Title: The Power of Concentration
Contents
Bible Text: Mark 14:32-42
power of concentration
A man went out with a guide because he had no experience with pigeon hunting. I was amazed at how many pigeons were flying overhead. When I asked how many there were, he said that it would be at least 50,000. I shot in anticipation of hunting many pigeons. But it's all in vain. They fired and fired for an hour, but didn't catch a single one. The guide couldn't stand it and said a word. “Don’t try to catch all the pigeons, focus on just one.” If you try to catch all, you will not catch even one.
You can't hold on to what you want without knowing what it is. If you ask me what is the secret to success, the answer is focus. Jesus showed us a life focused on us. How should we focus on what?
Concentrate on one
Without a single goal, there is no concentration. To focus on one means to focus on a goal. Do you know how wildcats hunt squirrels? How a wildcat hunts a squirrel is simple. Once you spot a squirrel, you're staring intently and focused. Life flows out of the wildcat's eyes. At that moment, the squirrel freezes in fear. Hunt squirrels with concentration.
Jesus has always been a life focused on “one”. “…there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety children who are righteous who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7). Jesus focused on the one lost sheep to save mankind. When one of the 100 sheep was lost, he was a shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to find one. Concentrating on that one meant concentrating on all 100. He searches for the lost sheep until he finds it. He who neglects one gets none. Those who value one can keep 100. When all the labor is concentrated on one sheep, the flock grows.
The world opens the way to those who know where they are going. If you work hard for one goal, it is natural to reach success. Energy has potential energy and kinetic energy. Before we use energy, it is potential energy, and when we use it, it becomes kinetic energy. Concentrate on one goal, and the mountain will break open and a path will be created.
If there is a secret to success, it is concentration. Concentration towards the goal leads to success. Concentration is the key to Edison's success. It is said that if you go into the lab at 8 a.m., you often come out at 2-3 p.m. No time was wasted on anything other than pursuing a goal. He said that on vacation he played like he was at work. When I was playing, I focused on playing, and when I was working, I focused on what I was doing.
There is no one who has worked hard for one goal all his life and never achieved anything. If you are persistent, you can go higher. He who doesn't decide what he wants and where he's going gets nothing and gets nowhere. Without purpose and direction, success cannot be achieved through hard work and courage alone. Focus on one. Set one goal to focus your energy on. Distributed power is weak and concentrated power is strong.
Concentrate on the present
The mother of the future is the present. Today's mother was yesterday. No today without yesterday, no tomorrow without today. The most important thing is here now. He who does not know the present value is a fool. The phrase “save time” refers to today and the present, not yesterday or tomorrow. The present is the inevitable result of all the past. It is also the inevitable cause of all futures. The only real time is today. Therefore, you must do your best in this present moment. People suffer from the past because they cannot be absorbed in the present. Those who cry thinking about the past do not enjoy the joy today. There is a saying, “A spoonful of candy is sweeter now than a bowl of honey later.”
Jesus cares about this place today. “…Stay here and watch” (verse 39). He tells you to stay awake now. Concentrating on today is being awake. You cannot concentrate without being awake. “Don’t worry about tomorrow,” he says. We often worry more about the future than about the past. The reason we shouldn't worry about anything is to stay true to today and focus on the present. Don't worry about the past, don't worry about the future, and focus on today's work.
“Give us this day our daily bread…” (Matthew 6:11) He taught us to pray like this. In other words, “Give us the bread we need today.” It is not a prayer to prepare today's food for tomorrow. Eat well today to be healthy tomorrow. You have to do well today to get results tomorrow. Concentrate terribly today. That's the trick.
The reality of today is not a comfortable and easy place. The reality is always difficult and complex. Maybe it's like a battlefield. You will have to dodge enemies, sometimes with a low crawl, attacking enemy positions. There is a saying that “the pen is mightier than the sword” (Earl of Britain), but the power of knowledge has ruled the world. But if the power of knowledge is a pen, then the power of the mind is stronger than a cannon. Therefore, we must declare war on negative emotions or structures of failure. You must destroy the structure of failure that lies within you.
Jesus is a realist. It means that the focus is on today, not on people without tomorrow. When Jesus met Zacchaeus, he said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, and I must stay at your house today.” He went into the house and said, “Today salvation has come to this house, and this man is also a descendant of Abraham” (Luke 19: 9) says. We should not think about how such a human could become a descendant of Abraham. How have you been living up to now? Don't ask about the past. You just have to decide now. What we need to do now is turn around on that road. If you realize today and turn around, you will be in heaven. To focus on the present today, that is God's will.
Focus on the results
There are people who are past-oriented and there are people who are forward-looking. Joseph is forward-looking. When he tried to kill his brother and sold it, the brothers trembled in fear and fell on their faces before Joseph, saying, “We are your servants.” Do not be afraid, saying, “You tried to harm me, but God turned it into good and saved the lives of all people as it is today. that you might do it” (Genesis 50:18-20), and as a result, today's work is glorifying God.
Joseph was always a man who looked to the promises of God. Even in the face of his final death, he was sure of God's promise. “…I die, but God will counsel you and bring you out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Even though he died in Egypt, he was looking at the promised land of Canaan. “Joseph also made an oath to the children of Israel, saying, ‘God will surely admonish you, and you shall carry my skulls up from here’ (Genesis 50:24-25).
The Lord looked to the morning of the resurrection. Jesus sees results. It is because we focus on the results that we can go to the Mount of Olives while eating the Last Supper and praising it. That way is the way of the cross. It is being whipped, carrying a cross, and going up to the place of execution. Going to die is because you focus on the outcome.
Why focus on results? Because the consequences justify the action. If the results are bad, it is because you have lived wrong no matter how hard you try. No matter how bad your life may be, if the end is good, then you have lived well. Shakespeare said that everything that ends well is good.
The robber who was crucified with Jesus said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 2342:43). He believed in Jesus on the cross and went to paradise. He continued to be bad, but it ended well. Finally, I believed in Jesus.
“If in this life all we have hope is in Christ, then we are of the most pitiful place among all” (1 Corinthians 5:19). The one who laughs last is the winner. Jesus said, “...the hour has come, and behold, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners” (verse 41). The time here refers to the time of suffering and death. Jesus knows that today's death is not the end. He is looking at the glory that comes through suffering and death. Jesus focuses on victory through suffering, glory through the cross, and resurrection through death.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). May your energies be focused on eternity in the outcome.
Jesus said, "Get up, let's go together!" Those who go with Jesus focus on one thing. Your gaze should be directed towards one goal. The ultimate goal of a Christian is not in this world. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and preferred to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while, and to receive reproach for Christ's sake, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. because he looked for his reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26).
You have to focus on the present. I must use all my energy for the present. Don't recall the mistakes of the past. Energy buses heading to the future do not carry people burdened with the past. Say no to what you have to say and focus on the important today.
You have to focus on the results. Jesus focused on the salvation of mankind that must be accomplished. He prayed, “...for this I have come at this time” (John 12:27). “Abba, Father, all things are possible with you; remove this cup from me; but not as I will, but as you will” (verse 36).