15th September 2024 All Age All Nation - Baptism Service

Morning church.

I feel so good to stand here. I've I've had

this mixed feeling for the last couple of weeks, both happiness,

joy and also a bit of.

Tension.

I should say because a couple of weeks ago when

the baptism class started, I had a conversation with Dave

because after the first class, I was like, am I

ready for this? Because I never I never thought I

had to take baptism, the immersion baptism, the real baptism,

because I was christened as a baby, and then I

was confirmed when I was old enough, and then I

thought that was it. I'm saved, No, I can take

take part in communion and I'm forgiven. But I was

still leading my old life. There was no change in me.

Especially when I moved to America. I was I was

a free bird, so nobody's watching me. And even when

I was in India when I was in my doing

my bachelor's I was away from my home for a

long time, so.

I had nobody watching me.

But God was watching me all alone, and I took

it for granted. I was I was like, okay, but well,

God's not doing anything, it's not saying anything, it's not

trying to correct me. But yeah, when I when I

started speaking to Selma, my beautiful wife, that's when I

realized what I was doing because it was it was

my last year in America, which I didn't know. I

thought my life, the rest of my life, I was

going to live in America, the dream life. But yeah,

we started speaking and then she helped me understand what's

what I was doing wrong leading a worldly life because

I was having fun. I was happy, but it was

worldly happiness. It was not the eternal, the happiness that

comes from God, the peace that comes from God. I

was finding happiness in other things, worldly things. So I thought,

I don't I go I used to go church. Don't

take me wrong, I used to. I went to Sunday school.

My parents send me to Sunday school. I used to

go to church every single Sunday. No Sundays, no church.

It's not a Sunday, so you have to be at church.

But I was leading a traditional Christian life. God was

in the life, but for me it was it was

not important. So yeah, when when I started thinking about baptism,

and thanks to Cherry and he helped me understand the

importance of it because back home. Christening is the baptism.

So if you're christened, that means you're baptized for life.

But you don't know anything. When you're being Christian, you're

a baby. It's such a I mean like if you

think about the baby, it's such a discomfort for the baby,

like sprinting's water on the baby, it's chopping some hair off,

Like what are they doing? Baby doesn't even know what's happening.

So that's when I decided, no, I am going to

get baptized. So yeah, when I had that conversation with Dave, said,

every time I pray, Dave, I repent for the things

that I've done against God. And the next time I pray,

I do the same thing again. I keep repenting, keep repenting,

keep repenting. And then I asked Dave, do do I

really have need to do that? And Dave said, it's

all paid for. So you won't believe the relief the

piece that that one sentence gave me because I felt

it was I was not reading a message, it was

God speaking to me. And then all the I had

a lot of nightmare about my past life, about my relationships,

not being in a relationship with God. I used to

get a lot of nightmares the week before Dave spoke

to me, and then that week it was.

It was like, I'm.

Already living a new life, no nightmares, no thoughts. And

then also thanks to Albert Sloman, I started using that phrase,

enemy get behind me. So yeah, whenever I get a

bad thought, or we admit we all get bad thoughts

when we look at things, or when we hear people

talking about something else that you don't want to listen to,

but you have to at maybe at work on the

road outside.

Then that's why I said, enemy get behind me.

And it actually worked, It actually worked, and the very

next second and the enemy was behind me.

So yeah, I'm so.

I'm so glad that I'm being baptized today and yeah.

Now I'm ready.

Thank you, Thank you God, thank you Dave, thank you family,

thank you my family back.

Home, mom, dad, So it's emotional you're not here.

Thank you, Oh, pray the Lord. Thank you so much.

Thank you Johnathan for opening your heart and sharing it

with us.

And the next one in line is Hope.

So, Hope, would you like to come and share your

testimony with us?

So funny, Hi, so ever, since I was a child,

I I knew that Jesus was Lord and he made

me and he made the world. But I asked my

dad about it, like I had many conversations with him

about why do we have to take baptist him and

like what I know? Like he was like, you have

to like believe that Jesus is good, and I was like,

I already do believe, so what do I have to

do more? But then he started telling me things like that.

