"The Gifts of God" by Kevin Harvey

Opening Prayer


God our Father,

we pray that the message of your Son will dwell richly among us, as we teach and admonish one another with the wisdom you give,

and sing with thankfulness in our hearts to you. And whatever we do, in word or deed, may it be done in the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ,

and for his glory. Amen. Shall we now pray the prayer he taught us to pray ... Our Father Who Art in Heaven ...


Offertory Prayer

Each of us is a fragile miracle, evidence of God's creative hands, and amazing grace.


We are each unique, unrepeatable gifts to the world.

We are proof of God's love. And so we who are the gifts of creation now give gifts to our Creator. Gifts brought in love. Amen

Pastoral Prayer

God our Father, source of all health, be near to those who suffer in the time of weakness and pain; as you have for us in our hours of need, relieve them of their burden and heal them, if it be yeur will. Give peaceful sleep to those who need rest for soul and body, and be with them in their hours of silence. Bless those who know not what another day will bring. Make them ready for whatever it may be; whether they must stand, or sit or be confined, grant them a strong spirit. Inspire with Your love those who bring healing and care to the suffering. May they bestow Your gifts of health and strength wherever they go. We offer up this prayer to You today in thanksgiving and love for the blessings You have bestowed upon us so many times in our lives, especially now in these hours of need. We also want to praise You for and ask your blessing for this Community in Christ you have given unto us. Thank You, Dear Lord, for bringing us a" into the healing light of your everlasting love. Your prayer warriors are true and mighty. Dear Lord, we come to You to ask blessing to each and everyone of these Warriors. Lord, we pray You continue to love, guide, and protect this Community In Christ, who has so eagerly have given of themselves. Grant this prayer, through Christ our Lord. Amen

Sang by Kevin and Neil :

I want Jesus to walk with me
I want Jesus to walk with me
All along my pilgrim journey
I want Jesus to walk with meIn my trial, Lord, walk with me
In my trials, Lord, walk with me
When the shades of life are falling
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me

In my sorrow, Lord walk with me 
In my sorrows, Lord walk with me
When my heart is aching
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me 


In my troubles, Lord walk with me
In my troubles, Lord walk with me
When my life becomes a burden,
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me

Written by Neil Elsmore : You got to walk all by Yourself 

The gifs of  God with Kevin Harvey


Back ground Ephesians and Colossians = 2 sides of the same coin. Explaining fundamental doctrines of Christ, the Church, Faith, Salvation, Also Law and Grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Today I want to speak about gifts, and the nature of gifts. And a few of the gifts we get from God, according to these passages.

By their very Nature “gifts” are given “freely” and received “freely” with gratitude and not earned. Gifts cannot be refused.

In other words : you put your hands out and receive it, you be grateful and reap the benefits.

This is how it is with regards to “Salvation”, “Faith”

You need it (Salvation, Faith) and

A.   can’t buy it

B.   can’t earn it

C.   can’t work for it

D.  don’t get it by default

because you and I are spiritually bankrupt.

Romans 6:23

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 3:23

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We don’t need a

·         “New” and better religion

·         New philosophy

·         New Laws etc .,..stricter

·         Positive thinking

·         More Money

What the world needs and has is the greatest gift ever given, and that gift is the saviour, Jesus the Christ.

Acts 4:12

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Christ is the object of our Faith.

That is Paul’s message to the Ephesians then and it’s the message for us today.

Read the Background of Ephesus at that time pagan magic, idolatry.

Biggot- no   Narrow- Yes

The Temple Of Diana

The disturbance over Diana of the Ephesians is one of the most promintent stories in the book of Acts (Acts 19:23-41). There were 33 temples in the Greco-Roman world where Diana was worshiped. After Paul's preaching in Ephesus had harmed the local silversmiths who made stautes of Diana, Paul's companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, were dragged into the theater. The disciples would not allow Paul to go into the assembly.

