The Work of Grace Previously we established: Grace is a free gift from God  Any blessing in our lives is considered a grace from God  God created man and surrounded him by His grace  Man lost that grace as a result of sin and corruption  Man became uncapable of attaining righteousness on his own  The law could not help man attain righteousness  Man needed divine intervention to be able to attain righteousness  God graced man with the economy of salvation (Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, etc.) In order to attain salvation, we must have faith (God's grace) and works  Man cannot attain salvation without the work of God's grace  What is the Work of Grace? Introduction: Grace is a divine gift, given freely to us in various ways, and at various times  Grace is sent to those who are weak to strengthens them, and those who are strong to increase their strength  In spiritual life, God's grace plays a big role God's grace leads to repentance Give examples; after St Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, "Now when they heard  this, they were cut to the heart " Acts 2:37 God's grace stops us from falling in sin Give examples God's grace encourages us to attain virtues Give examples Grace is a way of God reaching out to us to help us Visitations of Grace: At certain times in our lives, God visits us by His grace Sometimes we find ourselves moved towards doing what is good - especially in the spiritual field  This is the work of God's grace The fathers refer to that as a "visitation of grace" We are "visited" by God's grace which encourages us to do good at the moment Examples The icon of "Christ knocking on the door" describes the visitation of grace The fathers tell us that the visitations of grace come at the right time - in the right circumstances  When do get visited by God's grace? We could be "visited" by God's grace at any time It usually can be felt in the heart It could be: In the middle of the liturgy In the middle of my personal prayer In the middle of sin (i.e. God's calling of Saul while he's going to Damascus) It could be through an event in your life Through a vision or a dream  Through a message from your spiritual father In the midst of hardships or trials  Let us look at the life of St Anthony as an example: We know at least 3 occasions where he was visited by God's grace and it was life changing for him At his father's death - He realized that life on earth is temporary and less valuable than eternal life Listening to the Gospel at church - He decided to leave everything and head to the desert  When the lady rebuked him by the river - He decided to go far into the desert to live in solitude The same grace who made St Anthony a great saint is inside of me so what is the difference? Who gets visited by God's grace?   God visits everyone with His grace Some are more sensitive to it God's grace than others Some are more tuned to listen to God's voice than other Jonah - (Was a visitation of grace to the Ninevites - He also was a visitation of grace to the mariners in the ship - In the process, the Lord visited Jonah himself) The calling of Matthew The visit to Zacchaeus St Mary of Egypt - while in the midst of her sin St Moses the strong - while searching for the true God Reasons for visitations of grace:  To wake us up from laziness Leads us to repent  Ignites and strengthens our spiritual life Corrects the course of our lives sometimes  Reminds us with the consequences of a wrong do it to stop us Call us to service To aid us to carry on with our the service  Even with saints, to reach higher levels of sainthood Gives us a blessing What should be our response towards visitations of grace?   It is important to note that God's grace works in us to produce good works but it does NOT force us to do good works (Grace and Free will) Grace is an internal movement towards what is good and Godly, but it does not force or pushes you to do anything, the decision has to come from you  We are in need of God's grace to be able to do anything good.  The Lord Jesus said " without   Me   you   can   do   nothing ." John 15:5 God's grace works with us all the time. However, the question is do we work with it or not? It depends on my response towards God's grace Let's take the Right and the Left hand thieves as an example: Both were criminals  Both were rightly punished  Both saw the Lord in front of them (visited by Him) However only one responded to that visitation and gained eternal life Sometimes may respond well to God's grace and some may resist it What prevents God's grace from us? (Resisting God's grace) Free will dictates that we are free to respond to the God's grace or not  There are many things that prevents God's grace from me: Being careless with the word of God (Not listening carefully to sermons, SS lessons, Bible study, etc.) Focusing on the speaker instead of listening -(i.e. this abouna is too strict, that abouna is too spiritual for me, etc.) Lack of circumspection when it comes to my spiritual canon  (i.e. not listening to the advise of my spiritual father) Not living a true life of Obedience (i.e. I listen to my parents, servants, or abouna with no intention of obeying them)  Resisting spiritual messages and warnings  Not learning from previous mistakes  (repeated confessions) Not participating in spiritual days or conventions (i.e. friends are not going) Giving into strange ideology (i.e. the Church is living the stone age) “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy." Jonah 2:8 Lack of thanksgiving (i.e. Not considering the multitude of blessings in one's life) Lack of faith - (i.e. doubting the presence of God's grace) "But without faith it is  impossible to please  Him" Hebrews 11:6 Negativity - (i.e. God doesn't love me) Responding to the grace but not following through - (i.e. like Pharaoh in letting the people go) Satan opposes God's grace - (i.e. You hear God's voice saying go reconcile with your friend, then you hear another voice saying "how about my dignity?") “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts" Hebrews 3:15 "Hear His voice" is the work of grace, "harden your hearts" is our response towards it Can God's grace abandon us? Sometimes, out of God's love, He allows His grace to abandon us To send us a message to learn from As a warning in order to straighten our ways  As a result of continuous resistance to the visitation of grace King Saul "Do not quench the Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 5:19 How to benefit from the visitations of grace? Respond to the visitation of grace promptly Do not say my will is weak God's grace can strengthen your will - but you should respond to it  Do not say my sin is too big "where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" Romans 5:20 Do not say I cannot do it "My Grace is sufficient to you" We need to work with God's grace Grace and works God's grace will plant a seed, you need to water and care for the seed to grow God's grace will save you from falling into sin, you do not return to that sin again  Pray for God's grace and to grow in God's grace Humble yourself “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 St Mary - Full of grace Prayer to receive grace from God Intercession of the saints  Work of the church with you  Be ready in your heart "   But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God" John 1:12 Strive to be worthy of that grace "to the praise of the glory of His grace" Eph 1:6 Give thanks Consider that everything good in your life is a result of God's grace with you  Hold fast to every opportunity Spend more time in prayers  Go into a new depth in the liturgy  Read more chapters in the Bible "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. " 2  Timothy 2:1 Growing in the grace "grow in the grace" 2 Peter 3:18 Growing in the grace is a commandment that we are asked to obey  Not only to use the grace given to me but to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord  So how can we enjoy and grow in God's grace? Any growth can be measured - the measure of growing in grace is fruits Fruit of repentance Real change "Therefore bear fruit s  worthy   of   repentance" Matthew 3:8 Fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22-23 But the   fruit   of   the   Spirit  is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such  the re is no law. Fruit in the service