The Revd Chris Hicken BA, AD, BBS Receiving his Long Service Award

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire's Commendation Presentation to the Revd Chris Hicken BA, AD, BBS

 

 

The Revd Chris J. Hicken BA, AD, BBS

 

      In 2 Kings 6 Ch 6 vv 15 – 17 we read: ‘When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses and chariots everywhere. “Ah, my lord, what will we do now?” he cried out to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than theirs!”  Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!”  The Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and when he looked up he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.’

        It is very hard, at times to be overwhelmed by what we see around us, especially when times are hard or the situation we find our selves in too difficult for us to manage. All we can see is the troops of the enemy pressing in from all sides and it all seems to be too much.  We tend to panic and think to ourselves ‘How on earth am I going to get through this one?’  However in the situation above, the servant of the man of God didn’t have to worry because he had the Prophet Elisha with him.  It is very easy at times to think that we are all alone and sometimes we feel that we have got our selves into a mess, therefore we have to be the ones to get our selves out of it.  However it is at these times when we find that Jesus is closer to us, giving us the strength to cope and come through what ever our trial or situation may be.

        It is a very easy thing to say, but we do not need to worry.  The Bible actually asks us that question: Why worry?   Matthew 6 v 27 says that we cannot add any more time to our lives; God clothes the birds and the flowers.  This is a great passage of reassurance for it says that God knows all of our needs and that He will provide for us when we need it.  We have a God that cares for us and loves us without conditions or strings.

        King David was a man who knew what it was like to mess up. He had started life as a shepherd, anointed as King by Samuel after Saul had been rejected by the Lord (1 Samuel 15). He then defeated Goliath and became a man who was very strong both in position and also with favour from the Lord. As we continue to read in 2 Samuel 11, David notices Bathsheba, he has an affair with her and then arranges for her husband, Uriah, to be killed in battle so that he (David) could spend the rest of his life with her.  I think that this account goes on to teach us that no matter how strong we consider ourselves to be in the Lord, sin can still enter our lives in the form of temptation. But it is how we deal with temptation that will determine our character. It may well be that people who have since found them selves in similar circumstances feel that they are far from God.

        In 2 Samuel 22 David sings a song of praise to God  and testifies how forgiving God will be to any of His Children who mess up and going into the book of Psalms we read David saying “But you O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory and the one who lifts my head high.  I cried out to the Lord and He answered me from his Holy Hill.  I lay down and slept, I woke up in safety.” (Psalm 3).

        Even Peter who denied Christ three times was not out of the scope of love that God shows.  When Mary met Jesus after his resurrection, Jesus instructed her to make sure that Peter was one of the first people to be told of this fulfilment of Scripture.  Jesus later asked Peter three times “if he loved him.”  Peter was given the opportunity to reverse his original denial of his Lord and Saviour.  We also have the opportunity to reverse the wrong decisions and mistakes we make.  The Bible calls it repentance and says ‘That if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every sin.’(1John1 v 9).

        This is one of the beautiful things that Christianity has to offer, the personal, unconditional love of God.  I say unconditional, however we do have to make a conscious effort to try and refrain from sinning.  This is what is meant by repentance- to stop what you are doing that is in conflict with Scripture and try and live your life in a different way.  Also the Bible commands us to ‘Love God with all our Hearts, Minds and souls and love others as ourselves.’ (Matthew 22 v37) These are very small conditions to comply with compared with the love and blessings that God is prepared to shower upon us, daily!

        Each day brings us fresh trials, challenges and decisions and we can choose our own way of dealing with them.  We can either be overwhelmed by them and think that there is no way out, such as the servant of the man of God thought or we can ask God to open our eyes and see the vast array of Gods Army standing by ready to overcome for us.  Some things we are going to find difficult to overcome by ourselves, such as addictions or disabilities.

        I recently had the privilege of meeting Ron Heagy, a paraplegic since breaking his neck over 25 years ago.  He is an accomplished motivational speaker, mouth artist and author.  He says “This [his] book is called Never Give Up because even in those times of despair, sorrow, heartbreak, weakness and fear I have found the inner-strength that has inspired me to battle on.  All of us have obstacles that stand in the way of our being able to make a difference in the world.  But God has given us the gifts we need to overcome these obstacles.”

        The Bible says that “when we are weak, He is strong.”  God does hear us when we call to him.  Personally I can testify to the way God answers prayer and to the blessings in my own life and that of my family.  I know that I am never alone and in times of pain and despair I can call upon my Lord and Saviour and draw upon his strength, because my own strength is weak and inadequate.

        I pray that you will also experience the power of God in your lives and know that no matter what happens, you are never alone.  AMEN.

References taken from:

Holy Bible (New Living Translation). New York: Tindale House Publishers, 1996.

Heagy/Dyer(2005). Never Give Up. Albany, Oregon: Zondervan.

The Revd Chris J. Hicken BA, AD, BBS

Guest Sermon By Patriarch + Mar Martin McGuire PhD

 

Guest Sermon By Dr. Khern Steven Oliver DD - The Bishop Elect of Lutterworth