I have added one of my most recent books ‘Feeling the Squeeze in the Bay of Plenty - There’s hope/He Tumanako!’ below. If the format below is a bit annoying please just email us at churchofgodslove4@gmail.com and we will email the book in pdf format.
How many of the following local issues are affecting you or people you know?
. High house prices – being squeezed out of the housing market.
. High rent prices – being squeezed out of the rental market.
. Homelessness – being squeezed into a car or out onto the streets, or even out of town (a humbling experience).
. Marriage difficulties – being alienated from your spouse and family/whanau (rejection).
. Traffic congestion – being squeezed on the roads.
. Mental illness – being torn apart mentally.
Cost of living rising faster than your income – financial squeeze.
. Suicidal feelings or actions – your reason for living being choked out of you.
. Mortality – the trauma of terminal illness or approaching death
There are so many difficult problems facing us all today. It’s great we don’t have to face them alone.
The following is a Christian message based on teachings from the Bible. It is a message of God’s love, hope, and comfort, though his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus felt the squeeze
In difficult times, we sometimes wonder where we will get the strength to make it through. It often helps when we know someone who can relate to what we are experiencing and who can help us through it.
The Bible explains in Hebrews 4:15 how Jesus is such a person: For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses [or problems], but was in all points tempted [or tested] as we are …
A humbling experience
Jesus’ first humbling squeeze was leaving Heaven, where the Bible tells us He was in the form of God and equal with God to take on human flesh (Philippians 2:5-6). Jesus, the Son of God, was obedient to his Father’s will. He left the glory of heaven to be vulnerable in this world and to help everyday ordinary people. The prophet Isaiah had made the bold and strange prediction a virgin would have a son and He would be called Immanuel, meaning God with us (Isaiah 7:14). Christians today commonly call Him God with us. God with us in human flesh with its limitations, aches and pains - what a prophecy! Who could have predicted this! Jesus is therefore very familiar with any humbling experience we might be going through.
Homelessness
Then there was the squeeze created by there being no room at the inn in Bethlehem when Mary was ready to give birth to Jesus. The prophet Micah about 700 years before Jesus was born interestingly predicted Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). But, what a bizarre prophecy to make and to be fulfilled! Best estimates say Bethlehem at the time Jesus was born had between only 300 to 1000 people! Why didn’t the prophet predict a big or holy city like Jerusalem or another important city of the world? There would have been thousands of towns and cities in Israel, so the odds of correctly predicting the place of the Messiah’s birth were very tight. Yet, the prophet’s prediction proved to be true. Amazing! Pity Micah couldn’t make an advance booking at the inn for Jesus and Mary 700 years prior.
This homeless experience was common throughout Jesus’ life. He said Himself, the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head (Luke 9:58). If you are homeless right now, just know Jesus can relate to what you are experiencing. I encourage you to talk to Him about it in prayer if you haven’t already. You know what the particular reason is for your own homelessness. If it’s a mental health, addiction or budgeting issue there are local organisations that can help.
Dire threats
King Herod, as was also prophesied in Jeremiah 31:15, tried to put a serious squeeze on Jesus in His infancy. At that time, he commanded the death of all the infants in Bethlehem up to the age of two. King Herod failed. Jesus escaped. Jesus faced many other dire threats while preaching the good news of the kingdom in the latter years of His life. He did not fear and was protected by God until the time God had appointed for Him to save us from our sins on the cross. Not only has Jesus experienced terrible threats and harm, but He knows how to guide and comfort those close to Him through such circumstances.
Congestion
The crowds also put the squeeze on Jesus. He was so overcrowded by their demands He sometimes sought his own space to be refreshed. Perhaps the demands of others are overwhelming you. On one occasion, due to the press of the crowds, He had to get into a boat and talk to the crowds from there (Luke 5:1-3). Oh, the congestion! Thankfully, as bad as it is, the traffic congestion has not reached that point in your town yet!
The pressing expectation of others
Jesus also experienced the burdensome squeeze of expectation. One of His disciples, the apostle John, wrote of how some wanted to take him by force and make Him king (John 6:15). Maybe some are putting the squeeze on you because of their expectations of you. Jesus understands. Maybe it’s your family. Jesus experienced the pressure of family expectation too. For example, His mother knew He was destined to do great miracles. However, when Jesus was nearing 30 years of age He hadn’t done a single miracle. His mother expected Him to miraculously help those who had run out of wine at a wedding even though He told her his time had not come. Jesus obliged, but He was not in the habit of letting the expectations of others weigh Him down.
