Once I reach a certain stage, once I reach that college years, once I reach that age 00:06:46.800 |
when I'm an adult, once I reach that age when I have a family, once certain things 00:06:50.680 |
are set and stable, then I'll think about it." 00:06:57.120 |
So there is this urgency, and that urgency continues starting from verse 26, and we repeat 00:07:06.720 |
He talks about how the people who are shut outside, how they will speak. 00:07:11.440 |
He says, "Then you will begin to say, 'We ate, drank in your presence, and you taught 00:07:17.280 |
And then he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from. 00:07:23.200 |
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and 00:07:29.200 |
Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves being thrown out." 00:07:37.280 |
The point I want to make with that is, added to the sense of urgency is how final it will 00:07:47.640 |
In this passage, I want to highlight, no matter what excuse, no matter what rationale, argumentation 00:07:57.160 |
Yes, the gospel is clear that God is an incredibly patient God, amen? 00:08:03.400 |
But the fact of the matter is, we should dare never be so presumptuous to think that we 00:08:10.980 |
There is going to be a finality when God judges, when God decides that it is time and He closes 00:08:16.360 |
the door, there is going to be no second request, there is going to be no pleading, pounding 00:08:28.200 |
And so there is a final judgment and it's going to be, according to this passage, devastating 00:08:38.520 |
It's almost as the picture of perhaps a prisoner standing with his face up against a chain-linked 00:08:47.260 |
And perhaps to the audience, there is an incredibly convicting point. 00:08:50.120 |
He says, "You're going to see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, whom you trusted to be your ticket 00:08:55.300 |
into heaven, whom you thought automatically, 'I'm Abraham's child,' that you would get 00:09:06.620 |
Perhaps we might complain and say, "Oh, I didn't get a fair chance. 00:09:21.020 |
By way of review, the points that I'm saying, all we're saying is there is a truth that 00:09:28.880 |
That this, what we're doing in the baptism, the decisions they have made, this is definitely 00:09:35.140 |
not the same par as just doing some kind of preventative maintenance or a graduation to 00:09:45.440 |
There is a huge stark contrast between where they were and where they're headed. 00:09:53.140 |
There is going to be eternal agony where there's gnashing of teeth, or there's going to be 00:10:03.640 |
Because I want to make sure that the exhortation of Christ is received with the sobriety that 00:10:11.980 |
When He commanded in verse 24, "Strive to enter through the narrow door," I pray and 00:10:19.840 |
hope that we do not hear that with, "Okay, sure, I'll try." 00:10:25.820 |
With the urgency that He gives, the person simply asked the question, "Are there many 00:10:30.720 |
people who are going to be saved, or is there just a few?" 00:10:33.940 |
Do not dibble and dabble in just theology, but He is making a direct commandment, "No, 00:10:42.040 |
And for those of you who are here, I want to make the same plea and exhortation to you. 00:10:48.160 |
If there is such a serious divide, you need to make sure. 00:10:54.560 |
If you go to the hospital to take a test on whether you have cancer, you cannot sit on 00:11:00.440 |
that and say, "Well, I guess I'll take a look at it when I have time." 00:11:06.480 |
If you understand that there are dire consequences here or there, you need to know. 00:11:14.680 |
If you're a father, if you're a brother or a sister, if your child is in that hospital 00:11:21.400 |
room with a physician, and they're doing operation, and they're doing exam, whether that individual 00:11:26.400 |
is going to live or die, you will want to know. 00:11:30.160 |
And in that same way, I want to challenge you. 00:11:40.960 |
Whether you believe He is a Creator or not, you need to know who Christ is, who is He, 00:11:46.880 |
You need to know where you stand in front of this God and in front of this Savior. 00:11:55.620 |
And that is the gospel that Jesus is saying to us. 00:12:01.000 |
And perhaps if you didn't hear a gospel like this before, maybe you've received the kind 00:12:05.600 |
of gospel where someone said, "Well, all you need to do, no matter where you are, just 00:12:17.360 |
I want to say to you, it is a free gift that God gives you. 00:12:22.080 |
Part of the reason why, although I said, "Yeah, this is more important than graduation. 00:12:25.480 |
This is more important than a wedding ceremony," then you might wonder, "Then why don't we 00:12:30.640 |
Why don't we parade you around and be like, 'Yeah, you did it!'" 00:12:35.440 |
It's because there is a free grace and gift given to you where all you have to do is go 00:12:43.720 |
It's not based on your work, your track record, or anything that is meritorious to you. 00:12:48.840 |
However, the gospel that we receive and the urgency that we receive cannot be dissected 00:12:57.440 |
Where we think solely upon, "How do I come and how do I get this free gift?" without 00:13:02.040 |
understanding what is God doing and who is He to us. 00:13:06.720 |
And therefore, this is what I would like to say as a last exhortation. 00:13:09.680 |
The amazing part of the gospel that we understand from this passage as well is, yes, there is 00:13:14.600 |
this momentous, impetus call for us to see the urgency, to see the great divide and come 00:13:23.800 |
But the amazing truth, in verse 29, He says, "And they will come from the east and from 00:13:29.520 |
the west, from the north and the south, and recline at the table of the kingdom of God. 00:13:34.800 |
And behold, some are last who will be first, and some who are first will become last." 00:13:41.880 |
I want to say to you, the truth of the matter is, yes, the flock is small and the gate is 00:13:48.200 |
And not every single person will be saved, which is an incredibly sobering reality. 00:13:53.480 |
But the grace of God is that although not everyone will be saved, anyone can be. 00:14:00.800 |
It doesn't matter if we're from the east, it doesn't matter if we're from the west, 00:14:03.960 |
it doesn't matter if we're low, it doesn't matter if we're weak. 00:14:07.240 |
Should we be willing to come and heed the invitation of Christ? 00:14:14.800 |
And He beseeches us, "Walk through this door." 00:14:20.840 |
And therefore, the admonition is there for us. 00:14:25.320 |
And I want to make this call again, if you're here with us visiting, especially those of 00:14:28.760 |
you who are family and friends, please don't see this as they are just simply maturing 00:14:38.960 |
They have made and heeded Christ's call to enter into His kingdom. 00:14:50.680 |
You would need to come to this gate and when the Lord says, "Come through this narrow 00:14:55.120 |
door," I pray that you would say, "Yes, I will." 00:14:58.400 |
And if He says, "And you have to leave the baggage behind you," then you would say, 00:15:10.160 |
So at this time, we're going to hear the testimony of how, for these brothers and sisters, God 00:15:15.400 |
has led them to that point where they would come to Him, to come to repentance and faith. 00:15:21.480 |
Let's take a moment to pray for them as they come, and then we'll invite our first person 00:15:24.880 |
to enter, to come to the pulpit to share their testimony. 00:15:28.400 |
Heavenly Father, we thank You so much that God, You warn and instruct us. 00:15:37.480 |
We are in our own state, deceived and fooled to think that we're okay, to think that we're 00:15:52.800 |
Lord, I ask that You would continue to just convict us of this truth and hear Your words 00:15:58.680 |
of grace that You have said, "Whosoever would come, whosoever would repent and humble themselves, 00:16:08.640 |
We thank You, Lord, that You are such a gracious and merciful God. 00:16:12.440 |
We want to be encouraged and we want to glorify You in remembering all the stories and testimonies 00:16:19.360 |
Would You grant to them boldness and strength? 00:16:22.000 |
And Lord, would You grant to them clarity as they speak? 00:16:28.560 |
Would you join with me in giving a warm welcome to our first sister, Kate Lee. 00:16:33.600 |
My name is Kate Lee, as Pastor Mark just mentioned, and I'm going to be getting baptized today. 00:16:44.120 |
Number one, I was sprinkled at the age of 15 at a Presbyterian church, but I can't say 00:16:53.080 |
And number two, I was really blessed reading Colossians 2.12. 00:17:00.760 |
Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through 00:17:05.480 |
faith in the powerful working of God who raised Him from the dead. 00:17:10.040 |
So because of this verse, I wanted to partake in the physical representation of my new life 00:17:19.480 |
Okay, so now I'm going to start my testimony. 00:17:23.040 |
Ironically, I gave my life to Jesus during my freshman year of college, which was 2011. 00:17:30.160 |
And I say ironic because it was the place I wanted all of my worldly dreams to come 00:17:45.640 |
I wanted to climb up the corporate ladder as soon as possible. 00:17:50.080 |
I like bluntly stated, I just wanted to be the best. 00:17:53.560 |
And I didn't want anyone getting in my way of my success. 00:17:59.880 |
But all the more, I was having one foot in the world and one foot with God. 00:18:05.880 |
While pursuing these worldly goals, I wanted to still be a Christian and go to heaven. 00:18:14.080 |
And I wanted to be this rich, worldly, successful Christian because that's totally possible, 00:18:21.840 |
It's like, I don't know, I just thought it was normal. 00:18:25.640 |
But my dreams were crushed when I went to college. 00:18:32.720 |
He said, if you want to be a disciple of Jesus, you have to take up the cross, surrender everything, 00:18:42.880 |
So if that wasn't crazy enough, he said, it is so hard for those who are rich to enter 00:18:52.800 |
And I thought that was so strange because out of the five years that I grew up in youth 00:19:04.560 |
But I actually checked with the Bible and I found out that those were the words that 00:19:09.160 |
Jesus actually said, and I couldn't argue with it. 00:19:14.040 |
And so I knew I wanted to love Jesus, and I know He died for me so that I can have eternal 00:19:20.800 |
But I was really involved in my university, just working all the time, studying nonstop. 00:19:28.680 |
And I was super stressed and anxious with all the work I was doing. 00:19:35.320 |
But I knew I had to pick a side because it was so hard to live both lives. 00:19:42.600 |
As I mentioned, I had one foot in the world and one foot with God. 00:19:47.720 |
And the more and more I found out about the truth, I couldn't do both. 00:19:54.000 |
The two worlds were separating, and I knew at one point I had to pick a side. 00:19:58.720 |
And God was graciously revealing to me my pride and my lukewarm faith. 00:20:05.800 |
I began to realize I was extremely self-centered and prideful. 00:20:09.880 |
You know in Philippians, it says, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit." 00:20:15.000 |
I was doing everything from selfish ambition or conceit. 00:20:20.920 |
And I was also really convicted by the disciples in Matthew because when they met Jesus, they 00:20:28.400 |
immediately, immediately left everything to follow Jesus. 00:20:34.440 |
They left their parents and they left their jobs, like their only source of income as 00:20:43.240 |
And I knew that I had to surrender my career ambitions to seek Jesus because my pride was 00:20:49.920 |
a hindrance to my faith and my ambitions were blinding me from seeing God. 00:20:55.520 |
So one thing after another, I slowly began giving things up, whether it was like certain 00:21:00.640 |
activities or grades or like the way I studied, whatever it is. 00:21:06.080 |
And at every stage that I surrendered something, God met me so much more and began to show 00:21:17.360 |
So through the word and grace of God, I began to genuinely hate my sins and weep over them. 00:21:25.000 |
And while I was seeing my sins, I was really depressed and broken. 00:21:30.840 |
But in light of seeing how great my sins were, I realized how much greater the crucifixion 00:21:40.000 |
And all of what he did on the cross was to pay for our sins. 00:21:52.640 |
He died the death that I deserved and lived the life that I couldn't live so that I can 00:22:03.120 |
And in response to understanding these truths, I knew I couldn't live my old life anymore. 00:22:09.520 |
And in light of seeing like how great this eternal life was, I didn't care to succeed 00:22:16.440 |
in the world the way I wanted to, because God already gave me eternal life of fullest 00:22:23.600 |
And so I, yeah, God began to change me a lot throughout college. 00:22:28.480 |
I wasn't as anxious over little things because I trusted him with the greatest thing. 00:22:33.480 |
It's kind of like the lesser to greater logic. 00:22:35.840 |
If God took care of the greatest thing, which is my eternal life, then it doesn't make sense 00:22:41.720 |
for me to worry about little things like when my next paycheck is coming or where I'm going 00:22:53.720 |
And as if that wasn't enough, he didn't just die for me and let me figure out the rest 00:23:02.600 |
But while pointing out my sins to me, he gave me grace to fight through them too. 00:23:08.880 |
So that's like the continual grace of God that I experienced throughout college. 00:23:13.840 |
