back to index2020-08-02 Matt Ong Baptism
00:00:05.880 |
My name is Matthew, and this is my testimony. 00:00:09.760 |
So growing up, I was very shy and didn't have many friends. 00:00:13.920 |
Like many other people, I also grew up going to church. 00:00:16.360 |
However, in second grade, a classmate's parents introduced me to, or introduced my family 00:00:20.860 |
to a basketball league that their son played in. 00:00:22.560 |
I was forced into playing basketball, and although I eventually enjoyed it and made 00:00:27.520 |
many friends through it, our games were on Sundays. 00:00:30.400 |
As my younger brothers got involved too, we got even busier on weekends, and that meant 00:00:37.000 |
Towards the end of middle school, my family started church hopping. 00:00:40.960 |
By the beginning of high school, we began to settle down at a church. 00:00:44.520 |
We went with a friend's family, but never really got plugged in or involved in the church 00:00:48.560 |
At this point in my life, I would say that I believed that there was a God. 00:00:52.960 |
However, I definitely didn't have a personal relationship with him. 00:00:56.880 |
I knew that I was a sinner, but I didn't truly understand the magnitude of my sin or how 00:01:03.800 |
I believed in a watered-down version of the gospel, not one that pierced like a sword. 00:01:09.240 |
As the oldest sibling in my family and as the oldest of my cousins, I never had someone 00:01:13.040 |
older around me to help prepare me for later stages in life. 00:01:16.600 |
Therefore, going to college, I didn't know where my Christian life would go or how it 00:01:22.760 |
I didn't know that fellowships existed at all. 00:01:24.840 |
I didn't have a car with me or know of any good churches to attend, and so I didn't have 00:01:29.320 |
any real expectations to pursue Christianity more while I was away from home. 00:01:36.600 |
I didn't have any close friends there and would only occasionally hang out with my roommates. 00:01:40.680 |
I would sometimes listen to sermons online, but never regularly, and honestly, sometimes 00:01:47.040 |
But by God's grace, during my winter quarter, I met someone while playing basketball. 00:01:51.960 |
We started to hang out, and he eventually introduced me to a fellowship. 00:01:55.480 |
I started getting more involved in the fellowship, started attending a local church, and eventually 00:02:00.080 |
moved into a department with several other guys. 00:02:03.760 |
I was able to get a strong sense of Christian community and learn how other Christians behaved 00:02:09.080 |
For the first time in my life, I had people my age or older to look towards for advice 00:02:14.760 |
I was able to see different qualities in others that I was able to learn so much from. 00:02:18.760 |
Through this time and a few other college experiences, I realized that I needed to have 00:02:23.640 |
a relationship with Jesus and that I was not going to be able to find satisfaction or worth 00:02:27.840 |
on my own through grades, friendships, or sports. 00:02:31.360 |
I began to read my Bible, go to church regularly, and grow in my faith. 00:02:36.200 |
I remember one particular retreat down in San Diego where the gospel struck me harder 00:02:43.360 |
I finally understood how great and significant my sin was because it separated me from God. 00:02:48.760 |
But in God's love and mercy, while I was still a sinner, Christ came to die for me. 00:02:53.960 |
I think it's then that I truly repented and put my trust in Christ and received forgiveness. 00:02:59.120 |
Because of my newfound understanding of the gospel and God's unconditional love for me, 00:03:02.920 |
I've come to treasure Christ above anything else in this world. 00:03:06.360 |
And I have a desire to glorify God in all aspects of my life, whether that's seeking 00:03:10.460 |
opportunities to share the gospel or serving others through my career. 00:03:15.000 |
There's still so much room to grow, but I've definitely grown spiritually and I'm able 00:03:19.400 |
to take various life events more in stride now than before. 00:03:23.000 |
Jumping into full-time work with enough hours for two jobs presents its own challenges, 00:03:26.960 |
but I'm grateful that I found this church where I'm able to continue to grow along other 00:03:31.600 |
While I struggle with sin, I'm being sanctified day by day, and especially during these chaotic 00:03:37.460 |
and scary times, I have a hope that surpasses other hopes because it's in the promises of 00:03:43.480 |
>> Matthew, do you understand when you go into the water, you're uniting with Christ 00:04:12.700 |
in his death, and when you come out, you're uniting with his resurrected life? 00:04:16.900 |
>> And I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.