The Fight With Frustration [Part 1]

In this sermon, T.D. Jakes uses the life of Moses to encourage us in our fight with frustration.

Everyone deals with frustration. It’s an oft-experienced part of life: frustration within, frustration without; coming up short against your own standards; giving your most and receiving less-than what you hoped for, pouring all you have into something or someone and realizing only disappointment.

This is a struggle Moses faced time and again in his own journey as both a young man and old. When he first tried to step up and lead his people, they rejected him, and he became an outlaw. Later, after he led them out of Egypt, their unbelief, bitterness, and complaining were a constant source of frustration. Then, when the next generation followed their example, Moses reached a boiling point, and his frustration took over.

T.D. Jakes, in this first part of “The Fight With Frustration,” cautions us to learn from Moses’ life and place our frustrations in God’s hands, rather than taking them out on the people we love. God is more than capable of saving, changing, and restoring.

Watch the full message from T.D. Jakes as he dives deep into this topic and presents practical wisdom we can all use in our everyday lives.

Don’t miss out. Subscribe to our channel for more T.D. Jakes sermons and messages.

If you’ve ever had a moment in your life that you have measured yourself and come up short, If you ever poured yourself into an individual, a company, a ministry, a place, or thing, and didn’t get the results you expected.
If you’ve ever been good to somebody who wasn’t good back, this message is for you.
If you’ve ever given your best to somebody and they act like it was nothing at all.
Then this one.
I don’t know about next week or the week after that, but this one is for you.
I’m gonna talk about the fight with frustration. The fight with frustration.
Welcome to the potter’s touch.
I am your host for today, Sarah Jakes, and this message is for anyone who’s frustrated with things not going the way they hoped they would.
Instead of throwing in the towel and saying, I’ve had enough. Bishoptex has a very special message for you.
I should take a moment and digress, if you will, and and just cause you to understand for those who might not be aware that this is Moses the pastor of the Old Testament.
Bad. And one day, I’m gonna do a leadership book just on Moses alone.
I’ve learned more about leadership from Moses. He’s absolutely amazing. His name needs grown out.
He was called out of the water.
God calls a leader out of the baby who was called out of the water and calls a nation out of the leader, drawing them out.
There’s always with god a drawing out. Oh. All those who are spiritual say, oh.
God draws things out of you. Things you didn’t even know you had in you.
He’s always drawing them out of you.
They don’t always appear instantaneously, but over time, God uses life to draw things out of you.
You didn’t even know you had. Moses is a derivative of life experience. It took a
while, but god drew him out.
Oh, it only took a moment to draw the baby out of the water, but it took a while to draw the leader out of the baby.
If I say nothing else, I have preached with that alone.
It only takes a moment.
To draw the baby out of the cradle, but it takes a while to draw the woman out of the baby.
The baby comes out of the woman much quicker than the woman comes out of baby.
Steven Labor. The water breaks.
The baby comes. Boom. You bring the baby out of the woman, and then you spend the next 40 years trying to bring the woman.
Out of the baby.
I suggest you that all life is is a delivery room.
Constantly drawing out of you things you didn’t even know you had in you.
He was raised to think like an Egyptian, but he had the blood of a Hebrew and the fighting he saw on the street with the fighting he had on the inside.
You know what it is to have a fight on the inside while you deal with fights on the outside.
It is easier to stop the fight on the outside than it is the one on the inside.
He kills a man and stops the fight on the outside.
And for 40 years, the Woodby Prince is now an outlaw running from what could have been his heir apparent now he runs into the wilderness, not even a slave, but a runaway convict hiding from justice.
And there, he has an encounter with god.
God says, go to the very place that you’re running from.
And tell Ferro, I said, let my people This is an amazing moment.
Can I take you told me to take my time because I’m a do it?
This is an amazing moment, not only because he goes back to the very place that he’s running from and have to face what he’s afraid of.
That’s that’s something all by itself, but it’s an amazing moment because he gets to become the leader of the If like getting your family back, if like making your cultural connection, move if it comes back to Egypt, to lead his people out of Egypt.
This is there’s a personal investment here because now he’s connected with his brothers.
Probably called it such a great idea in the mix with my people.
It’s a great idea connected with your culture. It’s a wonderful thing.
Feels good in theory Sounds amazing.
We eat the same stuff.
We like the same color quick dance moves the same really cool, hanging out with my folks, especially
when you never had it,
But sometimes things are better in your head than they are in real life.
