Christ gives the challenge in Acts 1:8 saying, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 personifies this idea as, right before Jesus Christ goes up to Heaven, He directs the disciples on a exploration that would launch right in their own community. He begins with their area of Jerusalem, and then enlarges the call to the outer parts of the creation.

As believers, we are not urged to social clubs, but to be missional persons who are aggressively going out and meeting people right where they are with the message of Jesus. We have seen this throughout history: God urges Abraham on a mission to exit his place of origin and his people and go to the place that God would show him (Gen. 12:1), God moved Moses on a exploration to save an enslaved people and lead them to freedom (Exodus 3:8-10), God moved Jesus on a story to globe to reconcile all things to Himself through the death of Jesus (Colossians 1:20). And now God is sending believers on a exploration to engage homes, cities, tribes, and even nations with the message of Jesus (Matt. 28:19 Mark 6:7 Luke 10:1 John 20:21 Acts 1:8). If we abandon this motivation and continue to perceive the places of worship like a members only country club ” encouraging that people straighten up their performance, pay their money, and come to our place of worship God will continue His mission without us.

By Psychic – Concentration You Can Control Your Temper. If you
are one of

those that flare up at the slightest “provocation” and never try

to control yourself, just think this over a minute. Does it do

you any good? Do you gain anything by it? Doesn’t it put you out

of poise for some time? Don’t you know that this grows on you and

will eventually make you despised by all that have any dealings

with you? Everyone makes mistakes and, instead of becoming angry

at their perpetrators, just say to them, “Be more careful next

time.” This thought will be impressed on them and they will be

more careful. But, if you continually complain about their making

a mistake, the thought of a mistake is impressed on them and they

will be more likely to make mistakes in the future. All lack of

self-control can be conquered if you will but learn to

concentrate.

Many of you that read this may think you are not guilty of either

of these faults, but if you will carefully watch yourself you

will probably find that you are, and, if so, you will be greatly

helped by repeating this affirmation each morning:

“I am going to try today not to make a useless gesture or to

worry over trifles, or become nervous or irritable. I intend to

be calm, and, no difference what may be the circumstances, I will

control myself. Henceforth I resolve to be free from all signs

that show lack of self-control.”

At night quickly review your actions during the day and see how

fully you realized your aim. At first you will, of course, have

to plead guilty of violation a few times, but keep on, and you

will soon find that you can live up to your ideal. After you have

once gained self-control, however, don’t relinquish it. For some

time it will still be necessary to repeat the affirmation in the

morning and square your conduct with it in the evening. Keep up

the good work until, at last, the habit of self-control is so

firmly fixed that you could not break it even though you tried.

I have had many persons tell me that this affirmation and daily

review made a wonderful difference in their lives. You, too, will

notice the difference if you live up to these instructions.

Exercise 12.

Practice Talking Before a Glass. Make two marks on your mirror on

a level with your eyes, and think of them as two human eyes

looking into yours. Your eyes will probably blink a little at

first. Do not move your head, but stand erect. Concentrate all

your thoughts on keeping your head perfectly still. Do not let

another thought come into your mind. Then, still keeping the

head, eyes and body still, think that you look like a reliable

man or woman should; like a person that anyone would have

confidence in. Do not let your appearance be such as to justify

the remark, “I don’t like his appearance. I don’t believe he can

be trusted.”

While standing before the mirror practice deep breathing. See

that there is plenty of fresh air in the room, and that you are

literally feasting on it. You will find that, as it permeates

every cell, your timidity will disappear. It has been replaced by

a sense of peace and power.

The one that stands up like a man and has control over the

muscles of his face and eyes always commands attention. In his

conversation, he can better impress those with whom he comes in

contact. He acquires a feeling of calmness and strength that

causes opposition to melt away before it.

Three minutes a day is long enough for the practice of this

exercise.

Look at the clock before you commence the exercise, and if you

find you can prolong the exercise for more than five minutes do

so. The next day sit in a chair and, without looking at the

picture, concentrate on it and see if you cannot think of

additional details concerning it. The chances are you will be

able to think of many more. It might be well for you to write

down all you thought of the first day, and then add to the list

each new discovery. You will find that this is a very excellent

exercise in Psychic – Concentration.

Exercise 13

The Control of Sensations. Think how you would feel if you were

cool; then how you would feel if you were cold; again, how you

would feel if it were freezing. In this state you would be

shivering all over. Now think of just the opposite conditions;

construct such a vivid image of heat that you are able to

experience the sensation of heat even in the coldest atmosphere.

It is possible to train your imagination until you do this, and

it can then be turned to practical account in making undesirable

conditions bearable.

You can think of many very good exercises like this. For

instance, if you feel yourself getting hungry or thirsty and for

any reason you do not wish to eat, do not think of how hungry or

thirsty you are, but just visualize yourself as finishing a

hearty meal. Again, when you experience pain, do not increase it

by thinking about it, but do something to divert your attention,

and the pain will seem to decrease. If you will start practicing

along this line systematically you will soon gain a wonderful

control over the things that affect your physical comfort.

Exercise 14

The Eastern Way of Concentrating. Sit in a chair with a high back

in upright position. Press one finger against the right nostril.

Now take a long, deep breath, drawing the breath in gently as you

count ten; then expel the breath through the right nostril as you

count ten. Repeat this exercise with the opposite nostril. This

exercise should be done at least twenty times at each sitting.

Exercise 15

Controlling Desires. Desire, which is one of the hardest forces

to control, will furnish you with excellent exercises in

Psychic – Concentration. It seems natural to want to tell others
what you

know; but, by learning to control these desires, you can

wonderfully strengthen your powers of Psychic – Concentration.
Remember,

you have all you can do to attend to your own business. Do not

waste your time in thinking of others or in gossiping about them.

If, from your own observation, you learn something about another

person that is detrimental, keep it to yourself. Your opinion may

afterwards turn out to be wrong anyway, but whether right or

wrong, you have strengthened your will by controlling your desire

to communicate your views.

If you hear good news resist the desire to tell it to the first

person you meet and you will be benefited thereby. It will

require the Psychic – Concentration of all your powers of
resistance to

prohibit the desire to tell. After you feel that you have

complete control over your desires you can then tell your news.

But you must be able to suppress the desire to communicate the

news until you are fully ready to tell it. Persons that do not

possess this power of control over desires are apt to tell things

that they should not, thereby often involving both themselves and

others in needless trouble.

If you are in the habit of getting excited when you hear

unpleasant news, just control yourself and receive it without any

exclamation of surprise. Say to yourself, “Nothing is going to

cause me to lose my self-control. You will find from experience

that this self-control will be worth much to you in business. You

will be looked upon as a cool-headed business man, and this in

time becomes a valuable business asset. Of course, circumstances

alter cases. At times it is necessary to become enthused. But be

ever on the lookout for opportunities for the practice of

self-control. “He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that

ruleth a city.”