God is great! Hallelujah!

 

 

In the service, every candidate was required to give a reason for their baptism… I remember standing in the line waiting for my turn pondering over what I was going to say. It had to be short in no more than 1 sentence! As I approached the microphone, the Lord spoke to me and reminded me that he had adopted me as His son. The words of Ephesians 1:5 were also on my heart. So when I finally came to give my reason, I blurted out: ‘I was predestined to be adopted through Jesus Christ’, and he is my Lord and  Saviour”

 

 

The words are still written on my heart… As the baptism itself approached, I remember getting very excited as well as having the little thought of just how cold the water was going to be. When the ministers said that the water was “cool” I knew right well they meant that it was most likely going to be very cold!

 

The baptism candidates were then asked to follow the Archbishop outside of St. Michael-le-Belfrey where the baptism pool was located. I remember walking towards it and seeing countless people observing. The press were also out in force and there was a BBC camera man also filming the baptisms – I had no idea at that point that it was the BBC and that I would actually be shown on BBC national news that evening!

 

 

When my turn finally came, I climbed into the pool in just a pair of shorts and a sleeveless v-neck shirt. I could really sense the presence of the Holy Spirit prior to be being baptised. I spent about 7 months in York with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and did a DTS (Discipleship Training School) which was a tremendous experience! The Church I went to was called The Ark – http://www.the-ark.net. The pastor is Stephen Redman and he was the other person baptising me along with the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu. I remember going down into the water, the coldness was sudden yet as I came up from the water I felt totally different… something had happened that’s for sure! Yes it was cold after wards, but I was able to change relatively quickly.

 

 

 

However, ever since the moment that I came up from the water, I have felt a new level of intimacy with the Lord Jesus and I know I will never forget this day… I’ve never felt this close to God before… but I am definitely glad it happened. I will confess here that I love Jesus to an extent that I cannot find words to describe it.

 

 

A few people did ask, why did I get baptised in York instead of Great Yarmouth or Gorleston? Well, my answer to that is that God radically changed my life in a huge way when I was with YWAM York. My heart was transformed whilst on the 2007 DTS. I used to hate myself and feel worthless – God showed me different – because of God, I am now able to look myself in the mirror and love what I see, to know that what I see was created in the very image of God, that I was knitted together with love and gentleness within my mother’s womb. I really want more people to receive the grace of God when it comes to lack of self-esteem – God removed the weed of worthlessness and low self-esteem from my life… in its place, He planted seeds of self-worth, love & righteousness but most of all hope!

 

 

God is great! Hallelujah!

 

 

See a Video clip by clicking the web address below.