Podcast

What is God's Will for my Life? || Friends College Ministry

Pastor Kevin Livermore

Follow us on IG: @FriendsCM

God's Will is more general than it is specific.

God's primary calling for you is to belong to Christ and to participate in his redemptive work in the world.

It’s important to note….

God isn’t trying to make you go on a crazy treasure hunt to figure out what his mysterious will is for your life. There are multiple futures God has given you the opportunity to walk into.

The closer you get to God, the easier it is to find your calling.

You were made to bring God’s love into the world – to reveal God’s greatness and beauty to the world.

If you want to for sure know you are following God's general Will for your life, do these 5 things:

1. Know God

2. Be transformed

3. Give thanks

4. Know yourself

5. Do Good

To know yourself, you have to know what makes you come alive? What makes you angry in a righteous way?

"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." - Frederick Buechner

God’s primary will for your life is not the circumstances you inhabit; it’s the person you become. –John Ortberg

“I have placed before you an open door” (Revelation 3: 8).

Choose the open door where "the adventure of yes seems more alive than the safety of no.” -John Ortberg

Does God Exist? How do we know? || Friends College Ministry

Pastor Kevin Livermore on the various arguments for the existence of God.

Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalms 14:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

Romans 1:19-20

“They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

Main arguments discussed for the existence of God:

-Cosmological

-Teleological

-Personality

-Beauty

-Morality

-Meaning

-Divine experience/desire

Sometimes we can be practical atheists. Theoretically, we believe God exists, but practically we don’t actually live like it.

Remember sometimes the best answer to a skeptic is: “I don’t know, but I can tell you about the love I’ve experienced.”

Friends College Ministry || Friends Church in Yorba Linda, CA

Follow us on Instagram: @FriendsCM

Tuesday nights at 7p

Pastor Kevin Livermore preaching the final sermon in the "Kingdom Manifesto" Series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7.

Summary:

If you want to follow Jesus, it requires action.

What is that action? To be wise about what you are building your life upon!

The wise build a foundation on truth, on Christ, the Solid Rock.

Build it on yourself, watch it fall, build it on God, watch it grow tall.

How are you living your life? What are you building with your precious time, energy, effort, talent, opportunities, and resources?

What is your foundation for life? What do you find security in? Is Your Life Built Upon The “Rock”?

Can you relate more to The Wise or the Foolish Builder in Jesus’ parable?

Some of us look just like others to the outside world; we look like a house all put together….but underneath the surface, we’re not the same at all. Underneath the surface is what’s important. When the storms of life come, the foundation in our soul is what holds us together. Christ must be your foundation. All other ground is sinking sand.

Matthew 7:24-29

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Ask, Seek, and Knock || Matthew 7:7-14 || Friends College Ministry

Instagram: @FriendsCM

Friends Church, Yorba Linda, CA

Pastor Kevin Livermore

We’ve all forgotten about the goodness of God and failed to reflect that same goodness to others.

Some of us have become like a reservoir; we retain all the water we’ve received but don’t give any of it away. But we need to be a like river; redistributing and reproducing the love we’ve received ourselves - A love that gives nourishment and makes things come alive!

Our Heavenly Father’s goodness to us is too great for us to not replicate that goodness to others.

Matthew 7:7-14

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The verbs here imply continuing to ask, seek, and knock (e.g., “keep on asking”; “keep on seeking”; “keep on knocking”). Meaning, this is something a citizen of God’s kingdom should already be doing as they are already embracing their status as a son and daughter of God their Father.

This “ask, seek, and knock” phrasing represents earnest prayer throughout the day or “walking with God”/acknowledging his presence with you during your entire day.

This is only able to be practiced by people who have been transformed by the HS, who received the HS as the greatest “good gift” from the heavenly father.

Since God has been good to us, in appreciation for God blessing us with this life and the Holy Spirit, the least we could do is to do good for others...To reproduce his goodness to others.

In order to practically apply this passage of Scripture to our lives, we must do the following:

• Receive God’s Love

• Give God’s Love

• Tend to your soul

• Let go of the baggage (Phil. 3:13-14) I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Our Heavenly Father’s goodness to us is too great for us to not replicate that goodness to others.