So he comes to his his his his own people and and he starts leading them out and he’s got god’s power and he’s got god’s hand and he’s got god’s knife and he’s trying to lead them out of something bad into something good.
And you think they would like you because you know you wanna be like because you’re back.
And he’s leading them out from slavery, and they’re fighting the one who’s leading them out.
Moses has been dealing with these ninkum boots for
a 100 and plenty years.
Oh, did I call him Ming Caboose?
I don’t even know how to spell Minoose, but it felt good to say that.
He has been through hell and high water.
The convicter, if you go through that only life can teach life is a university.
My mother was absolutely right. It is absolutely a university.
And whether you wanna take the classes or not, you got to take them every day.
Life will teach you some stuff. He has been up and down. He’s been around and around and around.
They’ve been through state bites. They’ve been through famine. They’ve been through pestilence.
They’ve been attacked by the amount of kite. They’ve been through hell and high water, and
he’s been through all of it.
A whole generation of them died in the wilderness because of their hateful memoring, complaining ways.
And now he’s leading their kids And the fathers had been on sour grapes, and then the teeth of the children are set on a What does Bishop mean, like, the what Bishop means is that the kids are nasty because the parents are messed.
The children have unbelief because her parents had unbelief I’m saying that they have inherited the attributes of their parents.
They’re just as hateful as their daddy’s words.
And he’s dealing with a fresh generation of hatred, and he’s old.
Can I speak a word on behalf of the AARP?
Children are for young people.
You need energy to give children what they really need to laugh and run froling after you get home from work, you need to be 20 something.
When you get, like, 60 something, Your laughter box breaks in 3 minutes.
Your patience runs out real quick.
What you thought was cute when you were twenty you are welded a machetead with your 50 There’s a reason why old women shouldn’t get pregnant I don’t don’t even write me it.
I am not reading it. Don’t even write be.
Movif, if in that stage, And these people are in this stage, The difference is their fathers died in the wilderness.
But this is the chosen generation that will go over into the promised land.
And so for god’s sister, Moses, we’re gonna do that thing that we did before.
Uh, only this time I want you to to speak to the Robert.
Now now the the people have been murmuring and complaining, and and Moses comes to god and since they’re doing that thing their parents did.
You know, when you have 1st generation trouble, you got patience and faith.
But when it keeps coming up again and again and again, they’re doing that thing.
Their parents did their permanent complaint for godfills.
We’re gonna do that thing we did before, but we’re gonna modify it a little bit.
Instead of uh, instead of smiting the rock like you did the first time, god says speak to the rock, and and and the rock will bring full of water.
And mother says cool cool cool breaking it down for you.
Still to come on the potter’s touch.
People were frustrated with the leader, and now the leader is frustrated with the people.
He should’ve spoke to the rock.
But because he had unresolved issues with the people, it boiled over, and now he speaks to the people when he should have been speaking to the rock.
Are you speaking to the people instead of speaking to the rock?
You have no idea what I’ve been
I can’t take this anymore.
Tell frustration. You’ve had enough.
Are you speaking to the people instead of speaking to the rock, are you carrying your frustration to the people you love when you ought to be speaking to the rock and feeding the people you love.
I thought I would be further this. By now, I thought I would have my life together.
Frustration
comes through what you thought. No more bruisings are necessary. It’s in the word.
The water you need is in the word. The thirst you have is in the word.
The healing is in the word. And you don’t have
to go through changes. You don’t have to go through crucifixion. You don’t have to bleed for it.
You don’t have to work for it.
You don’t have to sweat for All you gotta do is hear the word.
Healing starts today. Order enough when you visit our website or call 1800 bishop too.
I think it does have to come from within.
And to me, If if you become complacent or satisfied with what you have, then you stop pioneering.
You tend to become introspective. And I feel like it’s a matter of, firstly, exposing ourselves, being at leadership conferences, like, uh, this one is so important because I think you you get spirit built out, you you hear from other people.
And I find that, uh, as long as I make sure I’m getting the right in as long as I make sure that I’m looking after what goes on internally, then I’ll I’ll always want to be looking forward and believing god for whatever that new thing is, but it has to be engineered from inside.
He had gotten on his last nerve.
Now now you you must understand, for this one little offense Moses is blocked from getting to the promised land.
He freaks out onto people, and he has a meltdown, and he just lets them have it.
This is probably the, uh, a a bridge version of what he said to him because he just kinda, you know, you know, how you do when you’re talking to your folks, and your folks, it got on your nerves.