The religious leaders’ squeeze of death
The religious leaders also put the squeeze on Jesus. They were so envious of Him they tried to have Him killed several times. However, they were unable to achieve this as early as they wanted because Old Testament prophecies about Jesus again had to be fulfilled. It was prophesied Messiah would die at Passover time, and indeed He was.
When the religious leaders should have been worshipping God at the time of their most sacred Passover Lamb festival, strangely they urged the killing of the one some were calling the very Lamb of God, indeed the Son of God. From Jesus’ enemies’ point of view, this actually was not the time they wanted Jesus to die. The Bible clearly states they did not want him killed during Passover celebrations (Matthew 26:3-5). So, even against His enemies’ wishes, Jesus is killed by Roman crucifixion at Passover. What’s even more bizarre is the very ones who did not want Him to be killed at Passover cause Him to be killed at this time. Go figure! God was surely in control of the time Jesus would be sacrificed to pay the price for our sins. We can surely trust a God who has control like this. He has made many great promises to those who believe in Him through His Son. Relevantly, He has promised to save believers from the eternal squeeze of death. We can trust Him to keep His word.
Mental and spiritual anguish
Then there was the overwhelming burden Jesus felt in the garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion. He was in such agony that His sweat squeezed out like drops of blood. Jesus knew terrible mental and spiritual anguish that night. He knew how His sacrifice on the cross would bring eternal life to many who would believe in Him throughout the ages, but He also knew of the terrible beatings and crucifixion just ahead of Him. It was a great mental and spiritual battle for Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, but a battle which thankfully we know He won because He said Father, not my will, but Thine.
Rejection
Jesus also suffered the squeeze of society rejecting Him. The crowds were stirred up before Pontius Pilate to call for Barabbas to be released, rather than Jesus. This was very strange in light of Jesus having done wonderful things for the people of His nation, and when Barabbas was no less than a murderer. Again, the prophets predicted this unusual rejection. Normally, we celebrate great heroes from our nation. Recently, in Tauranga we celebrated the America’s Cup victors. We remember them. We feel good ourselves because of them. We certainly don’t reject them. Why would people reject their Saviour?
And oh what a great Saviour Jesus was! Never has there been a person whose actions and character were so amazing they even mirrored the Almighty Creator’s. Jesus walked on water, calmed storms, restored the lame and blind, healed all kinds of sicknesses and diseases, raised the dead, forgave sins, taught with great authority and showed deep compassion. His achievements and character have caused even many an atheist to recognise Him at least as one of the greatest men of history. How could anyone (as the prophet Isaiah did in Isaiah 53:3) even dream such a person would be rejected, let alone predict it? What a bold and unusual, but deadly accurate prediction!
Even more shocking, Jesus felt the squeeze of being rejected by God because the sins of humankind were laid squarely and firmly on His shoulders. Not only would the good, loving and powerful Messiah be rejected by His own people, but surprisingly, the prophets predicted it would be God who planned He suffer and die (Isaiah 53:4,6 & 10a)! Oh how awful it was for Him to be forsaken by God whom He had been in unity with since eternity past. Who would have believed God would plan such a thing? Who would have believed such a prophecy? It appears no-one did. Not even Jesus’ disciples understood it or believed it despite Jesus telling them several times. Jesus, by His own words, agreed with the prophets saying … “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me” (Matthew 27:46) (my emphasis).
No escaping the Cross
The cross itself was one of the tightest and most horrific squeezes Jesus experienced for us. Jesus could not escape it as His life had been written out before He was born. The cross was a central part of His rescue mission. Thankfully, there is a way out of many of the squeezes we find ourselves in if we trust Jesus.
