back to index2020-7-19 Sang Hwang Baptism
00:00:00.000 |
Hi, my name is Sang, and I'm married to Lynn, and I have two kids, Hunter and Haley, and 00:00:15.840 |
I grew up on an island called Saipan in the Pacific Ocean, and I started attending church 00:00:25.000 |
I don't remember the details, but I do remember standing up to accept Jesus at our church 00:00:31.600 |
Sadly, I don't remember if I really knew what I was standing up for. 00:00:36.360 |
Maybe it's because all the other kids were standing up. 00:00:39.740 |
I always went to church growing up, and in a different island called Guam, I was baptized 00:00:46.960 |
Again, the details are a bit fuzzy, and I'm not too sure what I was thinking or believing 00:00:56.360 |
Come to think about it, because of my inability to remember such a significant event, I have 00:01:03.360 |
a lot of doubts about my belief and acceptance of Christ while I was in high school. 00:01:09.640 |
From Guam, I moved to Irvine to attend UCI and started attending church, and I remember 00:01:15.920 |
in college, I was really passionate as a Christian. 00:01:23.280 |
I went on two short-term missions and was actively serving at church. 00:01:29.280 |
Yet even for my college years, always going to church, serving, sadly, I don't really 00:01:35.060 |
remember acknowledging the gravity of my sinfulness or having that great thankfulness of Christ 00:01:42.040 |
saving my soul or desiring to really know God myself through his words. 00:01:48.600 |
I don't remember studying the Bible much either to know about God and about Jesus, and it's 00:01:55.280 |
likely that I served church to glorify myself. 00:01:59.960 |
Personality-wise, I know I'm very conscious of what others think, especially at church, 00:02:05.760 |
and my service might have been to satisfy that personality need. 00:02:13.000 |
What I can remember clearly is when I started attending Berean, I began to ask a lot of 00:02:17.840 |
questions about church, about myself, about my faith, about my salvation, and about the 00:02:25.720 |
doubts that would often creep into my mind when I felt to sin. 00:02:37.080 |
God gave me this desire to know more about him through his words and the messages that 00:02:42.040 |
were preached in order to answer those questions. 00:02:46.000 |
I remember learning for the first time, at least from what I can remember, about Genesis 00:02:50.960 |
315, the first mention of the gospel in the Bible. 00:02:55.280 |
I remember being blown away that the hope of Christ was stated from the beginning, and 00:03:01.400 |
as a Christian, a lifelong Christian, a bit ashamed that I didn't know this. 00:03:06.400 |
It helped that the church leadership constantly reminded us to read and study his words ourselves. 00:03:12.000 |
And by doing so, it led me to realize how sinful I am, that I'm deserving of death 00:03:21.800 |
Yet because of his love for me, Christ died, shed his blood, resurrected, so that I can 00:03:28.040 |
be forgiven of my sins and be united with God. 00:03:32.200 |
Colossians 1, 21 to 22 reads, "And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in 00:03:38.280 |
mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshy body through 00:03:45.440 |
death in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach." 00:03:53.960 |
I constantly fall to sin, turn and drift from God, much like the Israelites, and yet there 00:04:00.080 |
is hope for me because of what Christ has done. 00:04:07.480 |
As a child of God, I can now find true rest in God. 00:04:11.600 |
The burden of working, providing for my family, and just dealing with the chaos of my life, 00:04:19.640 |
it's doable for me because I can find rest in the arms of my Father. 00:04:25.240 |
Constantly in my life, I have sought the things of the world to find comfort. 00:04:30.000 |
Yet I realized that true rest and peace comes from being in the presence of my Father above. 00:04:37.220 |
Being a dad myself, I would pretty much do anything to provide for my kids and to protect 00:04:45.240 |
Even if they don't listen, even if they make mistakes, even if they told me that they hate 00:04:50.520 |
me, I'll continue to love them and do all that I can for them. 00:04:57.400 |
I know and I believe that God's love for me is so much greater than that, more than I 00:05:05.400 |
I know there will be struggles and difficulties as I live my short life on earth, but it is 00:05:10.840 |
my hope and prayer that I won't drift away and waste my life. 00:05:15.640 |
But focus my eyes on Christ and run this race with His guidance. 00:05:59.080 |
Thanks, seriously, thank you so much for that testimony. 00:06:01.080 |
What a reminder for all of us that everything that you said is true for every single one of us. 00:06:07.080 |
As much as we love our kids, God loves all of you. 00:06:11.080 |
So, you understand when you go into the water that you are being united with Christ in His death? 00:06:16.080 |
When you come out, you are being united with His resurrected life? 00:06:20.080 |
And I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.