Baptism 2023

Aaron

Good morning everyone, my name is Aaron and I will be sharing my testimony.

Growing up, I was privileged to go to church every week where I learnt about Jesus in Sunday school. I would say that I knew about Jesus and that he died on the cross for sins but that was only something that I knew as head knowledge. And I think for the most part, I believed there was a God and that we could communicate with him through prayer. But he was essentially just someone I turned to when I wanted something or had hard times. I didn’t think that Jesus had much bearing on my life, and for the most part, it was something I could agree with.

I considered myself a generally good person, I was generally well-behaved most of the time. I did the right things, and listened to my authorities over me. I thought that I was a Christian, because I believed in Jesus and God and went to church.

And so I lived like that, with a lot of how I was as a person and my values being shaped by good moralism to inform my decisions and actions. But I think God was working and planting the seeds towards knowing him.

It was in senior high school when I was reading through a book called Right Side Up by Paul Grimmond where the main summary was that living as a Christian meant submitting all things under Christ as King.

And I remember that that prospect was quite challenging to grapple with, as up until that point, I hadn’t made any decisions to follow Christ as Lord, I think my idea of a Christian was an identity-based thing that just fit in naturally with my life, but I wasn’t comfortable with the prospect of making my own decision to allow God to be the boss of my life.

But that didn’t stop me from investigating for myself. I would investigate more from reading the bible on my own. And so I seriously looked at who Jesus was and what he claimed.

Over the course of that year, I began to see that there were 2 things that were very compelling for me. The first was that I was a sinner from God’s perspective. The bible teaches that we all fall short of God’s standards.

In that year I went to a Christian event, And The passage they preached on was Ephesians 2, which talks about how we are all sinful.

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

I remember being really convicted of my sin. My thoughts about all the good I had done, couldn’t be comparable with how much I had fallen short of honouring God as the one who created the world, and us. I was convicted that in my sin, that I was spiritually dead, that sin had cut off the relationship with God.  I was convicted of my own sinfulness, that sin cut even more deeper and more viscerally than behaviour - it was a spiritual rebellion against God in wanting to live life my own way.

The second thing that was compelling for me was God’s grace, that despite our deep sin and rebellion, God chose to allow for us to turn back to Him. I think coming off from deeply convicted by my own sin, I could then taste the beauty of grace in God sending his Son, to die for my sin.

God offers a relationship with me, despite my sin, and my flaws and my failings. God’s offer of eternal life was something that I craved deep down, something that we all crave spiritually, the desire to live forever. And the fact that I could be known by God, and that he shows grace even though we have sinned against him, was what compelled me to repent and turn back to Him.

And since becoming a Christian, I enjoy hearing from God in His word and growing in knowledge and understanding of Him. And while I don’t think life will necessarily get easier over time, its reasurrring to know that ultimately, we have spiritual reconciliation with God, and that allows us to rejoice even when times are tough, and to be glad, because we have our main hope kept in heaven.

I hope that as I fight the good fight of faith, I would grow to be a godly man. I know I am far from it, and there are many things that I need to work on, and I do fail many many more times than I walk in the right way, but I hope that I will continue to walk all my days under God as my redeemer.

Sharon

When I was kid, I was a “go with the flow” type of person. I followed my friends and did what they were doing. I followed my parents and did what they told me to do. I also used to follow my older sister around everywhere (which she got pretty annoyed about sometimes) and I didn’t really think for myself just what I wanted to do. My life had no purpose or meaning.

Fortunately for me, following other people DID lead me to knowing about Jesus. When I got into high school, my sister asked me if I wanted to join a church Youth group called Switch and being the “go with the flow” type of person that I was, I said yes. It was also comforting that it happened to be the one that my best friend from high school was going to. So, I ended up joining the Youth group and going there week in and week out, I would learn about God -  How He created the heavens and the earth and mankind and yet, because we rejected God, our relationship with Him was broken. But out of God’s grace and goodness, He sent for us His son Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, reconciling us back to God. I realised that I wasn’t just following OTHER people, but I was also unknowingly rejecting God and His commands, and following MY own selfish desires and what the world says. So somewhere during my high school days and after attending many Christian Youth conferences and camps, I decided to follow Jesus Christ instead.

Following Jesus and having a new identity in Him meant that I didn’t need to look to other people or to follow the ways of this world, but that I can look to Christ as my Lord and Saviour, knowing that he is the perfect role model. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. (1 Peter 3:18-21).