We are a vessel, or an instrument. We can make a beautiful sound or play bad notes and ruin and whole orchestra.

"I am a hole in a flute that Christ's breath moves through - listen to this music."

-Hafiz, the Sufi poet

"We are all in His orchestra. Uniquely and meticulously crafted. We are capable of great beauty, and at the same precise measure, capable of destroying the brilliance of the Composer's score...Your contribution impacts the entire orchestra!"

-Reg Rose

What kind of music do you want to play with your life?

In what ways are you replicating the goodness God has shown you to the people you encounter on a daily basis?

Mercy triumphs over judgment || Matthew 7:1-5 || Friends College Ministry

IG: @FriendsCM

Friends Church, Yorba Linda, CA

Pastor Kevin Livermore

We need to become a people who are compelled by mercy not judgment.

The world needs people who are willing to see themselves with brutal honesty so they can see clearly enough to see the best in others.

Don’t assume the worst about others; assume the best. This is about Humility.

The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better. -Richard Rohr

James 2:13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

-Plato

This is what you are to do:

-Check your heart

-Be compassionate

-Refuse to gossip

We need to become a people who are compelled by mercy not judgment.

Friends College Ministry || Friends Church Yorba Linda, CA || Tuesday nights at 7pm

Insta: @FriendsCM

Pastor Kevin Livermore preaching on Matthew 6:25-34

Worry is natural but the more we make the kingdom of God a priority in our hearts, the less anxiety will take root in our minds.

God is trying to instill in us a sense of dependence on him as our Father.

God wants to set you free from the bondage of anxiety.

Christ wants us free from anxious concerns about tomorrow – to live in the present. If he is our father, he has adopted us and will take care of us as his children.

Worry is unproductive. Worry doesn’t accomplish anything anyways – It doesn’t extend your life but takes away from it.

What you are worried about reveals what you treasure.

Worry is the result of not disciplining your mind.

Remember:

-You can't control your future.

-It's counterproductive to worry.

-God is the giver of life itself; we can trust him as our Father.

-Be Mindful – “take captive every thought”

-Live an unhurried life; slow down and be present to those around you.

Friends College Ministry

Tuesday Nights in Yorba Linda, CA

Matthew 6:19-24

Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

When we only focus on temporary success, we end up having a darkened eye, divided heart, and wasted life.

This is about Loyalty.

To who or what are you loyal/devoted? What are you treasuring? A relationship, success, fame, money… all of these things pass away. Live for the things that matter. Get caught up in an eternal story not a temporary story.

Where is your heart?

What do you treasure?

Is it on temporary things that do not last or on the purposes of God for your life which have eternal significance.

We have to look up to heaven and realize this world is not all there is. Jesus is not saying don't enjoy earthly stuff he is saying don't put your hope in those things. Live for eternity! ... not just the here and now.

So what are you to do?

1. Ask God to search your heart and reveal to you your root issues regarding money (e.g. fear, lack of trust that God will provide, etc.).

2. Abandon your heart’s loyalties to temporary wealth, and be dedicated to God’s eternal mission for your life.

What would it look like for you to value God’s eternal kingdom over the temporary pleasures of this world?

Friends College Ministry || Pastor Kevin Livermore || Friends Church Yorba Linda, CA

Topic: Self-Righteousness based on Matthew 6:1-18

Don’t settle for the temporary joy from being praised by humans, when you can have the eternal reward of being affirmed by God

We have an audience of one so we are to seek the reward of God, not the approval of people.

In other words, never let your public worship exceed your private worship or never let your Public life look more righteous than it actually is in private.

Most of us care about what others think but we should never let our public display of worship exceed our private devotion to God or else we could lose our reward.

If your heart is right then you will keep your eyes on God and not on other people.

God wants our giving to be in secret.

God wants our prayers to be genuine.

God wants us to fast for the right reasons.

Give

Pray

Fast

But ask yourself, how would God want me to give, pray, and fast? What would that look like for you in your context?

