DEAD HORSES

Once there was a very "religious man who did not believe in gambling. He would not even say "I bet..." A friend kept inviting him to the race track and he finally went when the friend said he would go to church with him in exchange. While watching the races he noticed a priest "blessing a particular horse at the start of the 1st race. That horse came in first by a long shot. We was even more amazed when this same thing happened in the 2nd, then the 3rd and fourth races. He noted again that the priest blessed a certain horse in the 6th and 7th race All the horses came in first by a long shot. AS he saw the priest do the same in the 8th race he decided that this was not gambling. so he got all the money he could and evern used the ATM to get money from his credit cards. When the 9th and last race was about to start, he watched to see which horse the priest "blessed" He then placed all his money on that horse. Well, the bell rang, the gates opened and all the horses were off and running EXCEPT...ONE....You guessed it...that horse that he saw being "blessed" walked out of the gate and fell over DEAD! This man then found the priest to complain that he saw him bless eight horses and they won...then in the last race.... umm the priest then looked at him and said "I am sorry sir...you must not be Catholic. or you would know the difference between a blessing and THE LAST RITES."

Suppose the owner of that horse had just purchased it on credit. He would still have to pay for the horse...the dead horse.

Each of us have had our own dead horses. We have purchased some things that stopped being of any value long before we finished paying for them. Perhaps a car that when you went to trade it in you owed more on it then it was worth so the new car had a negative trade in. That is what is called paying for a dead horse.

MY friend...are YOU a DEAD HORSE? You may well be asking "how can I be a dead horse? Well my friend, as was mentioned anything that was paid for that had no value is a dead horse and YOU were purchased with price.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Acts 20:28

Now I can see three groups of people as being "dead horses to our Lord.

The first are those who have never trusted Christ.

And you, being DEAD in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Colossians 2:13 But wait you say...how can they be dead horses? .HE did not pay for them? OH no? The word of God tells us that HE has shed His precious blood as payment for ALL Sin.. For ALL time For ALL people.

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2

The problem is that most have not accepted the payment of their sin...so they are dead horses (we were BORN dead horses) and they have not been made alive yet. The word "quicken in Colossians 2:13 means to be made alive. There is a reason that trusting Christ is referred to as being "born again". IF we are born once, we will die twice, but if we are born twice, we will die once. When we were born, our Spirit is still born. When we trust Christ, this is called the 2nd birth or being born again and God brings our Spirit to live and gives us eternal life.

This message is from the ministry of Shattered Men