Looking back in my journey to knowing Christ, I am very thankful for the people that God placed in my life and seeing how Christ has been reflected in these people: From my older sister Florence who brought me to youth group, The auntie who would give me a lift to Youth group every Sunday morning, all the Sisters-in-Christ who never stopped meeting up with me to read the Bible 1-to-1 with me. In particular, one sister-in-christ who met up at 8am every week to walk with me to the uni library to read the Bible together.

Finally, I would like to draw upon and finish with one of my favourite verses from the Bible in Hebrews 10:22-25. For the next step of my walk with Christ, I hope that I will continue to

“draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10: 22-25)

Rachel

Growing up I did not know God. My family didn’t go to church, and I was one of those kids who often wondered why my friends went to church on Sundays and what the hype was all about.

At a young age, I found myself seeking for external validation in everything I did. Being the eldest child in my family, I felt the immense weight of other people’s expectations. Their expectations became mine and my identity was founded on what others wanted me to be. This was reflected in my actions, and my mission in life quickly revolved around pleasing others.

As I moved into high school, this craving for approval and love was magnified and I found myself seeking this in all areas of my life. My identity shifted and was placed in the achievements I could attain which defined me and gave me my self-worth. Whether this was studying hard to achieve straight A's, doing well in sports or juggling many extracurricular activities, my worth was dependent on my capabilities and competence.

However, my longing to please others was short lived. The constant feeling of inadequacy and disappointment from and in others led me to question my self-worth and whether I was worthy of love. This hunger made me feel insecure, ashamed and I struggled to hide this desire. Slowly, I grew in bitterness and resentment towards family and friends and began to take pride in fulfilling my own needs and wants. At home, I shut my family out and isolated myself both physically and emotionally. I became absorbed in my own selfish desires, only caring about myself and my own personal gain. At school, I masked my loneliness by being friends with everyone. This filled the void in my life as I placed my hope in my friendships, knowing fully well it was only to meet my own selfish needs. Eventually the more friendships I built, the lonelier I felt, and this paradox continued to highlight the lack of love in my life.

This all changed in 2016 when I was invited to a Christian event by a friend. At that time, I had no idea what Christianity was and what this event was about – I simply went to show my support to a dear friend and enjoy my time. This was the first time God revealed himself to me. The speaker at this event challenged me to reflect on the hope I had in the broken things of this world - and that the one thing I cannot attain by myself is salvation.

I distinctly remember this moment where I experienced a mixture of both conviction and curiosity. God had opened my heart and it was the first time I had heard of the good news of Jesus. I was curious and wanted to understand how Jesus could possibly offer salvation in my broken and helpless state. Up until this point, I had hurt and wronged so many people. I needed saving, but I didn’t know if I was capable or even worthy of forgiveness.

In God’s kindness, I was invited to church where I came to know more about Jesus and the people who loved Him. The gospel slowly yet surely became more than just a fictional tale. It became the truth that a loving God, showed grace and mercy to me – and because He loved me so much, he sent his only Son to die and take away the punishment that I deserve. I was struck with this message, that the God of this universe would look at me and my sin and still chose to extend his hand and show me unconditional love. In John 3:16 it says,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

It is only through the rescue of Jesus Christ that I now have a personal relationship with God. For the first time in a long while, I felt safe, loved and known.

As we fast forward to now, there are many days where I still struggle and often find myself turning away from Christ, wanting to live life according to my own selfish way. But the good news is, God remains faithful even when I am not. He puts in 100% when I only feel like putting in 30, and He loves me despite my ignorance and deliberate disobedience towards Him. I am thankful that I have a faithful God, who has chosen and brought me into His big family. Since making a conscious decision to follow Jesus, God has continued to show me my identity through His eyes. I no longer place my hope in the fleeting things of this world or in my ability and competence but in Jesus who gives me comfort and rest.

I am very thankful to the people God has placed in my life, who have walked with me every step of the way, through the joys but also through many trials. They have been there to encourage me, love me, pray for me and time and time again pointed me back to Jesus.

If something I have shared today has resonated, or you are curious as to who Jesus is, I encourage you to explore what this means. Feel free to chat to me or the person who has brought you to church.

I pray that as I continue running this race of faith, that God may help me to rely on, trust in, obey and cling to the hope that I have in Jesus, waiting for the day that He calls me home. As I end my testimony, I would like to finish with one of my favourite verses from the bible. It is from 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”