And my entire character just began to change. 00:23:16.440 |
I grew like less bitter as he healed me of certain relationships. 00:23:21.480 |
And I actually wanted to love and care for other people and like love them. 00:23:27.440 |
And that was weird because I just cared about having like superficial friendships. 00:23:32.200 |
And as I mentioned, I grew a lot less anxious. 00:23:35.540 |
So though I had this nice university education, a well-built resume, and a highly coveted 00:23:42.720 |
job offer at the end of college, it all seemed like complete rubbish in comparison to knowing 00:23:52.180 |
And I was no longer suffocated by worldly standards. 00:23:55.840 |
I was no longer like hungry from pride and these like never-ending ambitions. 00:24:09.360 |
And yeah, in contrast, I was completely satisfied by God's presence and work in my life. 00:24:18.640 |
So in lieu of all this, I didn't want to go back to my old life. 00:24:22.320 |
I was totally in love, head over heels, committed to Jesus from experiencing all of this. 00:24:31.480 |
I still see my sins over and over again, but I have experienced the fullness of God, God's 00:24:39.520 |
presence and work in my life that I understand that obeying and abiding in Him is far greater 00:24:50.000 |
So because of all that Christ has done for me, my life was His. 00:24:53.520 |
That's the only natural response that I could have for understanding the truth. 00:24:59.480 |
And it was no longer under my control in the anxious way that I wanted to plan my whole 00:25:05.760 |
life and my future, but I just wanted to give up my whole life to God. 00:25:12.120 |
And again, like as in response, I wanted God to do whatever He wanted or needed with my 00:25:21.900 |
So I surrendered this pretty little American dream I had of my life and let God write my 00:25:29.320 |
So by the grace of God, out of college, I rejected this job offer that I really wanted. 00:25:35.840 |
And I spent a year just serving in my college ministry and just working part-time to make 00:25:42.280 |
ends meet and just discipling girls, like teaching the word. 00:25:47.760 |
And then, if that's not crazy enough, God led me to go to Japan for two years to teach 00:25:54.920 |
the word to Japanese children who've never heard the gospel before. 00:25:59.160 |
And I don't have time to tell you my testimony of Japan, but it was some of the hardest years 00:26:05.880 |
of my life, but also where I felt and experienced God's greatest intimacy. 00:26:16.060 |
So now I'm here getting my teaching credential, which is totally unexpected of what I wanted 00:26:23.240 |
And God radically changed my life, and I've never been so joyful and full of life since. 00:26:30.120 |
So that's my testimony, and I'm so thankful that I got to share it. 00:26:35.280 |
And I hope that as I shared it, you all can keep me accountable in case, for some reason, 00:26:42.120 |
I want to run away and someone in here has to rebuke me and bring me back. 00:26:47.920 |
If you understand that when you go into the water, you're united with Christ and his death, 00:26:54.920 |
and then when you come out, you're united with Christ and his resurrected life? 00:27:00.920 |
I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:27:17.760 |
I'm a first year in college, and this is my testimony. 00:27:21.200 |
So like most people, I was born and raised in a church and went to Sunday school every 00:27:25.920 |
As a kid, I grew up being very anxious and never really had any friends within the church. 00:27:29.720 |
And because of this, I was just constantly afraid of talking to people. 00:27:33.400 |
I never really understood why we went to church and hated going for the most part. 00:27:40.880 |
And I didn't understand what any of that had to do with me. 00:27:44.320 |
The next few years into my junior high, my home church relocated, and I stopped attending 00:27:49.240 |
And in this time, while I was still surrounded by a Christian environment, it was the beginning 00:27:55.680 |
Fast forward a few years to when I was a sophomore in high school. 00:27:58.240 |
I was super stressed about an Algebra 2 test I had the next day, and I was as moody and 00:28:03.480 |
And for reasons I can't exactly remember, I got into the biggest fight of my life with 00:28:08.520 |
There was yelling, slamming tables, and words that shouldn't have been said. 00:28:13.720 |
I was so mad that I had every intention of hurting my mother, and specifically remember 00:28:20.920 |
I said, "It's because of you I don't go to church anymore." 00:28:23.440 |
And while I myself was frozen in that moment about how much my anger took over me, I'm 00:28:27.920 |
sure as a mother, there was almost nothing more heartbreaking you can ever hear from 00:28:35.280 |
The next day, I actually ended up failing the Algebra 2 test. 00:28:39.080 |
But more importantly, the fight I had with my mom made me really evaluate what I was 00:28:45.680 |
I was conflicted about how I grew up in a Christian household, yet wanting to have nothing 00:28:49.760 |
to do with God, and knew I had to make a decision in how I lived my life. 00:28:53.880 |
I'm ashamed to say that that day, I ended up making the mental decision to cut off any 00:29:00.800 |
And to be honest, for a while, I felt burden-free and content with my life. 00:29:05.400 |
There was no more worry, no more guilt, and no more shame. 00:29:09.400 |
The thing was that my whole life, even as I got older, I started to learn about science 00:29:19.360 |
To a certain extent, I knew I was going to hell, but none of that really mattered to 00:29:24.280 |
And in this period of time, my apathy turned into bitterness, which eventually turned into 00:29:31.680 |
The next year, when I was a junior in high school, I had the biggest crush on a girl 00:29:35.400 |
that I thought I could be potentially in love with. 00:29:43.360 |
I idolized this girl so much that my emotional state was at its all-time low. 00:29:47.120 |
It was my first ever broken heart that lasted almost two years to the middle of my senior 00:29:51.200 |
year, the same time all the other seniors were stressed because of college. 00:29:55.960 |
In that time, the culmination of anxieties about the future and my still-broken heart 00:30:00.120 |
made me desperate to find answers and happiness from somewhere. 00:30:03.880 |
Later on, as the guilt of not having touched my Bible in so long began to grow, I had a 00:30:08.240 |
friend who coincidentally asked me to come out to his church. 00:30:11.160 |
I was curious about what they had to say and initially just went to clear my conscience. 00:30:17.000 |
As I continued to come out for a while, I don't remember the messages, but it caused 00:30:21.040 |
