Loyal, OK

 
Pastor Leon Seaton

How to End Frustration

A frustrated man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough!”

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. “We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this!"

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

As a disclaimer, we have to admit that sometimes our frustrations are not spiritual in nature. Our attitudes can also be affected by the medications we take and our health in general. Other problems include blood sugar drops and illnesses in general. Always take good care of your health! Eat right, sleep right and keep an attitude based on God’s love for you!

David Vetter was born without an immune system. Ultimately he underwent a bone marrow transplant to correct the deficiency.

He spent his first 12 years in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. Basically he lived 12 years without knowing human contact. When asked what he'd like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, "I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother's hand." Source Unknown. (www.sermonillustrations.com)

In Budapest, a man went to the rabbi complaining, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" 

The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you."  The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say, then come back next week." 

A week later the man comes returned more distraught than before.  "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy." 

The rabbi then says, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." 

A radiant man returned to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat -- only the nine of us." 

George Mikes, How to be Decadent, Andre Deutsch, London (www.sermonillustrations.com)
 

Now that we have a new way to look at gratitude, let’s continue with our messages on prayer. Today we will focus on how to get rid of frustration. Prayers prayed in frustration are not prayers prayed in faith!

Yes, Jesus was frustrated with the people in the church the day He healed the man with a withered hand. But He got rid of the frustration… and then acted in faith and healed the man. Satan’s only power over us is the power of suggestion (temptation). If I am slowly pushing a stalled car, progress is being made. However, if Satan can talk me into feeling sorry for myself because no one is helping me I may give up… therefore I have to keep a positive attitude and keep on pushing!

We get frustrated when things do not go our way.  In reality, frustration is a control issue. For instance, as a child the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was incredibly long. Apparently I learn slowly. I was 29 years old and the father of two children before it really got through my thick head that there were only 30 days between the two holidays!

Yet I did not get frustrated because Christmas took so long to get here, although I did get impatient. I was not frustrated because I know that I cannot control the calendar. (Neither can you!) Frustration usually occurs because people and things do not respond as we think they should! (Perhaps we are self-centered?)

Oh, we get frustrated at God when He does not answer our prayers right away. (As if we can control God!)

We get frustrated at our spouses, children and parents because of things that they will or will not do – yet we cannot change them either.

We get frustrated at the weather, at the government. Yet we can change none of that! The truth is, we are frustrated at ourselves.

Let’s get real. Most of us cannot change ourselves. Change comes from within, but our human natures battle with our spiritual nature and without God’s help, nothing really changes.

I. Avoid getting frustrated with myself.

A. Accept my own limitations

B. Seek ways to get things done – plan and organize my activities.

C. Learn to laugh at myself!

II. Refuse to get frustrated at others by loving them more than we love ourselves.

John 13:34, 35  (Jesus Speaking):  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."

The setting for this scripture is absolutely fascinating. The scene is the upper room, and it is the night that Jesus was betrayed. He would be dying on the cross the next day at noon. Jesus knew all of this.

He had just washed His disciples’ feet. He had just told them that He was going to be betrayed; then He told Judas Iscariot that He was the betrayer. After Judas left to betray Jesus, our Lord turned to the rest of the men and told them that He was going to be glorified; that He was leaving and they could not go with Him. Then He gave the commandment to love one another… then He told Peter that he would betray Him!

Jesus was not frustrated.

He was not angry.

He knew that He had come for this very reason!

Why on earth do we get frustrated at the people we love? I heard of a man who came home from work shortly after he got married to find his wife setting the table with their best dining ware. He asked her why the fancy table setting and she explained that “We have company coming.”

He was stunned… and did something that I found amazing. He said, “Oh, honey, we can’t do that! The fancy dinnerware is for our family! Let everyone else use all of that other stuff!”

Wow!  What a lesson. For some reason many of us think it's okay be rude to our family but we must be polite to everyone else. There may be an argument or tension in the home, but if the doorbell rings everyone gets sweet and nice… Perhaps we should rethink how we treat the ones we love the most.

Jesus wants us to love all believers equally! To love someone is to accept them and always see them in the best light.
 

III. That sounds great Pastor, but how do we do that?

This section begins a series of commands for action that go all the way through to 1 Peter 5:11. The word picture here is that they were to literally gather up their long, flowing garments and be ready for physical action. The goal here is for the believers to show the true grace of God.

“Obedient Children” addresses those that have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When we do that we are adopted into the family of God and can truly pray, “Our Father in heaven.”

“Be Holy” means to be set apart to God; separated from sin and rebellion. Sin offends God, so we, as His children, should make every effort to avoid sin and unholy conduct. That means that we have to die to our human nature.

Note: Jesus died to His godly estate to become a Baby, born in a manger, and ultimately pay the ultimate penalty for our sins. He expects us to die to our human nature! (Turn-about is fair play!)

Philippians 2:5-7 states, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

Romans 6:11 states, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 8:28-30 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. (Not will glorify, but has glorified!)

1 Peter 1:17 “Live your lives in reverent fear.” God judges our works impartially. Our salvation is secure; our works are a measure of our obedience and qualifications for further use in the Kingdom of God. Our fear for God is one of reverence. We want to honor those that we revere. We show respect; we do what they want done.

This means dying to our human natures!

Verse 18 – we were redeemed by God. In the scriptures to redeem means to free someone from something bad by paying a penalty or a ransom. In the Greek world a slave could be redeemed by the payment of a price either by someone else or by the slave himself. Jesus redeems each of us from the curse of the law. He also redeems us from all wickedness. Titus 2:14 states, “Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, for He had no sin in His life. Further, He was chosen before the creation of the world to do this task, for God knows all things. When God created everything He knew how things would turn out. Yet He did it!

“Well,” you say, “I’m just a sinner…” We won’t discuss that point, but do not use that for an excuse to cover your bad attitudes. Look at 1 Peter 1:22, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

They say that a man is a human being that thinks he has cleaned the whole house just because he carried out the trash. You ladies certainly know better than that. Perhaps the best way to explain this is found in the laundry room.

That room fills up fast…so you wash the clothes and everything looks great for awhile. But then you have to do it again. When you reach into the closet you take out clean clothes, not dirty ones.

When we confess our sins, God cleans us up! Perhaps it is like washing your hands. Medical personnel are instructed to wash their hands between patients – every time. During the flu season you should wash your hands often!

Verse 22 also tells us to love one another deeply… if I do that, I don’t get frustrated! When I fuss about what you do/don’t do, I am focusing on me, not you!

Finally, 1 Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

We are spirit beings… made in God’s image. When you were saved your spirit was transformed and made like God. Just as God loves everyone, in your spirit you love everyone as well. You can tell that by the generous offerings and the many ways we show love in this congregation.

However, our human nature – “the flesh” – does not get saved. Our emotions have to be brought under the control of our spirit. Until that happens we often do not praise God because we simply do not feel like it.

Praise is a command, not a feeling!

Loving others is a command, not a feeling!

Obedience, freedom from frustration, is also a command! Just give it up! Be like Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit!