I
became a Christian outside the institutional church. At the age of 9, I was
taught by a friend of the family how to pray. He told me praying was talking to
God and that I should not only ask for things but spend time listening to God.
I guess I had a contemplative prayer experience at a very young age.
When I was 17 I suffered from depression. My
grades at Year 11 were appalling and I felt everything in life was miserable. I
confided my depression to Stephen, my closest friend and classmate, who told me
to read the Bible starting at the Gospel of Matthew and to pray to Jesus
because he can help me. As I started to read the Gospels my heart started to
burn and I began to really believe Jesus was the son of God.
One Friday night, Stephen took me to a
street church in Malvern called “The Bridge”. They served coffee and raisin
toast. I recall Geoff, one of the servers, asking me if I was a Christian. I said “I was trying to be a Christian.” He
said to me that I don’t have to try and that all I had to do was let Jesus come
into my life. That night I invited Jesus to come into my life and I physically
felt my body shaking. My heart was literally on fire and tears poured down my
cheeks as I knew Jesus had come into my life, forgiven me of my sins and the
Holy Spirit was dwelling in me.
My exposure to institutional church came
when I joined an Anglican charismatic youth group when I was at university. I
couldn’t get my head around the idea of Baptism of the Spirit despite being
“Bible bashed” by my peers. As a member of the youth group, there was peer
pressure on me to receive the Baptism of the Spirit. So one Sunday night, the
vicar and members of the youth group laid hands and prayed that I receive the
Baptism of the Spirit. I again experienced supernaturally the power of the Holy
Spirit as I felt a heat of fire descend into my body during the laying on of
hands. I was expected to receive the gift of tongues immediately but it didn’t
happen. That night as I was sleeping my tongue could not stop moving and I woke
up the next morning speaking in tongues.
The vicar said to me it is normal practice
to receive water baptism first then the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and he
thought it would be appropriate for me to be baptised in water. I agreed to go
ahead with baptism but looking back in hindsight, I chose the wrong time of the
year. It was the middle of winter in Melbourne. The temperature was about 5
degrees centigrade and a Clarks’ rubber pool had been erected in the church car
park. I was given a white robe to wear and together the vicar and I got into
the pool which was about waist high. I could hear members of the congregation
shudder and shiver in empathy for me. I can’t recall the exact words but I was
tipped backwards to be fully immersed. I had never felt so cold in my life. I
felt cleansed, my sins forgiven and recommitted again to follow Jesus.
I still feel honoured today to be called by
God to be a Christian. My Christian journey began outside the institutional
church and although each church may have rules about admission and Christian
baptism, Jesus continues to speak to me personally and calls me to be his
servant.
How have you experienced the Baptism of
the Spirit? What spiritual gifts have been given to you? (See 1 Cor 12:1-11 for some ideas.) Give thanks for your gifts, and pray that they
continue to contribute to the common good.
Reflection by Steven Wong, South Yarra Community Baptist Church, 20 January 2016.
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