The inspired prophets of God however saw no escape for Jesus, apart from resurrection from the dead. What amazes me is crucifixion was not even invented when several prophets predicted it for Jesus. When I consider how many ways a person can actually die, the magnificence and significance of this prophecy about the way Messiah would die hits home to me even more. Just Google, as I did, how many ways to die. Six million is given as a conservative estimate. Gun shot, drowning, stabbing, disease, accident, heart attack, brain tumour, strangulation, death by rampaging elephants, old age – you name it – even death by vending machines. McHenry’s Stories For the Soul (Hendricksen Publishers) reports 14 men (no women) dying a year because they angrily shake vending machines, which in turn fall on them crushing them to death.
Despite there being innumerable ways a person can die, yet only one way a person will die, the prophets correctly predicted Jesus’ manner of death. There are many aspects to a death by crucifixion. The victim is brutally beaten. It is one of the most horrible deaths imaginable. It’s a very slow, bloody and painful death squeezing the life cruelly out of the victim. The person’s body is exposed to the elements. Thirst is experienced. The hands and feet are nailed tightly to a wooden cross. The joints of the body are stretched. The person’s heart is placed under enormous stress as it takes effort to breath. The person’s ribs are exposed as their hands are stretched above them. It’s a very public and humiliating death. Mockery is involved. The person dies naked. The person is lifted up high. The authorities, judges and rulers are all involved in the process. Perhaps, by now, you won’t be surprised to hear the Old Testament miraculously specifies, and the New Testament records, all of these aspects of Jesus death by crucifixion. See, for example, Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. You’ve got to marvel at the Bible. Perhaps some faith and praise might begin to be squeezed out of you by this weight of truly extraordinary fulfilled prophecies.
The final squeeze Jesus experienced was death and being wrapped up and placed in a tomb to rot. However, as we will see next, Jesus overcomes all squeezes and He can give you strength to overcome yours too.
Jesus overcomes all squeezes
Jesus met many people in tight jams whom He loosened from their crushing circumstances. The prophet Isaiah poetically prophesied, A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench. This was in Isaiah 42, a portion of prophecy clearly about Jesus the Messiah.
Do you ever feel like you are bruised or very weak and about to be broken or snuffed out (quenched)? Jesus specialised in compassionately and gently helping people in dire circumstances. One good example is the woman caught in adultery who the religious leaders wanted to stone to death. He told them, He who is without sin … let him throw a stone at her first. The woman escaped a terribly tight jam thanks to Christ. Christ has many followers today who also eagerly desire to help people experiencing the crushing circumstances of life. The person who gave or left you this booklet is one of them. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with them if you need help.
Another example from Jesus’ life of gently and compassionately helping those in trouble is His general example of being a friend to sinners. The religious leaders despised Him for reaching out in love to struggling sinners. Jesus was so known for this He was even called the Friend of Sinners. He was the hero of many of them because He showed up the self-righteous religious leaders of His day. Jesus showed unexpected compassion toward sinners, whilst the Pharisees wanted to break them and snuff them out.
Jesus is the Light
Isaiah 42 also said Jesus would be given as a light to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison and those who sit in darkness from the prison house. This could be interpreted as being fulfilled both literally and figuratively by Christ. Not only did He heal those who were blind physically and many others whose lives were being squeezed out of them by illness and disease, He also opened the spiritual eyes of many. Not only did He help the woman escape who was caught in adultery, He also freed many who were prisoners of their own sins, mental illness and anguish, and prisoners of demons. Jesus is also famous for loosing Lazarus from the squeeze of the grave after being dead for four days.
Jesus gives abundant life
The typical westerner only has on average about 80 years to squeeze in all the things they want to enjoy in life. That’s not much when you consider we spend on average 26 years of our time sleeping, 11 years working, 7 years of insomnia, 6 years doing chores, 3.5 years in education, 2.5 years grooming, 2 years watching commercials, 1.3 years commuting, a year being sick, 6 months waiting in line, 5 months complaining, 136 days getting ready (if you’re a women) and 46 days for men, 118 days looking for things we’ve lost, and 92 days in the bathroom. That does not leave much time for doing the things we really want to do in life. However, the good news is Jesus multiplies our time and improves the quality of the life we live. He said (and I paraphrase), I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10b). He also said that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus is the great multiplier
One day the disciples told Jesus they were in a tight spot. There was a great multitude of thousands of hungry people following Jesus. Looking at the practical side of things, they told Him to send the people away to buy food. No problem for Jesus, the Bread of Life. He multiplied the five loaves of bread and two fish they had and fed them all with heaps to spare.
