When I was confirmed about six years ago, I had the opportunity to publicly declare my belief in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. But the first time I began to understand the concept of having a personal relationship with God was when I was 8 years old at a Billy Graham Crusade in Toronto and I asked Jesus into my heart. Thankfully I have always been aware of God. Although I did not always realize, I was truly blessed to have been raised by Godly parents who shared with me the love, grace, and forgiveness that is offered to me by God through Jesus Christ, and the importance of following the Holy Spirit’s direction in my daily life.
As a teenager, God blessed with me amazing friends to help me grow as a person, pick me up when I fell, and challenge me in my walk. I made a lot of mistakes, but looking back on those experiences I have learned three things: the power of God’s grace, the blessings He is continually granting to me, and how to use the experiences I have faced to encourage and help others. All three things continue to give me an overwhelming joy.
When I moved to Guelph two years ago to start University, my life really started to change. I knew that I had to make the decision to seek out a church, which was a scary thing to do because my church had always been chosen for me. I knew I had to get involved in a campus ministry to make solid friends. I also knew I had to seek God out daily in order to survive the world of residence and found so much strength in just trusting He would provide for me. God was faithful and always met me where I was – and He continues to. He has blessed me with incredible friends who constantly challenge me and encourage me. He has blessed me with leadership opportunities within a campus ministry called Campus for Christ. And He has blessed me with a church where I feel at home in.
Although I have been stretched in new ways, over this semester, I noticed I became complacent in my daily walk with God. I became very good at hearing His voice and tucking it away, instead of truly listening to Him and following. A few weeks ago, I really encountered God through some amazing worship and prayer time and He revealed a lot to me and I chose to accept it. By doing so, He brought me to a place where I knew I should seriously consider baptism.
Acts 2 verse 38 says: Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
And Romans 6 verses 1- 5 says: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”
That’s exactly what we are celebrating this morning – the gift of new life through Jesus. So, that brings me to right now – the choice to dive in. As Steven Curtis Chapman sings in his song entitled “Dive”:
The long awaited rains
Have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground
And carved their way to where
The wild and rushing river can be found
And like the rains
I have been carried here to where the river flows
My heart is racing and my knees are weak
As I walk to the edge
I know there is no turning back
Once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a voice
That’s telling me it’s time to take the leap of faith
So here I go
I’m diving in
I’m going deep in over my head
I want to be caught in the rush,
Lost in the flow,
In over my head I want to go
The river’s deep,
The river’s wide
The river’s water is alive
So sink or swim I’m diving in
There is a supernatural power
In this mighty river’s flow
It can bring the dead to life
And it can fill an empty soul
And give a heart the only thing
Worth living and worth dying for
But we will never know the awesome power
Of the grace of God
Until we let ourselves get swept away
Into this holy flood
So if you’ll take my hand
We’ll close our eyes and count to three
And take the leap of faith
Come on let’s go
