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."
While the board is raging ... while the committee is plotting ... GOD IS LAUGHING.
Not because it is funny. But because He sees what they cannot see. He sees that every attempt to build a culture without Him ... will ultimately collapse.
The Hebrew word for "laugh" here is SACHAQ — saw-khak — to mock, to hold in derision, to look at with the full knowledge that what you are doing is futile.
(Hebrew: sachaq — saw-khak — to laugh, to mock, to hold in derision)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in his Letter from Birmingham Jail: "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will."
(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963)
Shallow peace from people who mean well is more dangerous than open conflict. Because at least with open conflict, everybody knows there is a problem. But manufactured peace gives the illusion that everything is fine while the culture underneath is quietly breaking.
POINT 3 — THE PEACE THAT ONLY THE SON CAN BRING
Psalm 2:6-7; 2:12
In the middle of all the rage ... God speaks: "YET have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."
YET. (Repeat)
In spite of everything you are doing ... my plan has not changed. My king is still on the throne.
Verse 7 — "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." This is a Messianic Psalm pointing to Jesus. The only peace that will hold in your boardroom is the peace that comes from the Prince of Peace taking His rightful place at the head of the table.
Not the chairman. Not the most tenured elder. Not the person with the most money in the offering plate. But JESUS.
Verse 12: "Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."
The Hebrew word for trust here is CHASAH — khaw-saw — to take refuge in, to make your shelter in.
(Hebrew: chasah — khaw-saw — to take refuge, to shelter in, to flee to for protection)
The culture that does not break is the culture that has made Jesus its refuge. Not its mascot. Not its figurehead. But its actual authority. Its actual source of peace.
THE CLOSE
Somebody in here is tired. You have been in board meetings that felt more like battlefields. You have tried new policies, new procedures, new people ... and the conflict keeps coming back.
The board cannot manufacture what only the Prince of Peace can provide. The committee cannot produce what only Christ can bring. Parliamentary procedure cannot substitute for the presence of God in the room.
You need Jesus at the head of the table. Not as a formality. But as the actual Lord of the culture.
When we surrender the culture to Him ... THEN the peace comes. Not manufactured peace. Not boardroom peace. But Kingdom peace. The peace that holds even when the vote does not go your way. The peace that holds even when somebody leaves.
STOP MANUFACTURING PEACE.
SURRENDER TO THE PRINCE OF PEACE.
KISS THE SON.
BLESSED ARE ALL THEY THAT PUT THEIR TRUST IN HIM. (Repeat)
ALTAR CALL
Every head bowed ... every eye closed ...
The Bible says in Romans 10:9-10: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Come down this aisle ... give me your hand ... and give God your heart.
BENEDICTION
This week — in every meeting you enter — before the agenda is presented, ask this one question: "Is Jesus at the head of this table? Or are we trying to manufacture the peace that only He can bring?"
Now may the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
— Rev. Kelvin L. Parks, M.A. | C3PT Kingdom Culture Ministries | c3ptexecutivesolutions.com
