Celebrate Recovery UK Blogs

John 3:14-17
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

What marvellous provision God has made for the whole world to be saved. God’s will for the whole world is to be saved but notice that it is not automatic. It not just up to God. We have a part to play also.

Jesus was not sent to save the world but that the world through Him might be saved. There’s a difference. Moses did not go to each person and touch them with the brass serpent. He lifted it up so that all could see it and whoever looked upon it with faith was saved. Those who looked but did not believe were not saved.

John goes on to write
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”

This is why the first word of the gospel is repent, and the second is believe. These are the principles echoed in Celebrate Recovery. We stop denying our problems and blame shifting and we admit that we are powerless to change our selves. Then we believe that Jesus, our Higher Power, can and will deliver us.

This work of salvation, healing from our hurts, habits and hang ups is not automatic. He does not do it TO us but THROUGH us as we look to Him in faith and act on that faith. How He does it is  something of a mystery. All we can say is that once I was blind but now I see. Once I was an alcoholic but now I am free. Once I was captive to all manner of hurts, habits and destructive behaviours but now I am changed. Those things do not hold me captive any longer. Jesus has done it. Praise Him!

Ever felt stuck in your hurts, habits or hang-ups? Struggling to get free and making no progress? Blessed is the one who has friends at such a time who will not only tell you where to find help but take you there.

In Matthew 9:2 we read
“Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. “

I have been speaking recently to two people in our CR group who were both initially brought there by the same friend. Sometimes it is not enough to simply tell someone where to find help. You need to take them there. You need to go the extra mile, maybe put yourself out to go and collect them and go with them. Actually going to your first CR meeting is a big step and it really helps if you can go with a friend.

The bible goes on to say
When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

How many of us have experienced the power of such forgiveness? Often we are not aware of how crippling our anger, resentment and bitterness really is. Jesus begins the healing process by this fantastic act of grace, he unilaterally forgives the paralytic, utterly and completely, no strings.

Unless we experience the forgiveness of the Lord we will remain stuck. For the paralysed, this is the movement that releases the log jam. This is the lynch pin of our healing. Everything flows from this.

Many people have doubts about how Celebrate Recovery works. We don’t offer counselling, we don’t suggest answers to your problems, we deliberately avoid trying to fix you. People say well how does it work? The fact that it does work is undeniable, countless changed lives bear testimony to that, but how?

The common answer is our higher power, Jesus Christ. He is the one who does the work not us. It is not our human wisdom, the excellence of our teaching or our loving care which heals people. It is their encounter with our higher power. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life”.

The religious experts of the day accused Jesus of blasphemy. Only God can forgive sins they said. I love the way Jesus did not allow the criticism of others to deflect him from his purpose.

But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? “For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And he arose and departed to his house.

Many of us cannot describe exactly how we got free from our hurts, habits and hang-ups. We know that once we were stuck, paralysed by our problems. Then a friend helped us to meet Jesus Christ and somehow, over time, He has liberated us. It involved receiving forgiveness from Him. Experiencing His forgiveness enabled us to forgive those who had hurt us and walk free from things which had held us bound for years.

The friends of the paralytic are not named, they received no glory, but were their lives changed by their act of kindness? What do you think? Have you seen your friends set free by Jesus? How did this affect you?