I was like, okay, Like I was still a child

back then, so I didn't know exactly. But as I

grew up, like I was not. I mean, the relationship

that I had with Jesus was didn't satisfy me at all,

but I ignored it, and I'm really upset I ignored it, though,

But I had a good life. I enjoyed my time

with my family and stuff like that, but I always

felt that like there was something missing, like I'm happy,

but then I still feel sad like that corner. But yeah,

I used to feel sad and upset for many things,

and like I used to hide it from everyone because

I didn't want them to like I don't want to

ruin the vibe. But so I didn't show my emotions

that much and like there was no one to like

comfort me. But even though many people tried to comfort me,

I mean it worked, but then I was still sad inside.

But yes, but then that's when Jesus came in and

he was there for me, like when no one was,

and he understood me fully like no one else could

understand me like that. And I mean, I say something

but I don't actually mean it. But sometimes I say

something but then the other person doesn't understand what I

actually mean. But like Jesus understood everything. But yeah, and

he accepted me for like who I was, and even

though he knows like all the things I have done

in my life, he accepted me like for wherever I am,

like me me. But but if he can accept me

and do all that, and I mean, it's it's not right,

Like if someone's accepting you like that and you don't

like the least you can do to accept them back.

So if Jesus can accept me like that, I want

it to him. I want to like accept him into

my life forever too. That's why I want to get baptized.

Beautiful.

That is amazing, that's so great, very good, and my

dearest friend and sister now in Christ Laura, would you

like to come and share your testimony? Thank you please come.

Firstly, sorry because my English very rubbish. Secondly, totally different background.

Hopefully you can't understand me. I come from mainland of China,

not Hong Kong, not source of parton. And if I

tell it in my hometown, maybe nobody knows, even Chinese. Uh,

it's in the middle of China. Do you know COVID?

Oh when they When my colleague asked me where you're from,

I said my hometown. They check the Google gole said, oh,

not far from the COVID. Yeah, because they don't know

this place. I'm born in the small village, very remote

and slowly moved to a small townue but still not

big city. So far from knowledge about religion, about even

the big city, modern city, the public, knowledge international totally

from far from me. I don't know anything, but everything

is a miracle. I didn't know why come here. I

think one thing got me here, took me here, forced

me here. Love. Yes, I firstly got here. I firstly

learned knowledge is by myself in China. I just want

to learn no reason. I just want to know why

the world is like this. So I learned your learning

by myself. I want to go to UNI to learn

more than I went to UNI. When you need I

stay in the library.

Why. I want to know why is the world is

like this? And also my subject is law.

It's about fairness, it's about everything should be equal.

But I'm that kind of person. If you bully me,

buliy me, BlimE me, finally will do something.

So I've checked the law, checked my life. Why I'm

check people's life. I feel oh, something seems not right,

but the study told me we have known this, no that.

So I want to know why? Why? Why? Just because

of this? And also I went to abroad very hard

because in.

China, if you want to go right a broad legally,

I mean two things. One money definitely, but my family

no no money. Second education, Yes, I studied, studied by myself.

Get the education, but hope the money what so hard?

How about homboard? Many years got here? I'm getting old?

Another question? Somebody told me.

You're so old? Who you marry? The whole life?

You want to live like this by yourself? I'm not

single person. Can you by myself? I feel so lonely.

Situation forced me.

No.

I need love love, somebody love me? Yeah, then I

just don't know. I follow follow this feeling. Then suddenly

met my husband. The first sentence. I told my husband,

my wisl will expel soon. Can you marry me?

My husband? What my husband is?

Polish showed me, put the passport on the table, told

me what's the color of the passport?

That's black. We'll fight against the German and the Russia.

Finally I have the fight against you Chinese. You want

to make puzzled? I feel no, no.

I didn't say anything but this very Oh. My husband

gave me three months than six months than one year?

Okay, I marry you. That told me I have a

reason for vision.

I said, okay, then were married? That love together really

for ten years?

People? Who hasn't who you married for ten years? I said, yeah?

Ten years past? Still continue?

Eleven years, twelve years seems like the whole life.

Yeah.