Jesus is good news
Jesus also breaks the squeeze of the bad news around us by bringing us good news. The good news He brings is the good news of the kingdom of God. Because He paid the price for the sins of the world on the cross those who believe in Him can look forward to a kingdom where one day the squeezes of pain, sorrow and death will be no more. Because He overcame the greatest squeeze of all – the clutches of the grave, if you believe in Him you have the same sure hope for yourself and your loved ones who have believed. All the forces of darkness could not squash Christ. Nor can they squash anyone clinging to Him with sincere faith. Jesus is good news.
Where to now with your squeeze?
Ironically, where we live is known as the Bay of Plenty. Years ago it really seemed there was plenty to go around for all and plenty of room for everybody. Nowadays, in the region’s main city – Tauranga, it seems this is no longer the case. We are spending much more time in traffic than ever before. Far more seriously, we are seeing more and more people begging, homeless, having to move away, mentally ill and isolated from their families.
Jesus spoke of a peaceful place where there is room for all. He said, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (John 14:1-2). Because he died on the cross for our sins and rose again, there is room enough to spare for everyone in the glorious house of His Father.
Dealing with the universal squeeze
Through the cross Jesus has prepared a place for you and me. However, to take up this place, we must firstly deal with what is perhaps the greatest squeeze facing us – the squeeze of our own sin. The Bible says all have sinned and need the Saviour. It says the wages of sin is death. We need to acknowledge our own need for God’s forgiveness and turn to Christ.
Being born again
Just as Jesus had to experience the incredible squeeze of coming from heaven to take on human form, Jesus told Nicodemus (a very religious man) he also had to take on a surprising squeeze. Jesus said to him:
… “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born [what a squeeze that would be]?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:3-7)
Being born again of the Spirit also applies today if you want to be part of this wonderful kingdom of God. But how you may ask?
Seek and you will find
I encourage you to search for the kingdom of God with your whole heart as you would for hidden treasure. You are probably familiar with Jesus’ words, seek and you shall find (Matthew 7:7). I pray the following comparison with your attitude toward earthly treasures will speak to your heart about heavenly treasures.
If you have a treasure map there are two vitally important things you must do if you want to find the treasure; firstly, read the map, and secondly, seek the treasure according to the map’s instructions. What would you think of someone who said, she’ll be right – I don’t need to read the map to find the treasure? How about the person who only read the map once and said the treasure will find me because I’m a good person? Or the person who says, I’m not a reader, but I hope I’ll find the treasure somehow? What would you think of the person who read the map but thought they knew better and looked for the treasure elsewhere? How about the person who understood the map, but dug for the treasure elsewhere for fear others would think they were crazy digging where the map said? No doubt you would regard them as foolish.
Many, surprisingly, adopt the attitude and approaches above in relation to the eternal heavenly treasure God offers. The treasure map of the Bible is greatly neglected and ignored. Jesus, however, tells us only those who seek will find. He tells us the way to eternal life is narrow and difficult and found by few (Matthew 7:14). That sure sounds like a squeeze too, but Jesus wants you to exchange your squeezes for His because the narrow way leads to life. He also said the broad way leads to destruction. Also, never forget how Jesus suffered the most terrible squeeze of all for you so you could live with Him forever.
Where do you stand? Are you the sort of person who would be excited to read a treasure map and to follow its instructions to the letter but has a completely different approach and attitude to God’s precious Word – the Bible?
Life is short. God is good. Isn’t it time to seek Him as for hidden treasure? Jesus promises a true Bay of Plenty to those who by faith humbly repent of their sins, give their lives to Him and walk the difficult, but extremely fulfilling road He paved. He says:
So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! Luke 11:9-13.
Romans 8:11 says:
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
The key requirement is to repent (be truly sorry for your sins) and to believe (put your faith in) the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God.’
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him, should not perish but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16
May God bless you as you seek Him and follow after Him.
To discuss these matters further, please contact the author David Kidd on 02041283124.
You may also like to order David’s books ‘Faith-Lift’ and ‘Countdown to Faith’. They clearly demonstrate there is truly a God who knows the future, knows your future and cares deeply about it. They are available on this site.