- Hi, my name is Caleb. Yeah, as far as I can remember, church was a really important part of my life and I don't remember many Fridays, Friday nights of my life that weren't at church. I learned a lot about the importance of reading the Bible in prayer and that my life was meant to glorify God.

I learned that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected, granting mercy on my soul. These things were things that I really easily accepted, but they actually meant very little to me. Before I met the Lord, there were only a few things on my mind, mostly being seen in a certain light by my peers and indulging in the satisfactions that the world had to offer.

A few months ago, I remember my small group leader telling me that I was really similar to his wife because we both didn't care what people thought of us. I laughed at myself because it's really true and also very false. Because growing up in the church, without knowing God, all I really did was seek the approval of others.

And usually I wanted people to see me as someone who actually didn't care. So it was like, you know. But yeah, I tried my best in Awana because I wanted to be ahead of everyone in memorizing scripture, but not really because I wanted to know the word of God.

Yeah, the summary of my pride is that I wanted to be honored and respected by others while desperately trying to protect the brokenness that lay beneath. As good as I looked to the world, it was only skin deep. I was constantly trying to mask the fear, weakness, and foolishness with confidence, strength, and intelligence.

John 3 says that men love the darkness rather than the light. The darkness had offered security, discretion, and ways for me to indulge in my wicked desires without the judgment. As much as I heard at church that repentance and accountability were essential to the believer, I had no desire to be holy.

To come into the light and have my deeds exposed was absolutely contrary to my character. Freshman year of college, I arrived at Bermuda Community Church and sat through a sermon on the holiness of God. There I was compared to a cooler of moldy rice and I was told that my sin wasn't just distasteful to God but utterly repelling to his character.

The pastor continued on about some other stuff but the image stuck in my brain that I was disgusting to God. Everything that I spent my entire life trying to hide from the world is clearly seen by God. God is not mocked, he's not fooled, there's nothing that's hidden from him.

And the only rational, logical thing to do is to throw disgusting things away. But God, while I was yet a sinner, ignorant to his love, sent his son to die for me to make me clean. That night, I repented of my sins, trusting that the death and resurrection of Christ covered my sins.

He's my Lord and my Savior and I desire to live under his Lordship. So people ask me why I'm getting baptized now in our freshman year and I can plainly see that it is still my pride that clings so tightly to me. Now why admit to people that as a middle schooler I didn't know anything about being saved or why tell people that I was still just being a people pleaser?

Deep down, even though I knew that I was not saved when I was baptized, I refused the thought of baptism for the sake of my own ego. I'm being baptized today because of my desire to be obedient to the Lord, it's my ultimate desire and it's greater than my desire for self-preservation.

I want to glorify God with my life because of his love for me. I continue to see the transformative power of God in my life meaning that he has replaced a heart that wanted self-glory to a heart that desires his glory. Desires I never had, deep accountability, true humility, genuine repentance, authentic love are now mine through the person of Christ.

Ephesians 4 says to put off the old self, corrupt their deceitful desires to be renewed in the mind and put on the old self. I daily struggle with my old self. Daily struggle with my old self, I daily struggle with the desire for my own personal glorification. My prayer is that God will continue to discipline, rebuke and instruct me and that he will continue to humble me in my daily walk with him.

All my life before Christ, I feared that what people would say if they, what would people think if they saw my sin? My identity was rooted in the fear of man. However, God, our holy perfect creator sees my sin perfectly, has accepted me and covered me with the righteousness of his son in whom I have received my true identity, a child of God.

Ephesians 5, 13 and 14 says, but when anything is exposed to the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Thank you. (audience applauding) (audience applauding) - Caleb, you understand when you go into the water, you're uniting with Christ and his death.

When you come out, you're uniting with his resurrected life. - Yep. - I baptize you in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. (audience applauding) (audience applauding)