That another questions me, get here very hard to make friends.

I have no family, no friends, my husband no friends.

My husband Polish family not here. If we are both

getting older, Uh, what can we do? Being a care house?

That's not my tradition. I need love so every day?

Who can give you? But I learned knowledge.

Something is the China we don't call gold like here

because it's heaven all something something different. So we see

that the Kristen, a guy I met Chinese, to me

that one is like Western gold.

Jesus, I said, oh.

The thing, except yes, I got knowledge about that, so

I compare.

I was thinking.

This whole to work because this knowledge in China, you

won't give it to you think communist country. That's totally

that cut off. So it took me so long, so

far I'm faifty just to realize, Oh, just turn like

this this by myself, because no friends tell me, no

anybody told me. Luckily I learned English by myself ab CD,

so I got here. I read by myself.

Get with her.

I read by myself to get worst knowledge. I read

by myself to get everything. Long journey got here.

Two things.

One is love. Another one is the miracle. I think, yes,

I think.

It's God behind me push me to sit here.

That's the reason that I'm very happy. I didn't prepare

any speech, but I'm very happy. Give me another chance.

Nobody very hard to get two chances here. I got

why it's not money talks. I don't believe it's money,

it's my heart believe that go back.

Yes, I had the opportunity to talk to Laura before,

and it was miracle how.

The Lord has brought her from that country and the communism,

et cetera, to a place where she has found love

in between the community, the love of God, and now

recognizing that she's not going back. I mean, so thank you, Laura,

thank you for sharing that. And last but not least,

we have our lovely sister Elizabeth, and you would like

to come and share your testimony please that would be great.

Hello everybody.

Oh.

I also didn't prepare speech, just like Laura, but I

wanted to share what has made an impression on me

that's made me to say I wanted to be baptized.

I've been a Christian for over ten years, so I've

given my life to Christ, you know, some time back.

But according to I was bad ties in the Anglican Church.

And in the Anglican Church they also do the same

thing sprinkling christening and then they do confirmation. So I

did all that and we were told I remember there

was a lot of argument about immersion baptism versus sprinkling.

I remember they taught us that the sprinkling is the

same thing, almost like what Jonathan was saying. So we

accepted it as that. But somehow, in my heart, I

always felt there was something missing. I always felt that

I didn't have that full experience of an immersion baptism.

And I don't know why I didn't get that opportunity,

but in the back of my mind, it's always been

in my heart to have that experience. Fast forward us

coming into the UK, and you know, life and work

and children and everything, and all the years I've been

in this church for about six years, and even the

times i've been in this church, I've been thinking about

immersion baptism. And I remember some years ago, every year

Passa Da've always says, you know, he's inviting people for baptism,

but people didn't respond. I remember there was a time

we had someone and then they turned it down or

something like that. But in my every time you made

that call, it came to my mind, what if I

can have that baptism. But I remember that one thing

that held me back was I wasn't sure if I

should have it or not. And I always wanted to

talk it out with my husband, but he he was

not approachable for me to talk about with, so I

always pushed it back. Now many people do know here

about the issues in my family, and things have gone through,

you know, and I felt like now that I've stepped

out into a new life, you know, where I'm having

so much more peace, so much more calm, so much

more you know, relaxed, and and God is still there.

You know, He's never let down. He's shown me time

and time again what I was with my husband without him.

He's shown me his presence is still there. And you know,

one factor that I've always seen is man can change.

You know, our health can change. We will change in age,

we will change in beauty. We will not always be

this good looking. We will grow old, we will grow tired.

We can be sick, we can be dying. We can

you know, have financial issue, serious problems. But you know

one thing that never changed. God never changes. And that's

my biggest lesson from my experience. You know, over the

past one year. God never changes. So if you're looking

for a best friend, he's there. If you're looking for

a husband, he's there. If you're looking for a best friend,

someone you can open up to, who like hope was

said understands you're like nobody else can. He's there and

that's God. And that's one big lesson I've learned. People change,

and I shouldn't hold it against anybody because it could

be life circumstances. It could be whatever. People can change.

Situations can change. Right now we're living in a peaceful country.

