back to index2021-08-22 Tiffany Chen Baptism Testimony
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Hi, my name is Tiffany and today I'll be sharing my testimony with you guys. 00:00:09.920 |
I grew up in an American Christian international school in China where I had the privilege 00:00:14.240 |
to learn about Christ starting from a young age. 00:00:18.240 |
Memorizing scripture, hearing Bible stories, and singing children praise songs at school 00:00:22.080 |
were routinely embedded into my weekly schedule. 00:00:25.200 |
I prayed to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was seven. 00:00:29.040 |
I had a terrible fear of sharks after accidentally catching a glimpse of the movie Jaws at my 00:00:35.560 |
And my parents shared the gospel with me one summer afternoon and told me the power Jesus 00:00:40.760 |
has to quiet the seas and triumph over any evil spirit and demon. 00:00:45.720 |
Christ seemed real to me and I prayed to receive Christ that day in my life at home. 00:00:51.040 |
As a Taiwanese American at a school in China with predominantly Korean students, I was 00:00:58.280 |
As a result, I frequently worked to draw attention to myself. 00:01:01.480 |
I lied to my peers and exaggerated my circumstances to receive praise and empathy from them. 00:01:07.280 |
I have come to realize how foolish and futile my efforts were because salvation is truly 00:01:12.280 |
the work of God from beginning to end, separate from my works. 00:01:16.440 |
I loved Christ, yet he was not my greatest love. 00:01:19.120 |
I liked the idea of a Savior from my hellbound destiny, but there wasn't much surrender to 00:01:29.120 |
Going into my sophomore year of high school, I found myself working to fit in once again. 00:01:34.280 |
Some of my friends struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. 00:01:37.880 |
I wrestled to understand why God would place such trials in people's lives. 00:01:42.180 |
My heart went out to them and I desired to be a light, but my efforts were inherently 00:01:46.400 |
selfish and ultimately ineffective because I thought that I could save them. 00:01:52.200 |
And I felt guilty when I saw that I couldn't. 00:01:55.080 |
My bitterness also surfaced in having a bad attitude towards my parents. 00:01:59.760 |
And in the midst of it all, I found myself face to face with my repeated sins of lying 00:02:03.680 |
and working to gain the pity and approval of man. 00:02:07.400 |
Even in the way I wrote my testimony, I highlighted instances that were self-glorifying. 00:02:12.120 |
In my mind, I said that Christ is enough for me, but in my heart, he felt so intangible. 00:02:17.840 |
Christ humbled me, reminding me he is the way, the truth, and the life, as he tells 00:02:24.520 |
Putting myself on a pedestal and giving myself the glory was only drawing my friends further 00:02:28.720 |
away from Christ as I unintentionally encouraged them to find refuge in the brokenness of a 00:02:36.700 |
I got baptized by sprinkling on Easter in 2017 with a desire to publicly proclaim and 00:02:44.760 |
A mentor convinced me to sign up for a discipleship course the summer after I graduated from high 00:02:50.840 |
For the first time, I truly understood how secular remedies are only band-aid fixes that 00:02:55.600 |
never truly tackle the heart of the issue, sin. 00:02:59.320 |
I began to understand how no earthly person or thing can heal the void in people's hearts. 00:03:07.800 |
During the course, the pastor asked me how I thought God viewed me and where I would 00:03:13.200 |
I knew the answer, but I surely did not feel it. 00:03:16.160 |
Years of feeling like I did not belong, coupled with the deceit I told both others and my 00:03:25.640 |
Through the mentor and his pastor's demonstration of Christ's love, I started to ask myself 00:03:30.200 |
why I felt the need to chase after the approval of mankind. 00:03:33.920 |
I came to a deeper understanding that salvation is truly by faith and faith alone. 00:03:38.880 |
God is working, even when my heart may seem cold and he may seem distant. 00:03:43.120 |
In my first year of college, I joined a small group. 00:03:45.640 |
I started doing daily devotions and reading scripture for myself for the first time. 00:03:50.480 |
Rather than reading the Bible and memorizing verses for an A on an exam, his truth started 00:03:55.440 |
transferring from head knowledge to heart knowledge. 00:03:58.320 |
I understood I cannot serve two gods at once by seeking the simultaneous approval of both 00:04:05.160 |
Matthew 16.35 says, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his 00:04:12.400 |
I am called to deny myself and take up my cross daily and follow him. 00:04:17.000 |
I have come to recognize there is no greater joy in life than to know Christ. 00:04:21.200 |
The world and all its riches will waste away and thus placing any hope in the fleeting 00:04:25.840 |
gratifications the world may offer is futile. 00:04:28.800 |
He pursues me relentlessly, even when I push him away, thinking that I know better and 00:04:33.400 |
assuring myself that my sinful ways would get me further. 00:04:36.880 |
I am so undeserving of his grace, yet his love that surpasses all understanding is a 00:04:43.560 |
I am getting baptized through immersion to complete the picture of baptism the way Christ 00:04:48.720 |
As a follower of Christ, I want to mirror what he has modeled and called me to do. 00:04:53.400 |
While salvation does not promise me a life free from troubles, I know Christ is truly 00:04:57.400 |
enough for me and my home is ultimately not on this earth. 00:05:01.280 |
I am far from perfect and I still sin daily, but I know that my identity is in Christ and 00:05:08.760 |
I know my future is in his hands and I want to follow where he leads me.