Intimate Concern

…You are in our hearts for our dying together and our living together. Great is my boldness toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf; I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our affliction. 2 Cor. 7:3-4

Today morning as I was spending time with the Lord in prayer and enjoying the morning revival time, the Lord spoke a very specific word to me, "Intimate Concern." I have an intimate concern for my own blood relative. That comes naturally. In fact, every normal human being will have an intimate concern for his own family members, irrespective of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  So what difference does it make if I have an intimate concern only for my close family members? 

Recently, I have been very much concerned about my niece and I have been praying for her on a daily basis. And I have an intimate concern for my siblings too, especially when they do not do well in life; I used to pray and intercede for them a lot. I do the same for my own children. These are all very natural and it is common to every normal human being. But the question is, "Do I have an intimate concern for the saints the Lord has blessed me with?" This is a million-dollar question the Lord asked me personally on the last day of my distribution trip this time while I was in Mathura.

The Lord has blessed me with a good number of brothers and sisters for my shepherding care. He even asked me to count the spiritual children He gave to me. I counted a few of them, and I was already deeply convicted for my lack of concern for them. Of late, due to some reason or other, I have even avoided and cut off some of them. The Lord strongly convicted me of how I do not have an intimate concern for my own spiritual children unlike the concern I have for my own physical children. Oh, what an exposing it was! I repented and asked the Lord for forgiveness. No wonder I am not fruitful spiritually. I was so convicted by the Lord today morning and my eyes were opened to see my need to have an intimate concern for my spiritual children. One by one, the Lord reminded me to recover my shepherding of them. 

He even reminded me of three brothers who need to be shepherded urgently. I--n, A----l, and S-----t, these names were spelled out. Though they are not in my locality in Gurugram still they are my own spiritual children. Each of them has something in common, being rejected by their own family members due to their mental and physical state. Oftentimes, violent and abusive, but to me, they still have some sense of "respect" as their brother in Christ. The Lord showed me further that I am the only one who can shepherd these ones. So should I leave them as orphans? Should not I have an intimate concern for them? No matter what their condition may be, they are the children of God and also my spiritual children. So it is my rightful duty and spiritual responsibility to shepherd them.

Therefore, I have consecrated to the Lord to grant me the grace and the wisdom to shepherd these ones and many others. I indeed started texting them and praying for them one by one, and also prepared myself to be able to shepherd them with an intimate concern. Meanwhile, the ministry portion further strengthened this burden of having an intimate concern:

If we have the ability to carry on a work but lack an intimate concern, our work will be fruitless…How fruitful we are, how much fruit we bear, does not depend on what we are able to do. It depends on whether or not we have an intimate concern. Paul was very human and emotional in his ministering of life. Paul was so emotional because his concern was so deep and intimate. Without this kind of concern, we could never be abundantly rejoicing in the way Paul was. Instead, we may be as cold as a freezer, altogether lacking in concern for the saints. Instead of warming up others, we make them even colder. Nothing can  grow when it is in such a frozen condition. We need the weather of spring to come to thaw us out and warm up our life. Once again there is a need for a ministering life. Do you know what a ministering life is? It is a life that warms up others. Learn to warm others. This is to have an intimate concern for them. If we do not have this kind of concern for others, we shall not be fruitful. If I would minister life to the saints, I must have a genuine concern for them, a concern that is emotional, deep, and intimate. I must be so concerned that, at times, I may appear to others to be foolish or beside myself. Only the ministering life enables us to bear fruit. Fruit-bearing is the issue of a ministering life. ( Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 379-384, 386)

Besides, the Lord also gave me a strong burden to help four brothers to shepherd and pray for them that they can recover their marriage life again. Sadly enough, the four brothers really need to be shepherded with an intimate concern to help them recover back their wives. All their wives have left them for reasons known to them best, but to me, as I was told by these brothers, the blame is on the wives. But I have not heard from their wives about these breakups. I strongly do not agree with separation or breakups after a legal and proper marriage. I do believe, in time, through prayer and shepherding, these four brothers will recover back their married life for the Lord's testimony. With an intimate concern, the Lord will grace me to shepherd them unto the recovery of their family lives for the church life.

Lord, shepherd me to shepherd the saints with an intimate concern.