Something could happen and there could be all God forbid.

Things can change. But you know what, God will never change.

That hope we have in Him will never change. And

so when I approached past to day, if I told him,

you know, I've always thought about this baptism, but do

you think I could still do this, you know, even

though I've done Christening and confirmation and all that. And

it's like, yes, why not? You know? And so here

I am today. I'm thinking this as a symbol to

the outside world to mean for me a new life again,

Praise God.

And amazing testimony is we have heard today.

Morning everybody. I've wrecked it already, new technology and I've

broken it already.

So this is an exciting day. I'm so excited. You

know that we've got candidates. We started with one, and

then two, and then three, and then four and there'll

be more. There'll be more. Just we're baptizing four now.

Just because there's four now, it doesn't mean that there

won't be more maybe later this year or maybe early

next year. And the way we do baptism at RCF

is we do it in different places. It depends it's sunny,

so we're doing it outside today. So for those who

are watching online, unfortunately you won't be able to see

the actual baptisms. We're going to record them and post

them later because we're going to somebody's house to do that.

But over the years, we baptize people in the river,

in swimming pools, in the Baptist mullet Saint John's they

have a baptismal in the floor and sometimes we've done

it there as well as lots of different ways. But

the key thing for me is that actually, as Christians,

we make a declaration saying I'm putting my trust in Jesus.

You heard as people expressed in different ways as Laura

as Hope, various people said I'm putting my trust in him.

He's my best friend, he's reliable, he's faithful, and we

press into God. And so that's what's been declared today.

And so what we symbolically then do is we take

them to take people to a place of water that's

deep enough, and then we they go under the water

as an old symbolic as an old person, not as

an old person, but old life. And then as they're

raised up out of the water, it's symbolic that new

life has come, new life in Christ. So I don't know,

I don't know who who remembers John, John the Baptist.

But in John chapter one, verses nineteen to twenty six,

it says this, Now, this is the testimony of John.

When the Jews sent priests and levites from Jerusalem to

ask him, who are you? He confessed and did not deny. Oops, okay,

thanks son, I am not the Christ. And they asked him,

what then are you? Elijah? He said, I am not.

Are you a prophet? And he answered no. Then they

said to him, who are you that you may give

an answer to those who sent us? What do you

say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of

one crying in the wilderness and ex straight the way

of the Lord, as the prophet of Isaiah. Now those

who were sent were sent from the Pharisees, and they

asked him, saying, why do you baptize if you are

not the c nor Elijah nor the prophet. John's answered

them saying, I baptize with water. But there stands one

amongst you whom you do not know. But thanks be

to God who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus.

So John baptized in water, and we're going to baptize

in water today. But there's a promise. As Christ came

and paid the price for our wrongdoing. The price has

been paid. Jonathan talked about in his testimony how he

did stuff wrong, he couldn't do anything about it, and

he was trying to deliver Christian life. But it was

a battle. It's paid for. The price has been paid,

and we need to get to a place where we

really grasp that the enemy, as we sung in a

Roman sixteen nineteen, says you know the enemy will come

and whisper in your ear, and maybe he's even done

it yesterday or today, and he said, see you're not

good enough. Well we're not good enough. That's the honest truth.

I get things wrong, I get angry with people. Sometimes

I do things i'm not proud of. I'm sure we

all do but what can we do about the things

when we get them wrong? We can't pay the price.

But he paid the price. He paid the price for

you and me. He paid a price eternally. He paid

a price eternally. That that goes on into eternity. It's

it's a lot like you go to the bank and

you go, can I have some money please? And there's

a transaction. That transaction is an eternal transaction for it

and it's not limited by one person because he died

for all that Christ might pay the price for you

and for me, and he wants us all to hear

that message. That's what the good news is. The gospel

is Christ came to pay the price for you and

for me. One of my favorite at him says, what

a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and

griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to

God in prayer. Hope gave us an illustration and said,

nobody else understood, but he understood. There have been times

when I've been in a room on my own, I

got why does nobody understand? Do you know what the

reality is? He understands He's paid the price. When you

read the gospel stories of all that Christ went through

for you and for me. He suffered, He suffered. And

when we look at the Father and say, Lord, you

don't understand some we want to say. Sometimes we want

to say to Dad, to abba father, we want to

say to God, but you don't understand. And he looks

and goes, I don't understand. My son went to the

cross for you. What do you mean I don't understand.