me to contemplate about what my purpose in life is and the relevance of God in it. 00:30:25.640 |
But in the end, I still felt empty and stubborn to admit that God can mend my heart. 00:30:30.680 |
Within the next few months, two very prominent people came into my life. 00:30:34.720 |
One of them, ironically, was my big sister, who loved me unconditionally until the birth 00:30:41.980 |
The other was my new brother-in-law, who somehow convinced me and brought me out to my first 00:30:48.440 |
In this time, I was still broken from the past and anxious about the future and life 00:30:51.880 |
in general, but when I saw them get married, it was my first exposure to clearly seeing 00:30:55.960 |
God's love and sovereignty shine through that left me in awe. 00:31:01.800 |
Through them, it was the first time in my life where I ever heard the gospel and truly 00:31:07.960 |
When I first came to Berean, I honestly thought I was a Christian because of how I was raised, 00:31:11.840 |
but also struggled with the thoughts that I had already gone too far down the road of 00:31:16.920 |
I was anxious more than ever due to the new environment, but as I kept attending, my grief 00:31:22.640 |
towards my own sin began to grow as I started to learn about God's forgiving character. 00:31:28.120 |
Even now, I honestly still don't completely understand His mercy and how He could ever 00:31:32.040 |
forgive someone like me, a sinner, who neglected Him multiple times throughout his life. 00:31:38.880 |
After I truly repented for the first time in my life and declared God as my Lord and 00:31:42.200 |
Savior, I found comfort knowing that He knew how lost and empty I was, even after my season 00:31:46.880 |
of hatred, that He never changed and sent His Son to die on the cross to atone for my 00:31:51.640 |
I admitted my weakness and my utmost dependency on Him and started to see how He sovereignly 00:31:57.080 |
orchestrated my life from the beginning to where I am now by transforming my sinful heart 00:32:02.480 |
By God's grace alone, He has saved me from my sin and is the reason why I am here today. 00:32:07.760 |
Lastly, I would just like to share Romans 6, 17-18. 00:32:11.880 |
But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the 00:32:15.840 |
heart to the standard of teaching to which you are committed, and having been set free 00:32:19.880 |
from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 00:32:23.320 |
I think you understand when you're going into the water, you're uniting with Christ in His 00:32:29.520 |
death, and then when you come out of the water, you're uniting with life. 00:32:32.520 |
I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:32:48.760 |
My name is Nicole, and I'm currently part of the Berean Adult Ministry, and I'm here 00:32:52.680 |
to share with you all God's saving work in my life. 00:33:08.680 |
I grew up attending a Christian church where I learned about God, Jesus, numerous Bible 00:33:15.400 |
stories, and what I needed to believe to go to heaven. 00:33:18.600 |
I actively participated in church at my home church, volunteering in the children's ministry, 00:33:23.880 |
getting baptized in ninth grade, attending endless prayer meetings, going on overseas 00:33:27.680 |
missions, and participating in almost every conference and retreat. 00:33:31.520 |
I loved going to church, and church was where I felt most comfortable and where I had met 00:33:37.360 |
I, with many others around me, thought that I was a good Christian. 00:33:41.120 |
Yet in the midst of it all, I didn't know who God was or what the gospel was, more so 00:33:48.440 |
I didn't have the need for a savior because although I knew and even stated I'm a sinner, 00:33:55.280 |
Though I would not voice out my thoughts, I was comparing myself with others, thinking 00:34:00.080 |
I was good because I didn't do "bad things" and failed to see the sins in my own heart, 00:34:05.960 |
namely my unbelief and rebellion towards God, and the desire for self which was reflected 00:34:10.720 |
in the way I was at home or wherever I didn't feel the need to appear good. 00:34:14.880 |
"I am a sinner" was one of the points I needed to believe to go to heaven. 00:34:20.280 |
I sought out God because I didn't want to go to hell, not because I saw my sins as sinful 00:34:25.120 |
and needed Christ to cleanse me from my sins. 00:34:28.240 |
As a young child, whenever I would question whether I was saved or not, I would assure 00:34:32.480 |
myself with the fact that I've prayed or I've done Christian works. 00:34:36.440 |
I also relied on how others thought of me to assure myself of my salvation. 00:34:40.920 |
My goal was to go to heaven, and I was doing what I thought I could to get there. 00:34:47.640 |
I saw God as one loving and forgiving, but His holiness and justice was something I didn't 00:34:54.000 |
With this wrong, one-sided view of God, I took God's grace for granted, sinning and 00:34:57.980 |
consoling myself that God's grace forgives me. 00:35:01.000 |
I had the form of religion but was self-righteous and self-seeking, pursuing what pleases my 00:35:10.440 |
God revealed the gospel to me through a variety of avenues. 00:35:13.200 |
During the summer after I graduated high school, I randomly came across a gospel YouTube clip 00:35:17.640 |
where the preacher used God's law to first help the hearer recognize their need of a 00:35:21.400 |
Savior and then share Christ's work on the cross. 00:35:24.200 |
Initially, I watched it, wanting to learn how I can share with others, but one night, 00:35:29.080 |
I began reflecting on myself and realized I was in the same sinful state, but I had 00:35:35.560 |
That's when I first really understood that I was not good and therefore I needed Jesus. 00:35:39.640 |
Secondly, a college staff member at my home church led a verse-by-verse study of Romans 00:35:44.240 |
where I saw how holy and loving God was, and the gospel became very clear that God in His 00:35:50.160 |
holiness demanded justice for sin, that I deserved His just wrath, yet He showed His 00:35:55.400 |
love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 00:35:59.280 |
I was humbled, realizing that I was relying on my works for salvation. 00:36:03.560 |
Furthermore, I started attending Burien's college Bible study where I was made to reflect 00:36:08.280 |
on whether I loved Christ or simply the things of Christ. 00:36:12.440 |
By God's grace, I recognized I am a sinner in need of a Savior, and near the end of college, 00:36:17.600 |
in the privateness of my own room, I came to God in repentance of my sins and received 00:36:24.600 |
Throughout the period of recognizing these truths about God, the gospel, and myself, 00:36:29.200 |
