Everything Depends on the Leadership
by Pastor Dag Heward-MIlls
For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of the fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and to destroy the way of thy paths.
Isaiah 3:1-7,12
Who Depends On Leadership?
1. The church depends on its leadership.
In the Church, the lack of true leadership gives rise to the proliferation of sin and evil doers as well as false church leaders. The lack of real leaders in a church causes many people to lose their souls, die and go to Hell. How can this be? A real leader in the church will lead the congregation to win souls and do missionary work. Whenever the church’s leadership stopped concerning itself with the lost and dying souls, false religions and alternative faiths crept in and took over.
A body without a head is no body. A church without a true leader is truly pathetic! A nation without a real leader is cursed! Truly every nation rises and falls based on its leaders.
Almost every bad situation within the church can be attributed to the lack of a good leader. Church splits and scandals are often the result of a lack of strong leadership. The Scripture we read above tells us how God was going to curse the land by taking away leaders. Churches rise and fall on leadership. With a good strong leader, a church will grow into a megachurch. With bad leadership, churches don’t go anywhere even if the pastor is very anointed. You sometimes see an anointed minister who has bad leadership qualities. His ministry usually falls into chaos because of bad leadership qualities.
Leadership is an art. It is a secular subject which is necessary for ministers of the gospel to understand. The ability to write and read is not a spiritual thing; it is a secular skill which needs to be learned. Without that ability you are going nowhere in this world. Same thing for leadership! Without the knowledge and skills of leadership your ministry is going nowhere.
2. Every nation depends on its leadership
In this Scripture, God predicts a mighty judgement on Jerusalem and on Judah. God had determined to punish and destroy those nations. How was he going to do it? The Scriptures make it very clear.
Some years ago I asked a friend whom he would vote for in an upcoming election. He hesitated, so I asked a more direct question. I asked, “Will you vote for President X?”
At that point he responded and said, “If I had to choose between your four-year-old son, David, and President X, I would certainly prefer to vote for your four-year-old son.”
He continued and said, “I would rather vote for a goat to be our President than for that person.”
It is obvious that neither my son nor a goat would be able to help our nation very much. To have the leadership of children or babies, or as this person said, a goat, is certainly a curse.
What would be the result of having such inappropriate and flunkey leaders? The Bible has the answers.
“The people shall be oppressed, everyone by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable” (Isaiah 3:5).
Have you not seen this picture somewhere—oppression, injustice, intimidation and the proliferation of all sorts of evil? What gives rise to rebels in Africa, and to thousands of young people in a drug culture in Europe and America? In a nation where there is little or no good leadership, you will notice the rise of coup leaders, rebels and war mongers.
3. The community depends on its leadership
God was going to take away all kinds of leaders from the community. The community was going to be left leaderless. Almighty God knows this principle very well: No leader, no progress! No leader, no development! No leader, no blessing! No leader, no deliverance! God knew that the community would fall into judgement if he removed leaders from their midst. This is because everything rises and falls on leadership.
Almighty God was unleashing one of the most terrible punishments anyone, nation or group of people could ever have. That is to have no leaders. If you look closely at this Scripture, you will see that God was predicting the removal of every type of leader from the community.
…the Lord doth take away… the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, the ancient, the captain of fifty, the honourable man, the eloquent orator…
If you study this list closely, you will come to the frightening realization that the community is left without anyone who can lead the people in any aspect. Pastors were taken away. Politicians were taken away. Senior citizens were taken away. Wise people were taken away. They were all taken away from the community. This is what I call a headless society.
4. Every family depends on leadership.
A family becomes rich or poor depending on the father’s leadership. One of the most severe judgments that God could give to his people was the removal of all kinds of leaders. As you know, nature abhors a vacuum. And in place of real leaders, Jehovah predicted the rise of bogus leadership.
And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them…
Instead of fathers taking up their role of leading, children and babes would have to lead the way. These children and babies represent incapable and useless leaders. It is obvious that a baby cannot rule his own bowels, how much more rule a nation.
5. The continent depends on its leadership.
A debate I often get into with friends is about the state of the African continent. I often marvel at the lack of development and the level of poverty in Africa. I ask myself, “What is it? Can we not build our own roads? Why do we need a foreign company to build roads and toilets for us?” It would be very unusual to go to a European country and find foreign companies engaged in building roads or toilets in that country. Why is there so much suffering and sickness in developing countries?
There are many theories that have attempted to explain the condition of poor and unstable nations. Some people say that there is a curse on the black man. Others claim that it is the lack of democracy. And some even think that there is a curse on the African continent. I believe that the principal reason for the poor state of affairs is the lack of good leaders.
Whenever there is a good leader, you will notice a great deal of development and you will notice prosperity. The absence of leaders can be seen clearly in two worlds. You will notice the absence of leaders in the natural or secular world. You can also notice the absence of leaders in the spiritual or church world. When there is a lack of leadership in the Church world, you will notice the same signs of a lack of development of ministry, poverty, lack of teaching and a lack of knowledge, and the proliferation of sin.
There is a need for leaders in every sphere of life. There is a need for genuine leaders in the secular world. There is a genuine need for leaders in the church world. It is my prayer that God will raise you and many others up to be true leaders for your generation! Truly, everything depends on the leadership!
by Dag Heward-MIlls
For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of the fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and to destroy the way of thy paths.