And when we get that reality, when we get that truth,

when we go, oh, yes, you do understand. You did

pay the price, and you continue to pay the price

because that's an eternal sacrifice. And so when we read

what a friend we have in Jesus, I'd just like

you to pause where you are and think about your

best friend. Maybe it's your husband, your wife, maybe it's

somebody else, but your best friend. Just think about your

best friend. And please don't don't call your best friend

Jesus yet. We'll get there in a moment. But that

don't all do the diffault Oh on my best friend's Jesus. Well, okay,

but I want you to think about someone you you

could show me meet my best friend. Could you could

come and say, because do you know what when my

best friend is when my best friend is in town,

I'm telling people, Hey, this is my best friend. And

I don't just go, oh, this is Cholin. I go,

this is my best friend. And you know the thing

about best friend is even when they're far away, they're

still your best friend. You know, my best friend's been

in Germany, South Africa, has been all around the world,

and you know, sometimes you know what'sapp me from the

other side of the world, And I think, how did

you know when you've got a best friend you want

to tell people about it?

Do you know what?

And if we can say what a friend we have

in Jesus, shouldn't we tell people about this friend that

we have because he's done so much for you and

for me. It goes on to saying that him have

we trials, and anybody have trials, temptations, struggles. Is there

trouble anywhere? We should sometimes be discouraged, never be discouraged.

We should never be discouraged. And what does this end

of every verse say? Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Jesus knows our every week. And then he goes on

to say, are we weak? Anybody get tired? Anybody kind

of go fad enough. I want to give up. Do

we want to put some stuff down? Sometimes we sense

we need to carry something and we kind of our

hands are falling up with Can I just put this down?

Precious Savior still our refuge in his arms. He'll take

and heal you, and there you'll find solace. God sent

his one and only son for you and for me,

for those at home, for those in the room. I

want to introduce you to my best friend. He knows

how I feel. Sometimes I don't even need to say.

Sometimes he will finish my sentence for me. I'll talk

to him and I'll go I don't just finish the sentence,

because she knows what I've been through. He knows where

I've been. My mum will used to be knowing. My

mum was Jean, and she was often known as the

all seeing one, and she was I'll give you an examples.

As a ten year old boy, I was upstairs doing

something I shouldn't be doing, and there'd be a voice

comes up from downstairs and my mum goes, David now,

and then she said, David, that was a problem. So

maybe you've got a long You've got a long name

and a short name. You know, the short name when

everything's okay, But when when you get the long name. David,

what are you doing? And I kind of immediately putting

my Now, my mum is not in the room, but

I'm immediately putting my hands behind my back. And she

can't see me. She's downstairs. But I kind of think

now she still loved me even though I did things wrong,

even though I broke I want to remember breaking something upstairs,

something precious, And she heard the clatter, said David, what

are you doing? Oh? Nothing, mum? Well I wasn't What

do I mean by nothing? I was doing something, but

nothing I wanted to tell her about. And I went

downstairs with this broken vase and I took it downstairs

and I said, I'm sorry I've broken it. She said,

did you were you doing something silly? I said, no,

not really. I was doing something I shouldn't have been doing.

I was in the you know, I was trying to

take a book off a shelf and I hadn't paid attention.

And she said, what he didn't mean to it's okay.

There are many times when we bring broken things to God.

We say, Lord, look at this mess that I've made,

and he goes, it's okay. Because of Jesus, the price

has been paid for you. And so today as we

have baptismal candidates, they declare they're putting their trust in Christ.

We're going to symbolically bury them in the water and

rise them up to new life. And as they come

up out of the water, we will sing the songs

they've chosen. We sung so some of those songs already,

but they will come up. And I honestly believe that

baptism is a place where you draw a line in

the sand. It's a choice that people make. You don't

become a Christian because you get baptized, You've made that

decision already. But when you draw the line, and sad,

I am putting my trust in Christ and He's my savior.

