2021-03-28 Tim Chung Baptism

00:00:00.000 | (applause)

00:00:02.240 | - Hello everyone, my name is Tim.

00:00:17.280 | And despite being raised in a Christian home,

00:00:20.760 | and though I was baptized as an infant,

00:00:22.720 | my salvation story didn't really happen until eighth grade.

00:00:27.480 | Even though I prayed to receive Christ

00:00:29.760 | as my personal Lord and Savior at that time,

00:00:31.960 | it was hard for me to grasp the magnitude

00:00:34.560 | of that decision at that particular age.

00:00:38.400 | I realized the shallowness of my faith

00:00:41.120 | as soon as I left for college.

00:00:43.620 | Right from freshman year at New York University,

00:00:46.580 | I was confronted with my sin

00:00:48.420 | and the worldly temptations of the big city life.

00:00:52.040 | I got involved in a relationship not centered around God,

00:00:55.680 | and it wasn't long that I found myself weeping

00:00:58.600 | through many sleepless nights because of my sin,

00:01:01.520 | my guilt, and my shame.

00:01:02.980 | Late in my freshman year,

00:01:05.760 | a staff member of a Christian campus organization

00:01:09.560 | sought me out and shared the truth of God's love

00:01:12.760 | and forgiveness expressed through Christ

00:01:15.440 | and the need for personal repentance.

00:01:17.920 | I was utterly broken, and rather than remaining stuck

00:01:22.920 | in the vicious cycle of sin and darkness,

00:01:25.640 | I confessed my sin and brought it

00:01:27.300 | into the light of God's love and mercy.

00:01:29.320 | It was this experience that set my life

00:01:32.320 | on a different trajectory.

00:01:34.080 | That summer, I had the opportunity to commit eight weeks

00:01:37.160 | for a short-term missions project to India,

00:01:40.520 | and it was a life-changing experience in one sense

00:01:43.600 | because it revealed that before Christ,

00:01:45.560 | I really had zero ambition.

00:01:48.460 | But on this new path set before me,

00:01:50.240 | God had given me a real passion

00:01:52.420 | to share his love and grace to the world.

00:01:55.760 | The question of how might I glorify God the most

00:01:59.560 | through my living became central to my existence.

00:02:03.100 | It's a theme that derives from the parable of the talents,

00:02:07.100 | the idea of maximizing one's life so that God may see me

00:02:10.720 | as his good and faithful servant for his name's sake.

00:02:14.200 | So holding these words closely to my heart,

00:02:17.060 | I was challenged by the vision and the strategy

00:02:18.900 | outlined in Matthew chapter 28

00:02:21.300 | to help fulfill the great commission

00:02:22.840 | of our Lord Jesus Christ.

00:02:24.460 | And upon graduation, I committed my life

00:02:26.940 | into full-time ministry to join those on the front lines

00:02:30.260 | of those who are serving the purposes of God

00:02:32.580 | for this generation.

00:02:34.600 | And so it brings me to my life today

00:02:36.220 | after serving the Lord in ministry for nearly 20 years.

00:02:40.200 | I'm walking in a bit of a strange season,

00:02:42.340 | not knowing exactly where all this will lead.

00:02:44.580 | The one confidence I have and the truth

00:02:47.340 | that has remained with me through all of life's journey

00:02:50.340 | is that he alone is my unchanging foundation.

00:02:54.100 | It may seem strange that I've been serving

00:02:55.700 | for so many years and yet here I am today getting baptized.

00:02:59.220 | In doing so, I adhere to baptism by immersion

00:03:02.940 | as consistent with God's holy word.

00:03:05.380 | And so today I'm excited to express my union with Christ,

00:03:09.000 | the portrayal of his death, burial, and resurrection

00:03:11.760 | through going down into the water.

00:03:14.180 | Thank you.

00:03:15.020 | (audience applauding)

00:03:18.180 | (water dripping)

00:03:20.940 | - Tim has asked to stay in the water a little bit

00:03:39.580 | (audience laughing)

00:03:41.260 | longer than normal.

00:03:42.660 | So if he doesn't come out quickly,

00:03:44.300 | it's because it's his personal request.

00:03:46.300 | (audience laughing)

00:03:48.740 | Tim, do you understand when you go into the water,

00:03:50.500 | you're being united with Christ in his death

00:03:52.580 | and when you come out,

00:03:53.420 | you're being united in his resurrected life?

00:03:55.100 | - Yes, I do.

00:03:55.940 | - And I baptize you in the name of the Father,

00:03:58.100 | Son, and the Holy Spirit.

00:04:00.020 | (water dripping)

00:04:02.780 | (audience applauding)