And there is a language, you know, that we all communicate. I don’t know.
I’m just figuring it, but whatever he said, it was good. It was good. It was kinda
you know, you got that out of me.
But it resulted in god saying to Moses, you cannot go to the I’m a slammed now because you did not obey me.
And I want you to understand some things.
First of all, I want you to understand that that Moses didn’t understand that god was using his light as an example of what he would later do with Christ that the rock in the type of Jesus Christ.
This rock is Jesus. Do you remember that? He’s the one? The rock is the type of Christ.
And the reason god wanted him to smite it the first time, but not smite it the second time is that when he smote it the first time, it typifies being crucified.
And he wanted the illustration, the shadow in the Old Testament to be that once Christ was crucified once, He would not be crucified again.
And so when Moses smites the rock again, he shatters the typology He messes up the metaphor and god judges him because he says something about the rock that is not true.
He’s saying that the rock has to be smitten twice to bring forth water when Christ only had to be crucified once.
Woman if you knew who I was, you would ask me for water. Christ is the rock.
If you drink of the waters that I have, you will thirst again that you have.
But if you drink of
the waters that I have, you will never thirst again.
If you believe all me as the scriptures have said, out of
your balance of flow, rivers of living water Christ is the rock.
And he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for high nickel teeth test ties of peace with the pudding with his stripes, we are here.
One time is enough. Yeah. Yes, sir. Moses smoked the rock a second time. And broke the tight.
Wow. Shattered it. God got upset.
Now you know, for god to block Moses from getting to the promised lane and had to be serious.
God said other prophets have I spoke to through dreams and business, but of my servant Moses, do I speak face to face?
God said, I don’t get him my motive with my boy.
I don’t give him bring the business. When I want to Moses. I come down.
You just y’all, Moses. Look on down there. Face to face. Face to face.
Moses has done all kinds
of stuff. He murdered a man. And god still used it.
When Moses and sisters spoke against Moses, god struck her with leprosy.
Moses is god’s due. You get in trouble saying something about Mo Moses had gotten in god’s face and argued with him and god put up with it.
Mother got in god’s face and said, that young people, they not my people,
they not be that young. They will argue and
fight for with god, and god put up with that. What was it about this?
It was so horrible that gusset for this, you cannot go into the kingdom.
He said something about Christ. It wasn’t true. Eviction said that the cross is not enough.
That he would be crucified twice, it shattered the gospel message to the chosen generation the former generation.
It didn’t matter, but till the chosen generation, these are the generations who have entered into something for which they did not labor.
These are the generations of people that are stepping into something that is so divine and so holy that now the water is just flowing through the word, and he are cleansed by the washing of water, by the word, The word is all you need to get the water.
No more bruisings are necessary. But now through the word, the water flow Oh, they don’t hear me.
I’m gonna keep saying it until they get it. It’s in the word.
The water you need is in the word. The first you have is in the word.
The healing is in the word. You don’t have to
go through changes. You don’t have to go through crucifixion. You don’t have to bleed for it.
You don’t have to work for it. You don’t have to sweat for it.
All you gotta do is hear the word and the water is in the word and the word is in water.
And the water’s in the word, and the word is in the water.
And the water’s in the word, and the word is in the water, and it’s flowing.
The Bible said the word increase in the disciples multiply.
Whenever there’s good words, you don’t have to beg people to come.
The word will draw the people, and he sent his word
and it healed him. And the
word flowed, and it flowed. And that’s why god says speak to the rock.
We’ve already paid the price speak to the rock, and the waters will flow, but Moses was so frustrated.
And he couldn’t obey a simpler solution.
And I wanna tell you why it’s frustrating. They were murmuring again.
They were murmuring and complaining again and he were murmuring and threatening to kill Moses.
And Moses was a friend for his life.
He was at his wits end, and he’d already been to it before. And he was frustrated.
So number 1, he’s frustrated with the people. He’s frustrated with the people.
And when you are frustrated, with the people you love.
The conflict is overwhelming.
It’s one thing to be angry at people you don’t know.
But when you are angry with people, you’re in covenant with.
The confusion is overwhelming because one thing says love them, and the other thing says I wanna choke you.
Now if you haven’t lived long enough to have that conflict,
I won’t get an amen out of you, but if you live long enough to have uh to to have Mirable on the inside, and be calling with yourself.
You see, The people were frustrated with the leader.
And now the leader is frustrated with the people.