I went through numerous doubts about whether I was saved. 00:36:32.360 |
I knew I wasn't a Christian previously, and I didn't want to make that same mistake again. 00:36:36.960 |
Through these moments of doubts, God in His mercy helped me see that it is by Christ's 00:36:41.920 |
death and resurrection that I am cleansed completely from my sins and that I can approach 00:36:46.460 |
God not because I've done X amount of works, but by faith in Christ and in His work alone. 00:36:51.960 |
I am thankful to God because I know that it is God who has begun His work in me and He 00:36:56.440 |
will bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:36:59.880 |
I thank God for not leaving me in my condemned state where I was presuming that I was a Christian 00:37:04.600 |
because I've done the Christian things and had knowledge of the Bible, but instead shown 00:37:08.760 |
me mercy by revealing Himself and the gospel through His word. 00:37:15.600 |
Before I viewed obedience as an obligation, but now I desire to obey God. 00:37:20.240 |
Before I simply loved the things of Christ, but now I desire Christ and His ways. 00:37:24.760 |
May all glory and praise be to God who sent His only Son Jesus to save me from my sins 00:37:29.560 |
and for being the author and perfecter of my faith. 00:37:33.200 |
You understand that when you go into the water, you're united with Christ in His death, and 00:37:38.140 |
when you come out, you're united with Christ in His resurrected life. 00:37:41.640 |
And I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:37:43.640 |
I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:37:58.680 |
My name is Jonathan, and this is my testimony. 00:38:02.000 |
All my life, I've grown up in church surrounded by an immense amount of Christian influence. 00:38:06.720 |
Having much of my family heavily involved, I learned at a very young age that church 00:38:10.440 |
is important and we need to go every week so we can learn about Jesus. 00:38:14.760 |
However, even though I had an idea of Christianity and that I needed to obey God in order for 00:38:20.760 |
me to please Him, my life didn't necessarily reflect this. 00:38:25.960 |
Aside from church, I rarely acknowledged God in my life and focused on pleasing myself, 00:38:30.160 |
whether it would be playing with my friends or whining to my parents so I could get what 00:38:34.760 |
Only at church or when my parents would read me the Bible would I actually think about 00:38:40.600 |
Many things that I was taught never really stayed in my mind and would go through one 00:38:44.360 |
In fourth grade, I began to start cussing at school with my friends, separating my church 00:38:50.760 |
It was during this time where God began to reveal my sin and that I needed to repent 00:38:56.160 |
I remember feeling anxious and full of guilt as I didn't really understand God's forgiveness 00:39:00.600 |
and felt that I somehow needed to make up for my sin. 00:39:03.320 |
Despite my tendency to keep things to myself and not expose my sins, my convictions drove 00:39:08.040 |
me to reveal them to my mom and tell her of my profanity. 00:39:11.760 |
During this time, she must have shared the gospel. 00:39:14.000 |
I don't remember exactly what she said, but I remember feeling an extreme amount of relief 00:39:18.440 |
as I realized that Jesus came down to die for me in order to take away my sin. 00:39:23.640 |
I can lay all my burdens on Him because He has already paid for that on the cross and 00:39:30.360 |
In Isaiah 118, it says, "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. 00:39:34.680 |
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. 00:39:37.920 |
Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." 00:39:43.720 |
I prayed to God as long as I could remember, but it was probably around this time that 00:39:47.240 |
I prayed with saving faith and began to actually seek a personal relationship with God. 00:39:52.120 |
I read His word every day and had a desire to please God in everything I did. 00:39:56.540 |
I can definitely say that my relationship with God was not perfect after this moment. 00:40:01.280 |
There has been countless times where I've sinned against Him, causing me to question 00:40:04.360 |
my faith and whether or not I am really saved. 00:40:07.440 |
In my life, I've sinned over and over again, and after each time, I sometimes struggle 00:40:11.640 |
to humble myself before God and repent for the same sin that I have done before as I 00:40:16.080 |
feel a sense of guilt and unworthiness for God's forgiveness again. 00:40:19.040 |
How can He forgive me when I just committed that sin yesterday? 00:40:22.440 |
However, God is gracious and merciful and He has already paid for my sins today and 00:40:28.400 |
Hebrews 10.22 says, "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full 00:40:32.760 |
assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience 00:40:36.920 |
and having our bodies washed with pure water." 00:40:39.280 |
I know that this doesn't mean that I shouldn't care about my sins anymore, as there should 00:40:42.760 |
be a sense of guilt that the Holy Spirit instills in me. 00:40:45.480 |
It is the Almighty God who I am sinning against after all. 00:40:48.240 |
However, God has taught me that my relationship with Him should not be defined by this guilt, 00:40:52.760 |
but should be defined by gratitude because I know that Jesus has freed me from my sins. 00:40:56.760 |
Although there are times when I can't help but feel sorrowful, the guilt leads me to 00:41:00.200 |
repentance as I don't want my sins to hinder my love for Him. 00:41:03.400 |
In response, I not only have peace in my heart, but as I continue to live my life, I have 00:41:08.000 |
a desire to know about this gracious God who has saved me, a disgraceful sinner, and called 00:41:13.880 |
Reading God's Word and having a strong relationship with Him helps me to fight against my sins 00:41:18.320 |
as I try to acknowledge God in all my actions. 00:41:20.980 |
I know that I will never be perfect, but because I am grateful for what Jesus has done, it 00:41:25.120 |
causes me to desire to please God and live my life for Him. 00:41:28.360 |
As it says in 2 Corinthians 5, 14-15, "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced 00:41:34.000 |
that one died for all, and therefore all died. 00:41:37.160 |
And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him 00:41:53.280 |
He's one of the elders of our church, and I asked him to come and help. 00:41:56.280 |
I know Jonathan and Faith, they've been members here longer than 99% of our church. 00:42:02.720 |
I know that many of you invested in them, prayed for them, and you probably can't believe 00:42:07.720 |
