Luke 3:1-16; Act 1:6-8; Acts 2:1-4; Ex: 3:1-3
The secular world is preparing to most the challenges of the third millennium. Technologically, new inventions are being made. Politically – there are groupings of states. Financially there is the strengthening of currencies. But there is also an increase in godlessness, wickedness, immorality, Satanism, spiritism, occultism, and demon-possession. Christians are being attracted more to deceiving spirits, false teachers, false doctrines and as a result many are abandoning the faith. In deed, prophecies in 3 Timothy 3:1-5 and 1 Timothy 4:1-5 prophecies are being fulfilled!

How is the Christian preparing to enter the third millennium?
The people of the world are wiser than the people of right! What do we do? We need to have intimate, moment-by-moment relationship with the Holy Spirit, see Him as an indispensable partner and allow him to direct our lives. We need throughout the Holy Spirit. We must bear the marks of Holy-Spirit-filled lives individually and corporately.

Be baptized with the Holy Spirit as in Acts 2:1-4. Receive your tongue of fire. Why tongues?  – it gives utterance – ability to speak the gospel of Christ.
Why fire?                    i)    Fire warms up
ii)   Fire lights up
iii)  Fire attracts people
iv)  fire and melts and unifies
v)   fire purifies and refines (impurities)
vi)  fire raises temperatures (praises)
vii) Fire gets things moving

2. Were filled with the Holy Spirit –they became Spirit-filled people. Acts 2:1-4
As the Holy Spirit is a divine person with attributes of God. He has attitude, aspirations, abilities actions. He can be lied to Acts 5:3. He can be upset, etc.
So being baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit means being immersed soaked, plunged , and Dyed .
In the attitude aspirations, abilities, in the divine attributes of God. We become partakers of the divine nature

Fire need to be continually quelled to keep it alive/ablaze. Being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18) means seeing the Holy Spirit fire in you ablaze by
a)                  Maintaining living faith in Jesus
b)                 Being filled with the Word of God
c)                  Praying giving thanks and singing to the Lord.

The Marks: 
Anyone who goes through a “baptism” of fire is left with marks/scars on the body. A character study of Bible personalities qualified as “Spirit-filled” indicate that the Spirit-filled persons has the following marks.

Boldness to preach the Gospel and witness about Jesus Christ 
Acts 4:31; Peter in Acts 2;14f, a coward being warmed up by holy fire address an international crusade. Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit. Acts 6:5; 7:55; Paul Acts Acts 13:9.
Boldness to confront powers of darkness. Peter in Acts with Simon the Sorcerer.

Signs and Wonders accompany their service –
Stephen (Acts 6:8) Peter (Acts 3:6)

Wisdom, Understanding and knowledge, faith. 
Beleazel (Ex. 31:3), Stephen (Acts 6:10). Paul (Acts 27:2-5).
Peter preaching the resurrection of Christ.

Holiness and righteousness 
As fire purifies and refine so Spirit-filled people hate sin and promote righteousness (John the Baptist, Luke 3, Acts 5)

Joy in the Spirit/God 
” praising God, singing hymns giving thanks to God for everything” (Acts 2:47; Eph. 5:18-19). Even when Peter and Silas were whipped and imprisoned they could count it joy and praised God. Acts 16:25.

Cherish unity. Acts 2:44-46; Acts 4; 32
being one in heart and mind; just as fire melts and unifies the coldest of steel. Holy Spirit do heart transplanting. The heart is the path to right and wrong.

Giving – they share with others.
They gave generously to God’s cause. Acts 2: 45.