Hi, my name is Yuri Kong, and I'm thankful to God for allowing me to share my testimony with you today. Looking back at my life, I'm so thankful to have grown up in the faith, mainly because of my mom, who shared the good news with me, brought our family out to church as early as I can remember, and ultimately made Christ more real to me.

While it was a blessing to be born and raised in a Christian home, it indirectly caused me to have an incorrect view of God. For me, I didn't see God as holy instead of part, and along with that, I didn't have a proper view of my sin or think that my sins were as bad as they were.

Throughout my adolescent years, it was apparent that I feared man more than God. I was driven by my fear to please people rather than pleasing God himself. As a result, anxiety was the driving force in my decision making, and it not only affected me but the relationships with others around me.

It was a life of outwardly declaring that I've accepted Jesus Christ, but not feeling ready to surrender completely on the inside. Looking back, I can say that during this confusing time of professing to be a believer, my life was not marked by genuine faith. To my friends and family, as long as I seemed to be walking in faith, that's all that mattered.

But my heart posture showed that I didn't have a deep need for God in my life because I wasn't ready to give up everything just yet. I had many idols in my life that I was chasing after. After I graduated from Biola, I was in a transition period of obtaining my teaching degree and attending a new church.

This period of uncertainty was a time during which I frequently compared myself to others who seemed to have it all together. It made me wonder why my own life wasn't coming together like I had hoped or expected. But for the first time, I was having to ask myself, "Who am I trying to glorify and honor?" And I knew it was only God who was convicting me of this truth, that glorifying myself can never bring me the security that can be found in Christ and Christ alone.

It was clear to me that through this time of internal struggle, Christ was revealing my idols and my brokenness. I feared the opinions of others more than God himself. Despite this realization of the depth of my depravity, I also saw the depth of his mercy and love for me, that even in my brokenness, I could go to him as I am, and even though I am undeserving, that he would and has already forgiven me of my sins.

For the first time in a long time, I wanted to look to Christ and have peace, joy, and fulfillment in him, instead of looking to myself and the approval of others. I strived to submit to Jesus as Lord and to fully turn away from my old life. The past five years of allowing his promises and truth to really reign over my life have been humbling, sanctifying, and awesome in their own way.

Getting to know my Lord and Savior in this current stage of life has consisted of much reframing of how I used to think. I am no longer defined by how others perceive me or seek to win the approval of others. Now because I have newness of life and in my mind and heart continue to experience the freedom from sin through God's even grace, I seek to honor and glorify him and him alone.

This freedom through his grace is reflected in Ephesians 2, 8, which reads, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Recently I was asked when I was overcome with God's holiness, and I would say right now God is showing me so much of what his holiness means for my life, that there can be no worship and no true obedience without seeking to understand what God's holiness means.

In this way, I am so thankful that Christ has allowed his holiness to touch my life in his perfect way and timing. Like it says in Colossians 3, 3, "My life is now hidden with Christ, and my union with him gives me hope and a full assurance of my eternal life in him." And that's where true joy and freedom is found.

Thank you. >> Do you understand what you want me to talk about? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. (applause) (applause)