It Starts with Leaders

Joel 1-3; 2 Timothy 1 

“The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel. Hear this, you elders;…Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.”

Joel 1:1, 2, 13, 14

Joel’s message was first to leaders. The response of leaders to the word of the Lord significantly shapes how God’s people will respond. Joel’s message was a call to repentance, to humility, and to seek the Lord.

Would the elders and priests humble themselves, fast, and pray?

Leaders have the responsibility to frame reality as they see it. Without urgency, there will not be repentance and surrender to the Lord. Change begins with leaders. Everything leaders are asking God to accomplish and do in the lives of the people they are serving begins with leaders. If we are not listening to and obeying the Word of the Lord, neither will God’s people.

“Lord Jesus, begin with me, for your glory.”