Following His Example in Sight, Hearing, and Feeling

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:16-17 (KJV)

Jesus was baptized by immersion in water, thus He was water baptized. Then the Spirit of God descended on Jesus and He was baptized in the Holy Spirit. The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The heavens were opened, and God’s audible voice was hear, affirming who Jesus was and is: the Son He loves.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 (KJV)

In the account from Matthew, sight, hearing, and feeling were involved. They felt the water, saw the Spirit descend, and heard the voice of the Father. In Acts, when the Spirit was poured out on the disciples, they were baptized in the Spirit like Jesus was. Once again, sight, hearing, and feeling were involved. They heard a sound from heaven. They likely felt the wind blowing. Wind, by the way, is picture of the activity of the Spirit. And they saw tongues of fire appear upon each of them. They may have felt something from the fire as well. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.

Just like Jesus, they experienced something in sight, hearing, and feeling. Jesus set an example that we should follow. Be filled with the Spirit, to feel, hear, and see God in your life. The more we pursue God, the more we will experience His activity in our lives.