Pastor Vic's Nuggets of Truth Dr. Vic Torres

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In the last post, 163, the focus was on "Why we need the Holy Spirit.” We need the Holy Spirit to walk in righteousness, overcoming sin and defeating the enemy, the Devil. We can sum this up as the process of Sanctification. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, we are declared sanctified or holy; this is our new “position” in the Lord. At the same time, we enter a process of becoming more like Jesus in our thoughts, words, and deeds. This is what a faithful Christian is, a work in progress; becoming more like Jesus is our life's work. Sanctification has two parts: our position in Christ, which Jesus purchased for us, and the work we must do, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to become more like Jesus in our character.



Understanding the principle of Sanctification is to understand why Jesus sent us a "Helper," the Holy Spirit, to lead us, teach us, guide us, and most importantly, empower us to live the life He has called us to. While our position of being sanctified never changes, our personal lives continually change. This process of change is called “transformation.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV), “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” So, the transformation process is that we become more and more like Jesus in character.

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1 Corinthians 12 is the apostle Paul's exhortation to recognize the spiritual gifts available to every believer who acknowledges the presence of the Holy Spirit in them. I quote Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:1 (NKJV), “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.” Paul was chastising the Corinthian Christians for abandoning the work of the Holy Spirit in their personal lives and in church life. 



It is not enough to know the basic truths of the Bible; knowledge should lead to understanding, and then the ultimate fruit of understanding is wisdom. Wisdom is the proper application of truth. In other words, we are called to be “doers” of the Word.

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A friend of mine asked this question about God. “When I pray, who do I pray to, God the Father, Jesus or the Holy Spirit? This is really a good question and maybe something you have wondered about as well. Let me try to explain this question first from how I approach the triune nature of our God and also from a scriptural perspective.

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How to be led by the Holy Spirit of God is of utmost importance. It represents the difference between working for the Lord or working with the Lord! 



While working for the Lord may be a sincere effort to please the Lord, it is often a work the Lord has not asked us to do. Here is an important point: if the Lord is not in it, it usually isn't worth doing. A lot of frustration and disappointment comes from trying to do God's work without God! This reminds me of Moses when he said to the Lord, “If you don't go with me, I won't go!” Exodus 33:14-16 (NKJV): “And He [God] said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then he (Moses) said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us?” The difference between doing a good work and a God work is one letter “o”, but that difference makes all the difference in the world!

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As a Christian, it is important to know who you are! Today, there seems to be such an effort in the world to put everyone into a group or category. This suggests a real identity crisis in our cultures, societies, and countries. The Bible makes it very clear who we are: we are citizens of Heaven, Philippians 3:20 (NKJV) tells us. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

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One of the challenges of becoming an “overcoming” Christian and of success in general is to recognize that there is more to the process of becoming successful than wishing and wanting. We all want the love, peace, and joy of success, but are we willing to pay the price? 



You will find all kinds of motivational slogans and clichés about reaching your dreams or reaching your potential on social media, advertising, books, magazines, TV, and movies. However, all the slogans and clichés will not replace two things: making the right decision and committing to follow through!