how old you are seeing how old they are, and standing here giving their testimony. 00:42:12.280 |
I know a lot of you guys invested your time and energy, so we're very thankful for all 00:42:15.400 |
the teachers, all the Sunday school teachers, and especially the youth group teachers who've 00:42:21.080 |
been investing in them, but especially the parents, and obviously the father and mother 00:42:26.520 |
who've invested and prayed for them for so many years. 00:42:28.920 |
That's why I asked Elder Philip to come, and he's going to help out with the baptism. 00:42:33.760 |
Jonathan, do you understand when you go into the water, you're united with Christ in His 00:42:40.000 |
death, and when you come out of the water, you're united with His resurrected life? 00:42:44.040 |
And I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:43:05.280 |
I'm a sophomore in high school, and this is my testimony. 00:43:11.880 |
Being a pastor's kid kind of meant going to church regularly every Sunday, and then attending 00:43:19.960 |
And then during Sunday school, I knew all the questions, or the answers to all the questions 00:43:26.600 |
asked about the Bible story that we were taught that day. 00:43:29.840 |
And then I prayed, and I gave a dollar for offering every week. 00:43:35.400 |
And I memorized all of my memory verses and sang all the songs, and I prayed for offering 00:43:44.160 |
And in Sunday school and in regular days, I guess, I was a good kid. 00:43:51.800 |
I didn't really get in trouble that often, and I usually listened right away, especially 00:43:59.280 |
in Sunday school, because my mom was the teacher back then. 00:44:04.440 |
And then, yeah, so overall, I was a good kid. 00:44:08.120 |
But even though I went to church and I learned about God, I didn't really understand why 00:44:11.960 |
I went to church or why I was learning about God. 00:44:15.080 |
I just did it because I had to and because my parents were Christian. 00:44:21.800 |
And then when I went to youth group, I felt like everything, like all the stories that 00:44:27.160 |
I had learned about in the Bible had changed, and they became for older people. 00:44:32.880 |
And so I couldn't understand what I was learning on Sundays. 00:44:36.640 |
But then, yeah, so then I couldn't understand all the sermons Pastor Mark was teaching. 00:44:45.240 |
And then because of that, I couldn't answer the questions in small group, and so I was 00:44:53.520 |
And then a little bit after I joined youth group, I started understanding, and I started 00:45:01.400 |
questioning why I went to church and why I believed God. 00:45:05.000 |
And then in eighth grade, I kind of figured out all the answers to my questions, but I 00:45:12.360 |
still wasn't really sure why I believed God was real. 00:45:16.720 |
And then, so like I said before, I was a pretty good kid, and I didn't really get in trouble. 00:45:22.680 |
But then at the end of eighth grade, in the beginning of ninth grade, there was a lie 00:45:29.720 |
I had told to my parents, and it stretched out for a while. 00:45:33.920 |
And they found out, and then I got in trouble, obviously. 00:45:37.720 |
But then even though I got in trouble, I asked for forgiveness, and they forgave me right 00:45:44.560 |
And so I don't know why, but it was just so amazing to me that my parents could forgive 00:45:50.160 |
me right away, even though I had committed what seemed to me like a big sin. 00:45:56.640 |
And then so that caused me to think, if my parents could forgive me right away for something 00:46:00.800 |
that seemed so big to me, how could God forgive me of all my sins that I committed and will 00:46:05.600 |
commit, and even more, that he would send his son to die for me? 00:46:15.640 |
But then that night, I prayed to God and asked him to forgive me, and then I accepted Christ 00:46:24.200 |
And then I also prayed with my parents, and I had a big talk with them about lying. 00:46:35.080 |
And so in the youth group, we got to memorize Philippians 2, 5-13, but verses 5-8 really 00:46:43.560 |
Have this mind among yourself, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the 00:46:47.600 |
form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself 00:46:52.160 |
taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man, and being found in 00:47:15.280 |
human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death 00:47:20.400 |
So even now, I still don't have answers to all my questions, but I have the answer to 00:47:28.240 |
I know who God is to me, and I know what he means to me, and I'm saved by grace and grace 00:47:33.400 |
alone, and through God's grace, I'm able to have a relationship with him. 00:47:37.560 |
So I have faith that I will grow more in my knowledge with him, and my relationship with 00:47:44.160 |
Even though I sin constantly, I know I have faith that God will always be there, and I'll 00:47:49.440 |
always be able to turn to him whenever I need to. 00:47:53.640 |
Do you understand when you go into the water, you're united with Christ in his death, and 00:48:02.640 |
you come out, you're united with Christ in his resurrected life? 00:48:07.640 |
I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:48:21.680 |
I'm a first year at UCI, and this is my testimony. 00:48:27.800 |
I started going to a church in the seventh grade, and there I was introduced to the gospel. 00:48:32.640 |
At that time, I believed I accepted Christ, but now if I were to look back at my life, 00:48:36.600 |
I do not believe I was saved because of my understanding of the gospel was incomplete. 00:48:40.800 |
I essentially proclaimed to accept Christ because I feared hell, and I thought that 00:48:47.120 |
When I started high school, I started going to my current home church. 00:48:52.440 |
I learned that although God is wrathful, he is also loving and merciful. 00:48:56.720 |
Through church services, youth group, and interactions with the church community, I 00:49:00.760 |
had a better understanding of what it meant to worship a God that loves. 00:49:04.760 |
However, my understanding of God was still very shallow. 00:49:08.400 |
The context of most of my prayers would just be me asking God for his blessings. 00:49:12.160 |
Essentially, I still live for the things of the world, and I thought God was a tool to 00:49:18.000 |
I believed in a loving and merciful God, but did not truly understand what it meant to 00:49:24.720 |
Around my junior year of high school, I entered a season of apathy towards my faith. 00:49:28.960 |
I was rarely convicted for messages on Sunday services or Friday night youth group. 00:49:33.480 |
I felt like I've already heard every sermon, and I did not find much value in reading scripture. 00:49:38.880 |
