Jesus was himself baptised to set an example for His disciples and also as a sign that He was truly committed to the ways of God. This event is recorded in the Injil.(part of the Bible) "Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John didn't want to baptize Him. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by You." he said, "so why are You coming to me?" But Jesus said, "It must be done, because we must do everything that is right." So then John baptized him. After this baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with Him." Matthew 3:13-17

In the example of Jesus baptism (as we just read), we must be baptized if we are going to follow Him and truly be His disciple. In the example of Jesus baptism, we learn 4 things:

-It is the right thing to do.
-The heavens were opened over Jesus.
-The Spirit of God came down on Jesus.
-God said that He was pleased with Jesus and that Jesus was His Son.

When a disciple of Jesus makes the decision to obey Him and become baptized, these four things also apply to them. Firstly, it is the right thing to do for a disciple to be baptized. Secondly, when a disciple is baptized, God opens the heavens over their life and they receive much blessing. Thirdly, the Spirit of God will enter into that disciples life as they believe God. Finally, God declares you to be His son and He is very pleased with you.

13 years ago I obeyed Christ in baptism, and truly it is a great blessing to have done so. I am one of God's sons, I have His Spirit dwelling with me, the windows of Heaven are open in my life and He is truly pleased with me. When I was baptised, it truly was the right thing to do. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus said "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this; I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Baptism is usually done with water, but sometimes with sand. A new disciple is baptised by another disciple of Jesus. Baptism is a symbol of death to our own self efforts and that a new life has begun inside us. This new life is in the efforts of Christ.