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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

The Revd Dr. Chris J. Hicken DD, BA, AD, BBS

 

Guest Sermon for Yeshua International

Revd Dr Christopher J Hicken DD

21 October 2011

 

Communication

2 Tim 3:16, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:5                   

All Bible references taken from The New Living Translation

        We live in a world that is constantly connected to some kind of media.  Devices in our pockets have the ability to keep in touch with vast amounts of people, do functions which not too long ago would require a whole host of office equipment and of course occasionally make telephone calls!  If we cannot get a signal on our mobile phones, then the whole world for some grinds to a halt.  Each year technology improves and keeps pace with modern living and we think that everything should apply to today and fit in with what we think is relevant.  Thinking that seems to be ancient and outdated is supposed to remain in the past as some form of historical archive.  For some people they also think that that applies to the Bible.  Because the Scriptures were written so long ago they are not considered to reflect modern thought-patterns and therefore need to be brought up to date. Unfortunately this view is shared by those who have the privilege of high office in the Church and instead of concentrating on the message that God wants to communicate, i.e. His love and forgiveness, endless debates ensue around the fact that the Scripture needs to be inline with modern living practises. This seems not to take into account Hebrews 13:8 ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’. The parallel being that if God (Jesus and God being one (John 10:30)) never changes then His words will also never change!

        For those who spend endless hours of leisure maintaining and working on motor cars, they usually have a manual which takes them step by step through the various tasks; they follow instructions to the letter.  If working on something important such as the brake system careful attention to detail is paid as they know that the consequences could be severe if they decide to do something different.  The fact that these manuals may have been in circulation for many years does not matter because they show the correct way to do something.  In 2 Timothy 3 16 we are told that all Scripture is inspired by God, “...and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right’’ and also if we go to the end of the Bible we see the warning in Revelations not to add or take any thing away from the Scriptures.  It has to be open to individual thought and theology but could we by making the Scriptures say something that God never included, we are actually adding to the Scriptures or even taking away on the basis that we are saying that the way God has said that He will deal with sin (Romans 6:23) will not apply in certain circumstances.

        It is now very easy to fall foul of Statute legislation because the way some thing has been said or meant has been taken out of context and someone has been offended.  Christian businesses face the risk of legal action because non Christians have taken offence to Christian specific things that have been said or displayed inside their premises.  It is interesting that it does not appear that leaders and practitioners of other faiths come up against the same obstacles that the Christian faith encounters. It is sad that legislation has had to be passed to protect what people believe and profess and because some may not agree with what is being said, subjecting them to ridicule and abuse is never right!

        I often think that how people justify  the choices they make in living their lives, is similar to the conversation that Satan had with Eve in the Garden of Eden and the doubt that he put into Eve’s mind – ‘Did God really say that?’ We then have a two-tier lifestyle of doing what the Bible says and at the same time doing what is in direct contravention of the Bible.  This is something that affects us all and it is the reason that Christ came to save us – we are sinners.  Ephesians 2:5 tells us that even though we are dead because of sin (see Romans) it is through God’s grace that we have been saved.  We cannot earn this grace, it is a free gift and the Scripture goes on to tell us that it does not matter who you are or what you do, this free gift is available to all and that no one can boast that they have earned it through hard work or being a good person.

        Sin is the sole reason that keeps us away from God and although the Scriptures mentions different types of sin to help our understanding, there is no tariff or schedule of punishment to be levied dependant on your degree of sin.  There is only one punishment; so a person who commits murder, in God’s eyes is just as guilty as the person who steals. Therefore anything which goes against God’s word, no matter how much significance we put against a particular act meets with the same response from God.

        With the same passion that God hates our sin, as that keeps us away from Him, He loves the sinner.  God loves who we are with all his heart not what we do. 

        The passage of Scripture in Isaiah 57 verses 15 to 19 tells us something of the love that God has and the promises he has for us.  This is echoed also for us in John 3 16. 

        In following God, He requires us to do certain things:

        He requires us to stop the things we are doing that are not consistent with His teaching.

        He requires us to ask him to forgive us for our wrongdoings. The Bible calls this repentance i.e. going away from the things that we used to do wrong and following a completely new way of life.  God has promised if we ask him He will forgive us (1 John 1:9)

        The main thing that He requires is that we love him with all our heart, soul and mind (Deuteronomy 11:1& Mark 12:30).

        It is hard being a Christian in this modern world; it takes a lot of courage to stand up for something which cannot be readily seen with the naked eye. One very eminent academic says that unless you can see something it cannot be said to exist, an argument which can be said to be basically flawed.  But actually believing in something you cannot see is at the very heart of faith.  If God showed himself in a visible way every time some disaster befell our world then very soon the need for faith would disappear and we would find that order would descend into chaos.  Faith actually helps to keep us going, it allows us to see the best in people even though there may be evidence to the contrary.

        God communicates with us through his word, through the workings of the Holy Spirit, He communicates through the hard times and the good times.  We see him communicate in the splendour of nature and the miracle of new birth (Grandson born 12 days ago) and He communicates in the still small voice.  We need to keep the channels of communication open and be ready to answer when he calls.

        In our own quiet time and devotions let us remember the people of Libya and pray that their Country may quickly be stabilised through the recent developments and also pray for all Countries where there is unrest and uncertainty in the future.

        I pray that God will bless you and keep you and that His face shine upon you and may He give you His peace. Amen

The Revd Dr. Chris J. Hicken DD, BA, AD, BBS

Guest Sermon By Patriarch + Mar Martin McGuire PhD