I was overwhelmed by responsibilities as a student preparing for standardized testing. 00:49:43.320 |
I was physically and mentally drained with daily volleyball practices. 00:49:47.200 |
Being at home also added to the overall stress level I had because of family issues and pressure 00:49:53.080 |
Overall, God has stripped everything away from me. 00:49:55.720 |
During this time, it was during this time that I realized that following the course 00:50:02.120 |
I eventually approached God in prayer, confessing my pursuit for glory and worldly success. 00:50:07.240 |
I put my faith in God, trusting that despite whatever unfortunate circumstances I was in, 00:50:16.040 |
One of the major things I declared God's lordship over was my volleyball career. 00:50:20.400 |
Throughout high school, I invested so much time and energy in volleyball. 00:50:24.560 |
After I repented over my sins and truly accepted Christ, I had a change of attitude through 00:50:31.720 |
Despite being the captain of my volleyball team my senior year, I no longer cared as 00:50:35.180 |
much about my performance, but instead I cared about the message I would be sending to my 00:50:39.640 |
teammates through the way I played volleyball. 00:50:42.240 |
Ultimately, I found less value in the competitive aspect of volleyball and more value in showing 00:50:50.760 |
As my last year of high school ended, I wanted to grow in faith, but I did not know how to. 00:50:55.800 |
Despite accepting Christ, I felt that my view of God was still so small. 00:51:00.000 |
I knew that something was wrong with me, feeling like I've heard every sermon before. 00:51:04.320 |
So all I really knew how to do was pray for God to reveal himself to me. 00:51:09.040 |
During my first week of college, I came to Berrien. 00:51:11.800 |
When I arrived, I remember feeling so welcome. 00:51:14.720 |
I realized that everyone's eagerness to get to know me, to ask about my name, my major, 00:51:18.600 |
where I'm from, was all rooted in their love for Christ and their desire to get collegians 00:51:24.880 |
I wanted to develop this great love for Christ that I saw through my brothers and sisters 00:51:30.480 |
Eventually, I discovered that the core of this faith that I saw through the community 00:51:37.320 |
As time went on, I was constantly enlightened and convicted by the expository preaching 00:51:41.360 |
at Berrien and recognized the richness of God that can be revealed through scripture. 00:51:46.160 |
In response, I decided to root myself in Berrien and even in my own time, I would study scripture, 00:51:51.560 |
which was something I never truly found value in, in the past. 00:51:55.440 |
Overall, God has been merciful to reveal his worthiness to me through his living word and 00:52:00.120 |
work of the spirit, which is why I can joyfully proclaim my identification with his death 00:52:06.600 |
So you understand when you're going into the water, you're united with Christ in his death, 00:52:07.600 |
and when you come out, you're united with his resurrected life. 00:52:08.600 |
I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:52:29.600 |
Hi, my name is Jennifer, and I'm currently a fourth year at UCI. 00:52:35.120 |
Ever since I was young, I grew up attending church with my family. 00:52:38.200 |
I was baptized when I was 10 years old, but I did not understand the totality of the gospel, 00:52:43.440 |
the way in my sins, and who God was until I came to college. 00:52:47.280 |
Growing up, I thought sin was external acts like deceit, cheating, stealing, and murder. 00:52:56.920 |
I never really paid attention to a sermon, and I focused on having good Christian morals 00:53:04.320 |
Because I thought sin was only an external act, I was blind to other sins of the heart, 00:53:08.320 |
such as pride, selfishness, fairness, and overall ungodliness that tore apart my relationships 00:53:16.440 |
I lived my life as my own God, desiring my own glory. 00:53:19.600 |
Psalms 53 says, "The fool says in his heart there is no God. 00:53:23.360 |
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good." 00:53:27.960 |
I was blinded and indifferent to what sin was, and had a skewed view of God. 00:53:32.240 |
My identity was rooted in the world's standards and expectations of getting good grades, going 00:53:40.080 |
When I left to start college, I knew I wanted to join a Christian fellowship and find a 00:53:43.600 |
church to attend, not to grow my love for God, but for Christian friends who had similar 00:53:49.280 |
In the first couple weeks of fall quarter of my freshman year, a few sisters and I talked 00:53:55.560 |
Specifically, they would talk about wanting to grow in the faith, and because I didn't 00:53:59.480 |
want to seem off and awkward, I said, "Me too." 00:54:02.560 |
But in my head, I was thinking, "Oh my gosh, these girls are those extreme crazy Christians, 00:54:07.720 |
and what does growing in your faith even mean?" 00:54:10.840 |
Around this time, I also started attending Brain and CCM, which is a Christian campus 00:54:17.080 |
And when I began to actually listen to sermons and read God's word, God opened my eyes and 00:54:21.960 |
humbled my heart and heart by revealing to me the seriousness of sin in my life, and 00:54:28.000 |
And it was so deeply rooted in my heart, and that I was in rebellion against God every 00:54:33.000 |
There was nothing I could do to save myself, but God is so faithful and merciful to an 00:54:37.480 |
undeserving sinner like me, for sending his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and 00:54:41.960 |
bear my sins, and three days later, resurrect so that I can be forgiven of my sins and receive 00:54:50.960 |
As it says in Ephesians 2, 4-5, "But God being rich in mercy, and because of the great 00:54:56.200 |
love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been 00:55:02.160 |
Knowing this truth and the weight of my sins, I repented, asking God for forgiveness of 00:55:05.240 |
my sins, which drew me further away from him, and asked that he would reign in my heart 00:55:10.840 |
Knowing Christ's love and recognizing my sin for heart, opened my eyes to see my pride 00:55:17.080 |
I was humble in desire to seek reconciliation and reflect Christ's love to them. 00:55:22.240 |
From freshman year until now, God has grown my faith, love, and obedience to him through 00:55:28.120 |
He challenges me to trust and depend on him in every circumstance, reminding me that my 00:55:35.720 |
He continues to reveal sins to me that I was once blinded to, and would never consider 00:55:40.280 |
to be sinned, because I rationalized that they were part of my personality. 00:55:43.760 |
For example, I tend to be a very anxious person, whether it be about grades, driving, my financial 00:55:51.840 |
