back to index2021-04-04 Bryan Chizaki Baptism
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Hello, Berean family, my friends and family from NorCal, and those who are tuning in online. 00:00:20.200 |
My name is Brian Chisaki, and I am a second year mechanical engineering student at UCI. 00:00:25.880 |
Today on this Easter Sunday, I have the privilege to be sharing my testimony of faith. 00:00:31.200 |
Growing up, I always assumed that I was a Christian, because I was fortunate and blessed 00:00:42.920 |
I was active at church, and I also received a Christian education until the eighth grade. 00:00:48.800 |
However, despite all these things, and even saying the prayer in the first grade, I do 00:00:53.800 |
not believe I was genuinely safe, as my life was devoid of any relationship with the Lord, 00:00:59.640 |
and my life and desires did not align with that of scripture. 00:01:04.560 |
This is evident as the appeal of church began to diminish in high school, where secular 00:01:09.720 |
and worldly thinking began to infiltrate into my mind and into my heart. 00:01:19.200 |
I began to prioritize my pursuit of academics, extracurricular activities, and ungodly relationships 00:01:26.600 |
Without even knowing it, I began to fall into sin and conformity to this world, as I would 00:01:31.840 |
indulge in my flesh, seek the thrills of life, and would eventually stop attending Bible 00:01:37.200 |
studies or church activities, aside from Sunday service. 00:01:40.800 |
I lived a double life, where I put up a good church front, but be like the rest of the 00:01:47.300 |
As I entered college, I began to further walk down a path of sin and destruction. 00:01:52.280 |
I used the freedom I had in the dorms to engage in unwholesome and sinful activities, but 00:01:57.880 |
it was also here that, by the grace of God, a family friend of mine introduced me to Bruin 00:02:04.600 |
I remember distinctly that the first time I attended this church, Pastor Peter preached 00:02:11.800 |
This sermon was shocking and profound to me, as the gospel was unadulteratedly preached 00:02:18.660 |
to me in a manner that created unease and uncertainty whether or not I truly believed. 00:02:25.420 |
As I continued attending this church, I was further challenged by the difficult sermons 00:02:30.520 |
that were preached here, as I found more and more inconsistencies with my double life through 00:02:38.300 |
Though I may have been adding to my biblical knowledge and trying on my own accord to fight 00:02:43.500 |
and kill sin, my heart was still so far removed from the Lord, and I was still so empty and 00:02:55.580 |
I remember that on this one day in fall last quarter, or last year, after ending a fight 00:03:03.100 |
with my girlfriend at the time, I felt absolutely broken and alone. 00:03:07.700 |
To make matters worse, my roommates were away at some party, and I did not have anyone to 00:03:14.980 |
I was distraught because I had placed my identity and my hope in this relationship. 00:03:21.300 |
Hopeless and broken, I came before the Lord and prayed to him for peace and for comfort, 00:03:28.220 |
and in that moment, I had an epiphany about the love of Christ. 00:03:33.340 |
I recognized that if my feelings of longingness and love for my girlfriend were so strong, 00:03:39.340 |
how much more does our heavenly Father have and long for us? 00:03:44.800 |
How much more does he love us, and how much more do we hurt him when we sin and choose 00:03:53.260 |
Those questions hit me hard, and for the first time in my life, the depths of my depravity 00:03:58.460 |
before a perfectly just and holy God became so crystal clear to me. 00:04:03.940 |
My eyes were opened, and I was absolutely humbled by the fact that our heavenly Father 00:04:08.860 |
so graciously loved broken and undeserving sinners like me, that he offered his one and 00:04:14.780 |
only son, Jesus, to die on that cross for my sins. 00:04:20.740 |
Knowing that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life, I decided in that 00:04:25.940 |
moment to confess my sins before him and make Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior over my life. 00:04:34.980 |
Ever since that day, my life has slowly been changing and transforming to that of the desires 00:04:41.940 |
By his Holy Spirit, he has allowed me to better resist and kill sin and also ignited a passion 00:04:51.580 |
It was challenging to trust and obey in him, but God proved sovereign and good through 00:05:00.580 |
By his loving kindness and the good and disciplining Father that he is, he allowed me to experience 00:05:06.300 |
hardships of months in quarantining, ending and letting go of relationships, and experiencing 00:05:12.760 |
tremendous heartbreak to ever draw me closer to him. 00:05:17.660 |
I am so thankful for the trials and tribulations that he placed in my life, for the testing 00:05:23.540 |
of my faith has brought genuine perseverance, character, and assurance of salvation. 00:05:31.020 |
I stand here today to testify that I am truly a follower of Jesus, that he is my Lord and 00:05:38.460 |
Savior over my life, and that I have been bought and purchased by the blood of Christ. 00:05:44.220 |
Though I know I will still stumble and I will sin again, I am confident of this very thing, 00:05:49.700 |
that he who began a good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:05:55.540 |
>> My name is Alan Wilkes Lauder, and I am a senior member of the staff.