Isaiah 3:1-7,12
Who Depends On Leadership?
1. The church depends on its leadership.
In the Church, the lack of true leadership gives rise to the proliferation of sin and evil doers as well as false church leaders. The lack of real leaders in a church causes many people to lose their souls, die and go to Hell. How can this be? A real leader in the church will lead the congregation to win souls and do missionary work. Whenever the church’s leadership stopped concerning itself with the lost and dying souls, false religions and alternative faiths crept in and took over.
A body without a head is no body. A church without a true leader is truly pathetic! A nation without a real leader is cursed! Truly every nation rises and falls based on its leaders.
Almost every bad situation within the church can be attributed to the lack of a good leader. Church splits and scandals are often the result of a lack of strong leadership. The Scripture we read above tells us how God was going to curse the land by taking away leaders. Churches rise and fall on leadership. With a good strong leader, a church will grow into a megachurch. With bad leadership, churches don’t go anywhere even if the pastor is very anointed. You sometimes see an anointed minister who has bad leadership qualities. His ministry usually falls into chaos because of bad leadership qualities.
Leadership is an art. It is a secular subject which is necessary for ministers of the gospel to understand. The ability to write and read is not a spiritual thing; it is a secular skill which needs to be learned. Without that ability you are going nowhere in this world. Same thing for leadership! Without the knowledge and skills of leadership your ministry is going nowhere.
2. Every nation depends on its leadership
In this Scripture, God predicts a mighty judgement on Jerusalem and on Judah. God had determined to punish and destroy those nations. How was he going to do it? The Scriptures make it very clear.
Some years ago I asked a friend whom he would vote for in an upcoming election. He hesitated, so I asked a more direct question. I asked, “Will you vote for President X?”
At that point he responded and said, “If I had to choose between your four-year-old son, David, and President X, I would certainly prefer to vote for your four-year-old son.”
He continued and said, “I would rather vote for a goat to be our President than for that person.”
It is obvious that neither my son nor a goat would be able to help our nation very much. To have the leadership of children or babies, or as this person said, a goat, is certainly a curse.
What would be the result of having such inappropriate and flunkey leaders? The Bible has the answers.
“The people shall be oppressed, everyone by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable” (Isaiah 3:5).
Have you not seen this picture somewhere—oppression, injustice, intimidation and the proliferation of all sorts of evil? What gives rise to rebels in Africa, and to thousands of young people in a drug culture in Europe and America? In a nation where there is little or no good leadership, you will notice the rise of coup leaders, rebels and war mongers.
3. The community depends on its leadership
God was going to take away all kinds of leaders from the community. The community was going to be left leaderless. Almighty God knows this principle very well: No leader, no progress! No leader, no development! No leader, no blessing! No leader, no deliverance! God knew that the community would fall into judgement if he removed leaders from their midst. This is because everything rises and falls on leadership.
Almighty God was unleashing one of the most terrible punishments anyone, nation or group of people could ever have. That is to have no leaders. If you look closely at this Scripture, you will see that God was predicting the removal of every type of leader from the community.
…the Lord doth take away… the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the prudent, the ancient, the captain of fifty, the honourable man, the eloquent orator…
If you study this list closely, you will come to the frightening realization that the community is left without anyone who can lead the people in any aspect. Pastors were taken away. Politicians were taken away. Senior citizens were taken away. Wise people were taken away. They were all taken away from the community. This is what I call a headless society.
4. Every family depends on leadership.
A family becomes rich or poor depending on the father’s leadership. One of the most severe judgments that God could give to his people was the removal of all kinds of leaders. As you know, nature abhors a vacuum. And in place of real leaders, Jehovah predicted the rise of bogus leadership.
And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them…
Instead of fathers taking up their role of leading, children and babes would have to lead the way. These children and babies represent incapable and useless leaders. It is obvious that a baby cannot rule his own bowels, how much more rule a nation.
5. The continent depends on its leadership.
A debate I often get into with friends is about the state of the African continent. I often marvel at the lack of development and the level of poverty in Africa. I ask myself, “What is it? Can we not build our own roads? Why do we need a foreign company to build roads and toilets for us?” It would be very unusual to go to a European country and find foreign companies engaged in building roads or toilets in that country. Why is there so much suffering and sickness in developing countries?
There are many theories that have attempted to explain the condition of poor and unstable nations. Some people say that there is a curse on the black man. Others claim that it is the lack of democracy. And some even think that there is a curse on the African continent. I believe that the principal reason for the poor state of affairs is the lack of good leaders.
Whenever there is a good leader, you will notice a great deal of development and you will notice prosperity. The absence of leaders can be seen clearly in two worlds. You will notice the absence of leaders in the natural or secular world. You can also notice the absence of leaders in the spiritual or church world. When there is a lack of leadership in the Church world, you will notice the same signs of a lack of development of ministry, poverty, lack of teaching and a lack of knowledge, and the proliferation of sin.
There is a need for leaders in every sphere of life. There is a need for genuine leaders in the secular world. There is a genuine need for leaders in the church world. It is my prayer that God will raise you and many others up to be true leaders for your generation! Truly, everything depends on the leadership!