There are many times I was consumed by these thoughts during the day and lost sleep over 00:55:56.400 |
Even though anxiety may not seem serious in my eyes, God continues to remind me that it 00:56:03.720 |
My anxiety represents a lack of trust in God and his sovereignty over my life. 00:56:09.200 |
In times of anxiety, I had to surrender all these thoughts to God, but continually repent 00:56:13.200 |
of them and ask God to grow my trust in him, knowing that I am weak. 00:56:17.040 |
I can confidently say that he is good, sovereign, and true peace is only found in him. 00:56:21.840 |
Colossians 3, 1-3 says, "If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are 00:56:25.880 |
above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 00:56:29.160 |
Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 00:56:33.200 |
For you have died and your life is ending with Christ and God." 00:56:36.960 |
Throughout the past few years, I have been constantly humbled and reminded to surrender 00:56:40.560 |
my whole life to him, seeking to exalt him in everything. 00:56:43.920 |
Although I repeatedly sin and fail, I am eternally grateful for his mercy and grace 00:56:49.400 |
that allows me to persevere and seek to give glory to him in all that I do. 00:56:55.600 |
Do you understand that when you go into the water, you're united with Christ in his death? 00:56:59.600 |
When you come out, you're united with his resurrected life? 00:57:02.600 |
I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:57:17.600 |
I was raised in a Christian family and both my parents were pastor kids. 00:57:27.600 |
So, because I was raised in a Christian family, I would go to church every Sunday. 00:57:31.600 |
And during those Sunday services, I would hear, "All you need to do is believe that 00:57:35.600 |
Jesus Christ died for your sins and you are saved." 00:57:37.600 |
So as a kid, that meant I could do whatever I wanted as long as I believed in Jesus. 00:57:42.600 |
So in high school, I would party after my football games and go to church on Sundays. 00:57:47.600 |
I thought I was good because compared to my other friends, I went to church on Sundays. 00:57:55.600 |
I went to Irvine Valley College for two years and transferred to Davis. 00:57:58.600 |
But during my time at IBC, I went to Bruin for one year, but I honestly hated it because 00:58:03.600 |
I thought it was a bunch of Pharisees who never struggled with sin. 00:58:06.600 |
They did not fit the mold of what I thought a Christian looked like. 00:58:12.600 |
My thought of a Christian was, "It's okay to sin because you have Jesus." 00:58:15.600 |
I thought everyone in Bruin were faking it and just wearing masks. 00:58:18.600 |
I changed ministries and went to a ministry that fit my criteria of Christianity. 00:58:22.600 |
I found friends that were okay with partying and going to church. 00:58:25.600 |
We would party together on weekends and go to church. 00:58:28.600 |
We would routinely arrive late to church every Sunday. 00:58:31.600 |
So my heart was not there in worship and it was honestly just a checkbox off my list. 00:58:36.600 |
I transferred to Davis where I found a place in the middle of nowhere and knew no one. 00:58:40.600 |
But honestly, this was a blessing in disguise. 00:58:43.600 |
My first week there, I had one of those broken down moments. 00:58:46.600 |
After coming home from a fraternity party, I broke down and asked myself, "What am I doing? 00:58:53.600 |
I went down on my knees and I cried out to God to help me. 00:58:56.600 |
I took my faith more seriously. I served in my church. 00:58:58.600 |
I went to overseas missions and served as a small group leader. 00:59:04.600 |
However, I noticed that I was still involved with drinking with my friends. 00:59:07.600 |
I felt like my life was no different than a non-Christian. 00:59:10.600 |
I realized there were certain sins that I could not escape. 00:59:13.600 |
So after I graduated, I noticed that my friends that I served with and drank with stopped going to church. 00:59:19.600 |
And that's when I moved down to San Diego and told myself, "I have to go to church." 00:59:24.600 |
So I did find a church and during my time in San Diego, I was just a Sunday churchgoer and didn't really serve. 00:59:30.600 |
I just went back to partying and sometimes even instigating house parties on weekends. 00:59:35.600 |
After San Diego, however, I got a new job in Orange County. 00:59:39.600 |
And before I moved, I told myself I wanted to find a church that would keep me accountable. 00:59:43.600 |
I did not care about fellowship or hanging out with people that had my same interests. 00:59:47.600 |
I wanted to find a church that knew the truth and preached the truth. 00:59:50.600 |
I knew that brand from freshman year, so I decided to go here. 00:59:54.600 |
I will listen to sermons about this post-Christian world that we live in. 01:00:00.600 |
Sermons about nominal Christians or being cultured in the church. 01:00:04.600 |
Also sermons on what a real Christian looks like as well. 01:00:07.600 |
It's not just saying, "I believe in Jesus Christ and I'll be saved." 01:00:11.600 |
If you are truly saved, you have to separate yourself from the world. 01:00:15.600 |
You cannot love the worldly things and love God. 01:00:21.600 |
I evaluated myself and I realized I met the criteria of a nominal Christian 01:00:25.600 |
or a Christian that has been cultured in the church. 01:00:27.600 |
It took me almost half my life to realize it, but I'm blessed that God revealed it to me at this time. 01:00:32.600 |
It's a scary thought because all your life you think that you're a Christian, but you're really not. 01:00:36.600 |
With how much I have sinned and how many times I've cheapened His grace, 01:00:39.600 |
He could have easily kept me blinded of my iniquities. 01:00:43.600 |
Instead, He showed me grace and mercy upon me and showed me the truth and the light 01:00:47.600 |
of what it means to pick up the cross and follow Him. 01:00:49.600 |
I thank Him for not leaving me during those times in college when I had no heart for worship. 01:00:55.600 |
He gave me a conscience and made me question myself and my faith. 01:01:01.600 |
God showed me so much patience and grace in my life and it makes me want to do the same for others. 01:01:05.600 |
So as I get baptized today, I am professing that God is Lord over my life 01:01:10.600 |
and I will no longer live with the world, but live for Christ and Jesus Christ only. 01:01:19.600 |
You understand when you're going into the water, you're united with Christ's death 01:01:24.600 |
and when you come out, you're united with His resurrected life? 01:01:27.600 |
And I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.