back to index2021-04-18 George Wu Baptism
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Hi everyone, my name is George Wu and I'm currently a junior in high school. 00:00:09.320 |
I'd grown up as the youngest in a family of four boys. 00:00:13.400 |
Our parents had already been attending church and as a result I'd also been brought into 00:00:19.600 |
I'd be going to church for the games that happened afterwards and for a better group 00:00:24.280 |
At the time I didn't know the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian and just assumed 00:00:29.240 |
I'd been a Christian and had no doubt that I was going to heaven. 00:00:33.240 |
Just because I may have thought I'd been a good person and my attitude for getting to 00:00:41.240 |
I'd be served in the AV team for the youth group there. 00:00:44.560 |
As time went on, probably around the sixth or seventh grade, these convictions to go 00:00:53.960 |
I thought I'd found a place where I could have some good friends who were going to be 00:01:06.040 |
with me forever, but surely it may have failed me. 00:01:12.640 |
The church would become a burden on my life and I'd hate going to church. 00:01:21.240 |
I'd hate going to church every Friday and Sunday and try to leave as soon as possible. 00:01:28.520 |
In my school life I would try to be the most popular, try to gain validation from many 00:01:33.280 |
of those around me and seek after this validation. 00:01:36.760 |
I'd often do bad things where I'd go to parties, break rules, curse and continue to live a 00:01:46.960 |
The many fights with my parents infused within our family, I'd turn away from the church 00:01:58.040 |
At this point I'd not found any meaning in life and I'd been very depressed. 00:02:02.360 |
I was looking for a joy in the world that could never fulfill me. 00:02:12.160 |
My brother Justin had asked us many times urging Charles and I to come out to Britain, 00:02:18.560 |
but we'd always say hurtful things to him and continuously reject him. 00:02:23.720 |
One thing that I remember him saying to me was, "Hey George, I really think there's something 00:02:34.520 |
Now I can remember him saying, now all I can remember saying to him was, or at least in 00:02:38.560 |
my head was that he should stop asking me to come every week. 00:02:46.240 |
One week after Justin had asked me again, I still don't know why, but I just had an 00:02:51.840 |
urge to go and all I could say that it was God's grace and love over me that made me 00:02:57.720 |
Ephesians 2 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith and died not of yourselves, 00:03:07.880 |
God has shown his love and grace to me by bringing me to Brain. 00:03:13.120 |
After the first week of attending Brain's youth group, I'd seen how welcoming and loving 00:03:16.760 |
both the students and teachers were and I felt a sense of belonging. 00:03:20.960 |
Charles and I quickly integrated into the youth group and would continue to attend every 00:03:29.080 |
After listening to many sermons about my sin, it felt like mold rotting inside me. 00:03:33.400 |
I'd been very convicted and knew I had to change. 00:03:37.040 |
God then had begun to reveal to me how much of a sinner I was and at that point I began 00:03:42.160 |
to cut off the many bad influences in my life. 00:03:45.360 |
By God's grace, I would soon find the desire to study and read his word and to cry out 00:03:51.680 |
I am reminded that his word is the only thing that can bring me joy, so I'll continue to 00:03:55.560 |
strive to obey his word and continue to strive to live a life of holiness. 00:03:59.960 |
The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in him and I am helped. 00:04:03.840 |
Therefore my heart drowns and with my song I shall thank him. 00:04:09.600 |
>> So do you understand when you go into the water, you're imagining the heart that's 00:04:33.040 |
moving, not what you're imagining the river of your life is.