When we draw that line, that's a public declaration. That's

what baptism is. It's a public declaration, and things can change.

Things will change from that moment. When we used to

meet in a building called New Road between here and

the States, we had a number of traveling members, members

from the traveling community who came to our church. And

I think Judy would remember this too, But one of

the chaps who went in for baptism. He had tattoos

all over his arms. And I don't mean I don't

mean tattoos that were semi permanent. I mean real tattoos

that have been however, you put tattoos on. And he

went in for baptisms. Some of these, some of these

tattoos were not godly. They were rude and nasty and horrible.

And he went for baptism and we baptized him. And

it was only when he was toweling himself off and

he said, my goodness, some of my tattoos have disappeared.

And in baptism, some of these tattoos had disappeared, they'd gone,

some of the unholy ones. And I just want to

take I'm not I'm not promising free tattoos today, or

or tattoos to. What I am saying is the past behind,

grace for today and a hope to come. We had

another man who he couldn't read. He could not read,

he'd not really done much school. He couldn't read at all.

He went for baptism, you know, he came out and

after after the service, he'd been given a particular scripture

for his baptismal so the scripture somebody wanted to give him,

and so they showed him in the Bible, and he

read it.

We went what.

And the amazing thing was he could read. There was

only one book he could read. It was the Bible.

He could read the Bible, He could open any Bible.

He could even say those long names that you can't pronounce,

you know, he could even say that. But give him

another book, he couldn't read it. I can't explain. All

I'm saying is just I just think that God is

honoring his people who are making a direct declaration for him.

And so as we put our trust in Christ today,

as we put our trust in him, we can say

what it says in Philippians this that I may know

him and the power of his resurrection. You know, it's

not that Christ just loves us. It's the fact that

Christ died to pay the price for you and me,

and he rose again, and so we fellowship with him

in sufferings as he confront being conformed to his death.

So we die to the old self and we rise

to the new self. We push aside, we say behind,

as Albert gave us that lovely illustration last month and

said behind me. You know, sometimes we will want to

make fleshly choices and the spirit man says, spirit woman says, no,

make this choice, and we can get behind me, and

we make that choice. Resurrection is a wonderful thing. And

one day we will have resurrected bodies in heaven and

we'll be worshiping around the throne. You know, if you

think worship's brilliant here on earth, even if you've been

in the best, best, best worship meeting in heaven, it's

going to be so much better. And we're just getting

a glimpse. We're just getting a glimpse that I may

know Him and the power of his resurrection. Let me pray, Father, God,

thank you that you sent your one and only son.

And as we're reminded in the simple scripture in John

three point sixteen that says, for God so loved the

world that he gave his one and only son, that

whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Father,

I want to pray for Jonathan, want to pray for Hope,

want to pray for Laura, and for Elizabeth. Lord, these

four candidates are today declaring and showing they're putting their

trust in you, Father, I pray that these days would

be days of joy, days of fulfillment, days of destiny,

days of breakthrough, days of release. Father, I want to

believe that there will be things that will be left

behind this line, and just in the same way some

tattoos got left behind in the story I just shared their. Lord, Father,

I pray that there would be memories, situations, circumstances, things

they can do nothing about. There will be left in

the past. The power of the past would not hold

them because Christ has paid the price. But then, also,

Lord God, you'd give them new words, new language. And

so Father, even as I talked about another man who

got baptized who suddenly could read, Father, I pray that

you'd fill them with your spirit, empower them with the

gifts of your spirit. Let fruit be abundant in their lives.

The Lord God, that they wouldn't even have to introduce

you necessarily as a friend, because they would see a

glimpse of Jesus in their lives. And so, Father, we

celebrate today we give thanks for these four lives, and Lord,

we say thank you for the ultimate life that went

to the cross for each one of us, as Christ

paid the price that we might know freedom in Jesus name.

Amen.

Let's it good.

Thank you much, Thank you Day, Thank you pastor Day

for that word and for reminding us about importance of

really getting close to the Lord and what he can

do in our lives. So are we sinking now?

Are we