When you do this, do not sound a trumpet. Tell no one. Do not miss out on your eternal reward for the praises of men.

Don’t settle for a temporary high of facebook and IG ‘likes’ which lasts only about 5 minutes.

Live for the ETERNAL ‘likes’ of the heavenly Father! Live for the eternal reward!

His ‘likes’ never run out. They never grow dull. They actually satisfy.

What would it look like if we all cared more about what God thinks than what people think?

What would you do if you were free from other people’s perceptions of you?

How would you live differently?

What kind of world would we live in if everyone cared more about what God thinks of them rather than what people think?

This is really about an AUDIENCE OF ONE.

Who are you living for?

Friends College Ministry Pastor Kevin Livermore preaching at Friends Church in Yorba Linda, CA.

True love is not infatuation.

Infatuation is not bad, it’s just not true love.

But it can be a good start to a healthy relationship if properly handled.

Have you ever been so excited about somebody that you get butterflies from just talking to them?

Most of the songs we hear and the movies we see offer us one small, narrow perspective of Romantic love. Many songs and movies convey a sense of love that imply love is something you feel, it’s a feeling you have when you are captivated by another person. It’s how happy you feel when you spend time with that person. It’s the butterflies you get when you kiss that person for the first time. It’s the mind-blowing emotions you feel when you really really really like someone and think that person is the greatest thing ever!

These feelings are God-created feelings. They are a gift from God. God chose to allow us to live in a world where this type of love is possible and available. God chose to give us physical bodies capable of feeling such incredible feelings. So first of all, all of that is good.

BUT, this is not the type of love that will last forever. Although it is good to feel these things, you have to remember that those same types of feelings won’t last forever and you cannot base a marriage off of those types of feelings alone.

True love looks at the other person’s needs above their own.

True love is not infatuation.

Infatuation is not bad, it’s just not true love.

But it can be a good start to a healthy relationship if properly handled.

If you rely on emotions, feelings, and the thrill of being “in-love” alone, you may end up marrying the wrong type of person for you.

See infatuation can be referred to as “Eros” love in the Greek language. This kind of love was named after the Greek god of fertility, and it represented the idea of sexual passion and desire. This is the “I can’t help but want to kiss you right now” type of love.

But love as defined by Jesus on the cross is sacrificial (the Greeks called this “Agape”).

In our culture today, when we say, “I love you” in the beginning of a relationship, it typically means, “when I’m near you I feel happy” (whether to a lover or a friend, “eros” or “phileo” respectively).

But feelings come and go, they can’t be trusted, but real love is about commitment, resolve, and determination. See, “Agape” is the kind of love that carries people through a long marriage of sickness, job loss, and other heartbreaking problems.

Feelings of love, the spark, the infatuation, the attraction, is important and necessary but you can’t depend on that alone. You need Agape love.

But Agape is both, eros and phileo, of the above and then some. Agape is an unstoppable love, like an unquenchable fire.

Agape is what you need for a relationship to move past the infatuation phase.

The College Ministry at Friends Church in Yorba Linda, CA. Follow us on Instagram: @FriendsCM

3/22/2016

Pastor Kevin Livermore preaching on the unmet expectations the Jewish people had when the messiah arrived to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and how we experience similar unmet expectations in our own lives today.

Remain faithful despite the unmet expectations in your life because God is probably doing more than you can ask or imagine underneath the surface in the unseen.

Our lives should not reflect a people reacting to fear but a people set free from the bondage of fear.

“Sometimes God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” –Garth Brooks

No matter what entitlement or anger you may feel towards God for not living up to your expectations, Jesus is still Lord and he is under no obligation to live under your wishes. We cannot just abandon God if he does not do things like we want. The disciple is not above his master.

No matter what suffering, hardship, or unmet expectations you have, remain faithful, shout hosanna, knowing your salvation is eventually coming.

Remember, God is probably doing more than you can ask or imagine underneath the surface preparing for you an eternal glory that far surpasses the light and momentary afflictions we all have to face in this life. Trust in God’s goodness, rest in his peace, and experience his presence which is near to the broken hearted.

Have faith despite your unmet expectations.