There might be moments that you wonder why you were born, or times that you think life is not worth all the trouble, but I want to remind you of something that is more precious than anything else in the world: the gift of life!The Precious Gift of Life
Dr. Andre Pelser
2003/05/07

The most precious gift ever given to anyone is the gift of life. This week another baby was born in our assembly and we all rejoiced at the news. What makes old people smile when they see a mother and child? The gift of life makes all of us happy.
Our lives might not turn out the way we hoped they would, we might not do everything perfectly, but we have something that is very precious with us all the time: the gift of life!
There might be moments that you wonder why you were born, or times that you think life is not worth all the trouble, but I want to remind you of something that is more precious than anything else in the world: the gift of life!
God is the giver of all good things and He alone can give life. Scientists have probed into the realm of the impossible to see if they can produce life, but they can?t. Only God can. He has reserved that secret for Himself and no one will ever find it out. It is the best kept secret in the universe!
I can give you a clue to the unravelling of that secret: God has that secret with Him, because He is Life! Jesus Christ proclaimed it very boldly:

John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, ?I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
In John 10 He expounds about being the Good Shepherd that lays down His life for the sheep. He lays down the beautiful part of Himself (His psuche or soul) to save our lives from sin and destruction.

The enemy of our souls has one mission statement: to steal, kill and destroy! He has not other motive. Everything he does has that mission in mind. When he lures you with bright lights and dizzy disco?s, with entertainment and folly, with drunkenness and with addiction, with perversion and with decadence ? all his plans end up in the same way: he is out to get you and to destroy you completely. After he has given you a season of pleasure he will devastate your life and ruin it altogether. In the end he wants you to end up in hell with all the fallen angels who rebelled against God and were thrown out of heaven together with him.

Jesus saw Satan fall like lightning and every time he saw how his disciples cast out demons from people by the power of His Name, he rejoiced and remembered what He saw! He realized that Satan can be defeated by ordinary human beings who have faith in His Name. Because He stripped Satan of all the weapons he trusted in, took away all the authority he had and led captivity captive ? he captured all those who were taken captive by the devil and released them, therefore we can conquer the same enemy in the powerful Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God!

It is possible to enjoy this life on another level: to walk in victory over every circumstance the enemy might bring your way. If you trust in God He will continually cause you to triumph in all things. You might have to learn obedience through the things you suffer ? just like Jesus the Son of God had to learn obedience ? but once you know how to obey it would be to your advantage. You might have to learn to be content and that takes a while before you literally say ?sans souci? or ?it suits me fine ? whatever God wants for me!? but once you have entered the rest of trusting in God for every detail of your life, no one can take away your peace !

The joy of the kingdom of God is a deep set joy that no one can take away from you. You rejoice in things that cannot be seen so no one can rob you of your joy. God knows that our enemy is a thief. He wants to steal things from us, but he cannot steal things he cannot see. He cannot steal your faith or your trust, nor can he steal your peace and your joy; he cannot touch meekness and humility, love and gentleness ? as long as you stay in the arena of the spirit he is defeated. That is why he tries to draw you out into his arena of the flesh, the arena of worldly things. He is master of that arena and he can defeat you there ? throw you to the lions as it were. But the same God that delivered Daniel shall deliver you! He sends His angel to shut the mouths of the lions so that they will do you no harm!

When you go through the fire you will not be burned and when you pass through the waters you shall not drown. He is with you. He will guide you and protect you; He will provide for you and never neglect you! He will never leave or forsake you ? He will be with you to the end ? like a very good friend!

The Life-giver has also given you everything that pertains to a godly life through the gift of His Son Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:31,32
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

God gives graciously and freely when He gives:
He gives us life through Christ and all things that pertain to life and godliness: Greek ?Eusebeia? means the right respect due to someone to cause you to have the right actions in accordance with the desires of that one. Cornelius had the godly actions by caring for his household and by praying towards God and giving alms wherever he could. God noticed it from heaven and sent Peter to go and preach the Gospel to Cornelius. Yet Peter did not claim his own godliness to be the source of the healing of the lame man at the gate beautiful. (Acts 3:12) Godliness is derived from divine power.

II Peter 1:3
I Timothy 3:16 ? the mystery of godliness in Christ Jesus.

If you walk in the spirit you will have life and peace, but if you walk in the flesh you will have trouble on all sides because the flesh does not know how to cope or how to trust. We learn to live this life as Jesus lived it: in humble dependence upon the Life-Giver. He is able to take His hand off our lives at any moment and He is able to cast our body and soul into hell. That is why we fear Him more than any man. We cannot say to our Maker, ?Why did you make me this way or that way?? for He answers to no man. He is sovereign and His decision is supreme. So all we can do is to learn to submit to Him and consecrate our lives to Him by yielding and by saying, ?Let your will be done in my life and may your kingdom come.?

This is the kind of godly life that we are called to live. We receive the gift of this life through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. He died in our place to pay for our sins. He took the punishment that should have been ours. By His stripes we are healed. He gives us hope for a new life. He does not only grant us a second chance, but a third and a fourth and as many as it takes to make it in this life ? we play till we win! We do not have to come back in another form to pay for our sins and eventually evolve through re-incarnation into a perfect saint. We do not have to wait for the Pope to canonize us as saints. We are saints because the Holy Spirit Himself dwells in us and He makes sure we are being sanctified!

So I can safely call myself St. Andre (like the old French Rugby Captain and winger) even though I know I have a lot of areas in which I must still change. I leave that to the Lord and His Spirit and all I have to do is to praise Him and serve Him and learn to obey Him at all times. He is responsible for my sanctification. He has the right to chastise me and to correct me. I am under His auspices. He is my tutor towards a more godly life. He is my coach who knows how to get me to perfor