The people are frustrated with the leader because they’re frustrated with the leader because Great.
You have led us into trouble.
And people will follow you as long as there’s not trouble.
You’re a good husband. You’re a good man.
You’re a good daddy. Oh, you’re such a good daddy. Till we get evicted.
See, people love leadership that leads you into convenience, but when when when the leadership gets kinda kinda bad, murky goes black, gets dark, they started murming against him long as manor was falling.
He was cool. Oh, my nah. My nah.
My but they gotten hungry and they gotten dry. And now they’re frustrated with the leader.
And Moses goes to god and god says, speak to the rock, but Moses was my Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. God. Praise the lord. I’m gonna go down here and speak to this rock.
After I speak to this people. Because frustration needs to express itself. What?
Frustration always needs to express itself. It can only hide so long, and then it will express itself.
The people were frustrated with the leader, and now the leader is frustrated with the people He should have spoke to the rock, but because he had unresolved issues with the people, it boiled over.
And now he speaks to the people when he should have been speaking to the rock. Oh my god.
Are you speaking to the people instead of speaking to the rock.
Are you, daddy, are you carrying your frustration to the people you love when you ought to be speaking to the rock and feeding the people you love.
And multiple, they just got that part right and all been over.
You speak to the rock, You feed the people. Simple. Speak to the rock. Feed the people.
Speed to the rock. Feed the people. Carry it to god, not to her.
Vinit to Jesus, not your kid.
Go to Jesus and let the spirit itself make groanings and moanings and grunt and scream and holler, not her.
Not the kids. Not your husband. You don’t tell him, tell the rock. Oh.
Give him the water. No wonder the marriage is in trouble. You you’re venting to him.
You got too much amount from the marriage. So I do it.
I you gotta break it down to that 3rd stage.
When you break it down to that 3rd stage, they get it.
You got too much muff in the marriage scene. Community language.
Now now the frustration with the people, the frustration with the leader leads to the frustration with the people.
And all of a sudden, Moses is in a dilemma, and he had the right to be frustrated.
Because frustration is a sign of investment.
You don’t get frustrated with things you haven’t invested in.
Stuck market crash. You don’t have no money in it. You don’t care.
You don’t feel it because you don’t have nothing invested in it.
Sarah could tell Abraham, put out Hager. And her child.
It was easy for her
to say, put that girl out.
The reason it was easy for Sarah to say put her out, she didn’t have none invested.
Now Abraham is moaning and groaning because he has investment.
Wherever there is investment, there is frustration because investment creates expectation.
We’re coming right back right after this. You have no idea what I feel.
I can’t take the city.
Tell frustration. You had enough.
Are you speaking to the people instead of speaking to the rock Are you carrying your frustration to the people you love when you ought to be speaking to the rock and feeding the people you love.
I thought I would be further than this. By now, I thought I have my life together.
Frustration comes to what you thought. No more bruisings are necessary. It’s in the word.
The water you need is in the word. The thirst you have is in the word.
The healing is in the word. You don’t have
to go through changes. You don’t have to go through crucial fiction. You don’t have to bleed for it.
You don’t have to work for it. You don’t have to sweat for it.
All you gotta do is hear the word.
Healing starts today. Order enough when you visit our website or call 1800 Bishop 2.
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Do I need somebody
who has been a falls
to the next level, to lead to the next level, you cannot get people to go where you have not been yourself.
That’s why god fixed it for
you to be here because he wants to expose you to something that you can go back and use in your city, your vision, your ministry, your church to accomplish the thing with God.
Basic has just brought in so many different voices that are challenging us on a whole new level and a whole new
I’m strengthening through this conference.
I am just expecting a download from heaven.
How far you can reach? How far you can go?
You need to be able to be exposed beyond the people that you leave. Are you ready?
You must realize my brother.
You are guilty too before you get the lynchiness news and hang me for my crime.
Get a mirror and look at yourself because you deserve to be hung too. If you can live, then so
can I
It is my prayer that this message is helping you face those frustrations that you’re dealing with in your heart?
If it wasn’t for the continued support of Bishop Circle and Aaron’s army, we wouldn’t have been able to deliver this message to you.
Because of them, we have dug Wells and Kenya gospel in Australia, gone to Europe, built homes in Mexico, and even here in Dallas, were out ministering to those on this street, helping make this world have a little bit more of god’s grace.
Thank you so much for your continued support of the ministry.
We look forward to seeing you here next time at the Pie set.