"The Temple of Artemis (or Diana, according to her Roman name) at Ephesus ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. As the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus, Artemis was known variously as the moon goddess, the goddess of hunting, and the patroness of young girls. The temple at Ephesus housed the multi-breasted image of Artemis which was reputed to have come directly from Zeus (Acts 19:35). The temple of Artemis in Paul's day was supported by 127 columns, each of them 60 meters (197 feet) high. The Ephesians took great pride in this grand edifice. During the Roman period, they promoted the worship of Artemis by minting coins with the inscription, 'Diana of Ephesus.'" (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, pp. 345-346).

The temple was four times as large as the Parthenon. Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) said the temple was constructed on marshy soil to safeguard it against earthquakes.

"For over a thousand years this goddess with her temple provided a focal point for the rich religious, economic, and cultural life of her worshippers. Now hardly one stone can be seen of one of the most famous buildings in the world, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. Built on marshy ground not far from the Cayster River, it arose on a site occupied from time to time by several temples of which at least one dates from pre-Greek days. It faced west, toward the sea and the setting sun. Pliny the Younger tells us that the columns in front of the temple were carved with notable events in the life of the Greeks and that the statue of Artemis stood in the inner sanctuary. Some of the statuary from this temple is displayed in the New Hofburg Museum in Vienna. This temple was the first in the world to be constructed entirely of marble." (Everett Blake and Anna Edmonds, Biblical Sites In Turkey, p. 119).

"After years of archeological research the ruins of the temple were discovered in 1877 by J. T. Wood. The platform on which the temple stood was 418 by 239 feet, and the temple itself was 342 by 163 feet and had over one hundred columns supporting its roof." (Homer Hailey, Revelation, An Introduction And Commentary, p. 120).

The Hellenistic temple which Paul saw was destroyed in A.D. 262.

"The original temple of Diana crumbled into the dust many centuries ago. It was rebuilt and became one of the seven wonders of the world. It was to this temple Alexander came. The Macedonian wanted his name carved on one of the 127 pillars. He offered all the riches of his eastern campaign for the privilege. The city fathers turned down the offer. But nobody refused Alexander. The Ephesians did. They talked him into a calm acceptance by saying 'If we put the name of another god on her temple it will upset her.' So the mightiest mortal on earth couldn't even buy the privilege to have his name on a pillar in the temple of a god. Years later Paul wrote to a group of Ephesians telling them they were the temple (not of a god) but of the Almighty God." (Jim McGuiggan, The Book Of Revelation, p. 44).

"The goddess who had largely given Ephesus its wealth and importance -- so that it was a kind of Lourdes of the ancient world -- was at the core of so much human thinking. She derived from those early manifestations of religious belief, the mother-goddess figures to be found from Asia Minor to the Cyclades, and westward to Sicily. The embodiment of the female principle, she represented not only fertility but resurrection in the shape of new birth, the eternal return of life to the earth and, as found in a number of early carvings, the 'Tree of Life'. As Isis she bore the divine son, Horus; and as Artemis she was the Mother of Wild Things, the goddess of all animals. The Isis-Artemis conception embraced everything. It could be taken at any level; from the simple peasant's conception of the divinity who would ensure that his beasts and land were fruitful, to the intellectual idea of an all-creating mother who sustained the whole universe." (Ernle Bradford, Paul The Traveler, pp. 194-195).
Bible Land History The City of Ephesus by David Padfield in Bible Tomes

In this light, Paul reminds them before or without Christ: separate, excluded, no hope without God ….

Ephesians 2: 12-19
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.

Side bar You ever wonder, what is God doing? What God is up to : call Abraham,  call people to dwell with us. He wants to be in you.

Ephesians 2: 20-22
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy [a]temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2: 3-6
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Angelic beings wanted to know as well.

Ephesians 3:9-10
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places

Romans 11:25-32
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
27 “This is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

Warning to us :

Romans 11: 18-20
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;

So to back up a little bit to our main text

If you can’t

A.   Buy it

B.   Earn it

C.   Work for it

D.  Be good enough

Then How is Salvation achieved?

Only by the currency of Faith.

By grace through Faith… in what?

The perfect sacrifice… Christ sacrifice :Death, Burial, Resurrection

He came and he died. That blood was shed for me and for you.

Seek the Lord with all your love and mind and you will find him.