Rightly Expressing Care And Concern

Concern and caring are expressed in the flesh as anxiety, impatience, and controlling behavior.

The flesh really only feels a couple of options:

1. care and do something about the object of concern.

2. Let the concern go and become indifferent to the outcome.

These are both loveless. The flesh cannot love. The flesh wars against the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit is love. Care and concern not under the restraint of the Spirit result in "works of the flesh":

Galatians 5:15-25 NKJV — But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

It isn't enough to have a prayer life in the secret place, and then go and try to love people in our own strength, logic, and effort. If we live in the Spirit, we must really walk (express our cares and concerns) in the Spirit as well.

Read that list of the works of the flesh ^ and ask God, "has the church done all these in crazy efforts to bring the kingdom to the earth?" The answer is clearly "yes." The answer to "why?" Is easy: trying to do what only God could do in our own flesh!

Expressing our care and concern in the flesh creates all kinds of trouble for the object of concern. It puts pressure to change on the wrong things, and neglects the areas that need help/service. It "pushes and pulls levers" rather than sacrificially lifting burdens. The flesh spins its wheels under burdens too heavy for man's weak ability, burdens that belong to God, rather than carrying small, lawful, loads, like God's children...

All of the trouble in the church comes from care and concern expressed in the flesh (James 4), or, the other ditch, indifference.

Love is only found in the leadership of the Spirit. Care and concern expressed in the Spirit result in love. Love is expressed as sacrificially believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things. Praying and serving. Resisting the impatient pushing and pulling of the flesh.

Care and concern expressed in the flesh will cause the fleshy believer to both have affection for, and hate, the very thing it has concern for. It becomes too important to let go of, and too big to control. Vanity.

Satan tries to convince us we are the salvation of the Kingdom things we care about to get us into a place where we war against God. They were God's ideas, not ours. This is a distraction from letting God change us and pits us against God in the very things HE cares for!

God wants us to have care and concern for the areas He is renewing, but that care and concern must change us, not the situation. It must move us, not the ministry, the project, the people, the kingdom... It must move us more into God's will.

We are never going to bring the kingdom for Jesus. He is going to bring the kingdom through those who learn to yield their care and concern into His heart.

If it's of the Lord, He cares better than we do. His concern is more accurate. His will is perfect. His ways are higher. God is more invested, giving even His son, in the the establishment of the kingdom than we ever could be. We must yield to His ways, not try to duplicates His ends.

We can rest in our care and concern by praying and then, when the Spirit moves us, and not our own care and concern, we can serve in the small but power-filled ways that advance a kingdom from the inside out, not the top down.

Satan wants us to quit caring, being concerned, and give in to self centeredness. He often wages war by tempting us to take control so we will get offended, frustrated, and walk away from the whole enterprise.

Giving up our care and concern is the goal of the devil. He is trying to frustrate the church into letting her love grow cold. We don't have to get trapped in his fleshy snare.

Revelation 2:1-5 NKJV — “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; “and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

We can direct our care and concern in to the heart of Jesus in prayer and find revelation of HIS heart for the thing we have a heart for. Then the two become one. Then the world sees Jesus' love and our efforts stop eclipsing His power.

We will never love something better than Jesus does. When we find this humility, we find rest and power to be a part of what He is doing, not the God of it! He will be revealed by this love.

John 17:11-26 NKJV — “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”