Board Of Peace Or Prince Of Peace Series

LITURGICAL OPENING — PSALM 34:1-8

• I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

• My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

• O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

• I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

• They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

• This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

• The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

• O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

(Psalm 34:1-8)

GREETING

Good Morning ... and too, God be the Glory!

I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. And there is a Word from the LORD ...

So let us turn our hearts and our Bibles to the Psalms ... chapter 2, beginning at verse 1.

SCRIPTURE READING — PSALM 2:1-12 (KJV)

(v.1) Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

(v.2) The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed.

(v.3) Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

(v.4) He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

(v.5) Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

(v.6) Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

(v.7) I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

(v.10) Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

(v.11) Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

(v.12) Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

NEIGHBOR TURN

Turn to your neighbor and say ... Neighbor — YOU CANNOT MANUFACTURE THE PEACE THAT ONLY CHRIST CAN GIVE.

You may be seated ...

PRAYER

Father ... the task of teaching Your Word is once again in my keeping. I commit myself to do the very best that I can. Speak to me ... that I may speak for You. Right now, Lord ... remove self. Remove pride. Hide me behind Your cross. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight. This is my prayer. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

Week 4 of Cultures That Don't Break. And I want to talk about something every church board, every elder body, every leadership committee has tried to do ... and most have failed at.

I want to talk about the manufacturing of peace.

There are two kinds of peace. Boardroom peace is what happens when everybody agrees to stop fighting long enough to get through the meeting. Kingdom peace is what happens when Jesus is at the center of the culture.

Boardroom peace is managed. Kingdom peace is miraculous.

Boardroom peace is temporary. Kingdom peace is eternal.

Boardroom peace requires constant maintenance. Kingdom peace requires only surrender.

Point 1 — The Rage of the Room

Point 2 — The Laugh of Heaven

Point 3 — The Peace That Only the Son Can Bring

POINT 1 — THE RAGE OF THE ROOM

Psalm 2:1-3

"WHY do the heathen rage?" When David writes "heathen" here, the Hebrew word is GOY — go-ee — nations, peoples, governing groups. In our context ... it can be the governing body inside your church.

(Hebrew: goy — go-ee — nation, people, a governing body or group)

Verse 2: "The rulers take counsel TOGETHER ... against the LORD and against His anointed."

The problem is not that they are taking counsel together. The problem is the direction. They are unified AGAINST God's leadership. Any board that unifies against God's direction for the culture ... has become a source of conflict rather than peace.

Verse 3: "Let us break their bands asunder." We don't want accountability. We don't want God's standards. We want to run this the way we want to run it.

I have seen this in hospitals. I have seen it in health systems. And I have seen it in churches. When a governing body decides its preferences matter more than its purpose ... the rage begins.

THAT is the rage of the room. (Repeat)

POINT 2 — THE LAUGH OF HEAVEN

Psalm 2:4 — "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."