"Repentance without repentance worketh unto salvation." Our spirit is built up by the power of prayer of repentance, prayer of tears, prayer for all. "And death maketh sorrow in the world." What is worldly sorrow? This is the sorrow of those who set as the goal of life only the pleasures of this world, only their own well-being in this earthly life, who do not want to know about the path of salvation, who know nothing about the spiritual life, who do not pray, do not believe in anything, but believe only in the golden calf, in wealth, which gives them bliss and well-being in this life.

And such people are often, often overtaken by sorrow. Their assumptions aimed at ensuring their earthly well-being collapse like houses of cards. It can be worse; It also happens that in search of well-being, these unfortunates embark on the path of crime and a complete catastrophe befalls them. Their untruth and crime are revealed, it is revealed that for their own womb they have trampled on the welfare of their neighbors, trampled on the interests of the state, and a terrible punishment befalls them: they end up in prison, in exile, in exile. But this is only half the trouble.

It is not yet scary to go to prison, to exile. It is terrible that eternal death, eternal perdition, awaits them. No, that is why it is said that worldly sorrow, sorrow for the good things of the world, makes death. Be afraid of this word, be afraid to follow this path of worldly sorrow, which death does. Live in the midst of sorrow for God, among holy tears for your own unworthiness, and for the lost unfortunate people among whom you live, and you will receive eternal salvation. Amen.

    On the words: "The Kingdom of God is within you"   (Luke 17:21), February 26, 1946   And when he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God will not come in a visible way, and they will not say, 'Behold, it is here,' or, 'Behold, it is there.'

For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21). This is what is important for you to remember: that the Kingdom of God is within you. People who are poorly enlightened, even from among the Orthodox, do not imagine the Kingdom of God in the way they should. Their idea is closer to the crude idea of Muslims. Muslims imagine the eternal life of the faithful as a joyful life in a beautiful garden, where they will be surrounded by beautiful young women, where they will enjoy wonderful food.

This idea is crudely materialistic. Christ said that the Kingdom of God is within us. It will not come in a conspicuous way, but will quietly and imperceptibly come into the hearts of men, and it is already in the hearts of the righteous, in the hearts of the saints of God. The Kingdom of God will begin for them while they are still alive. To live in the Kingdom of God means to live where God reigns.

Our deepest, most intimate spiritual life flows in the depths of our hearts, and the Kingdom of God will begin for us when the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. Then, according to the word of Christ, He Himself will come with the Father to those who have kept His commandments, and they will make their abode with Him. If the righteous are vouchsafed that the Holy Spirit will reign in his heart, it means that he is already in the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is in his heart — the Holy Spirit dwells and reigns there. Such a Kingdom of God does not come suddenly, does not come noticeably through the loud proclamation of the trumpet. The Kingdom of God is the quiet, peaceful, imperceptible entry of the Holy Spirit into human hearts. Such saints as Seraphim of Sarov, Sergius of Radonezh, Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves were already in the Kingdom of God during their lifetime, the Holy Spirit dwelt in their hearts, and for them the radiant Kingdom of God began here on earth.

The Lord said to His disciples: "The days will come when you will desire to see even one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see; and they shall say unto you, Behold, here, or, behold, there, go not and pursue not: for as the lightning flashing from one end of heaven shineth to the other end of heaven, so shall the Son of man be in his day" (Luke 17:22-24).

So suddenly, so awesome will be His coming. It will be suddenly, when people will not expect it at all, on a day that only our Father in heaven knows. But before this tremendous lightning flashes, Christ must, in His words, "suffer much, and be rejected by this generation" (v. 25). What suffering did the Lord Jesus Christ speak of here?

He does not speak of His sufferings on the Cross, but of other sufferings which He will experience from people who have rejected Him all the days – from the Ascension to the Last Judgment. He knew that it would be difficult for Him to be rejected by the human race, that our sins would torment Him. All bloody wars between Christian nations cause great pain to His heart.

We inflict this pain on Him with our lives, our sinful actions, evil thoughts, and impious words... We inflict this pain on Him when we serve our passions. The Lord Jesus Christ speaks here of this suffering: "I must suffer much, and be rejected by this generation." Mankind rejected Him for the most part... And we, His little flock, will be afraid to inflict even the slightest suffering on Him with our evil feelings, evil thoughts, and evil deeds.

May the Lord God preserve you all from them!     How to Follow Christ,   December 3, 1946   That's how  few people in Simferopol need to listen to the word of God. Many thousands of people live in this city, and only a handful of people have come to listen to me. So, does that mean I should stop preaching?

No, because the holy Apostle Paul preached to a small number of people, he preached even to one person, he taught one person. And I don't know what is more necessary: to preach to a crowd of people or to a small handful of people. Because in this small handful there may be a person for whom what I am going to say will be especially important.