Three Loaves at Midnight
By Dr. Matthew Taylor
5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee .8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
Luke 11:5-8
In southern California, it's not unusual to have former gang members fill the halls of several churches, particularly at Cornerstone church, in Simi Valley. Francis, its senior pastor told us the story of one such attendee, who was drawn to Cornerstone church, he was baptized, but several months later he stopped attending. When asked why this ex-gang member confessed that he must have had the wrong impression of what the church fellowship was going to be like. He said, "I thought it was going to be like joining a gang. You see, in the gangs we were not just nice to each other once a week - we were family."
Do gangs paint a better picture of the family of Christ than your church does? This morning, I would like to talk for a few moments about the church’s catalytically powers to resuscitate, and transform the minds of those who are drawn to her folds. I am going to root my argument within an exegetical context of a parable of Luke, recorded in the eleventh Chapter, verses 5 through 8.
Although this literary device used by Jesus, is mainly concerned with the power of persistent prayers, hidden beneath its literal surface are the principles that are applicable to the intrinsic role of the church to contribute to the overall spiritual health and growth of those who are drawn to her folds. It is midnight in our parable; it is also midnight in our world. Like in the parable, millions of God children have knocked and are knocking on the doors of the Church, seeking three loaves of bread.
Midnight is that hour in a believer, or non-believer experience when he or she seek desperately not to be at odds with the majority, but to blend in like I-robots. Midnight is that hour when we cannot see a clear distinction, between the sacred and the secular. Midnight is that hour when it is so dark that we cannot see anything that is wrong with bringing R&B culture to our Churches. Midnight is that hour, when the lines so blurred between spirituality and muscularity, that it seem strange to fall prostrate before God. Midnight is that hour when genuine Christian brotherhood and sisterhood is considered to be too noisy because salvation is a personal thing. This midnight dark hour is so thick, it can be felt across the social, moral, and political dimensions of all humanity.
It is midnight in the social dimension. The collective social unrest felt, in every quarter of our communities, is indicative of the darkness piercing through the midnight.
The astonishing speed and intensity at which the social network phenomenon has taken control of our daily lives are alarming! Over the last decade, we have seen an exponential growth in the number of people who are willing to expose digital photos of private and personal artifacts in exchange for social acceptance. The importance of body language, voice inflection, tone moderation, and simply looking someone in the eye have been exchanged for emoticon, fragmented none-intelligent words, phrase, and jargons.
Not so long, on a sunny Friday afternoon, Sharon Seline exchanged text messages with her daughter who was in college. They ‘chatted’ back and forth, mom asking how things were going and daughter answering with positive statements followed by emoticons showing big smiles, love-icons and happy faces. Later that night, her daughter attempted suicide. In the days that followed, it came to light that she’d been holed up in her dorm room, crying and showing signs of depression — a completely different reality from what was conveyed in her emotion and fragment words. Simply stated, the dark midnight this social networking phenomenon is sabotaging the ability to communicate effectively.
Furthermore, it is so dark in this midnight hour, the display of digital photos our bodies in revealing under clothing, or photos of the inside of our bedrooms, which should be private, or used to generate or keep as many social followers or flirtation compliments from total strangers. Yet, though it appears as unrelated, we are puzzled as why the rest of the world doesn’t respect us anymore, even with our extensive military strength and spending equaling the total sum of what the entire rest of the world spends on national defense.
Furthermore, in this social midnight, despite our supreme military strength, evidence has shown that we are losing the war on terror. As we’ve seen so tragically from Brussels to Istanbul to Iraq, where terrorists have slaughtered innocent children watching soccer. And this, after our Air force dropped more than 20,000 missiles and bombs on the terrorist front doors. Yet these depraved minds still have the ability to inflict horrific violence as well as crash aircraft with innocent families onboard. Alas! Our supreme military power cannot rescue us now from this ideological war. Furthermore, most terrorists are convinced that part of their religious service to God is to kill all those who practice immorality. Which takes us to the second dimension of this midnight hour.
It is also midnight in the moral dimension of humanity. There is a quiet, dirty conflict waging on the home fronts of moral integrity.
Biological gender is slowly fading into the spectrum or range of possibilities rather than a binary set of two options. With the darkness so thick, gender at birth is no longer a moral obligation to maintain, you can easily swap it whenever you feel pleased to do so. In fact, fifteen days ago, on May 13, 2016, U.S. Departments of Justice and Education released a joint statement, guiding any Federal-funded institutions and public schools to ignore the assignment of male or female gender. According to OPM “Agencies are encouraged to evaluate, and consider eliminating, gender-specific dress and appearance rules”.
Beloved, be not alarmed because these things must come to past, but the end is not yet. Senators around the country are arduously working on various marijuana bills that would give every day American the right to smoke pot legally, whether on the sidewalk, or on their lunch break, or wherever we see fit. Furthermore, a recent Gallup poll indicated that 58% normal everyday Americans are ready to support public use of this lethal drug. But the end is not yet. Senators around the country are diligently working on abortion bills that would ensure that young girls and women like 35-year-old Purvi Patel of Granger, Indiana can deliver their premature babies in their bathroom or toilet floors or dispose of the remain as she sees fit.
Can you see the big picture? The enemy’s plan does not rely on high-tech weaponry nor running us into the mountains as we first thought, but rather the presumed moral failings of all humanity. Whether you are an ordinary person, religious leader, Unreligious leader, teacher, or politicians, every person made in the image of God is a target. Speaking of politicians! That takes to the third dimension of this midnight.
It is also midnight in the Political dimension of humanity. Never in the history of the U.S. was presidential elections the darkness so thick that are were only given the option to choose between the lesser of two evils, but you must exercise your constitutional duty.
When a presidential candidate indicates that he would date his own daughter if the opportunity existed- it is midnight in the political dimension. When a potential leader of the free world publicly supports their spouse’s sexual fancies - it is midnight. When the potential leader of the free world condemns entire groups of God's children as rapists- it is midnight. When a potential leader of the free world is willing to discuss the size of his penis on national television - it is midnight in the political dimension.
As in the parable, in the midst of this threefold midnight, a knock is heard at the doors of the church who is asleep. Well, obviously it's midnight, she is asleep with her children, her truths and doctrinal beliefs in bed. As in our parable thousands of weary midnight-travelers are knocking on the doors of the church. According to a Pew Research, by 2050 - atheists, agnostics and other non-religious affiliated will be a declining share of the world’s total population while Christian membership on “paper record” will be the largest religious group. In addition, their findings have indicated that actual church attendance is sparse when compared to present “paper record” of church membership reported.
But be assured, there is no failure in God, there is no failure in my God, you can search the records through, and you can see that my God is a specialist in using the minority. He has always wrought the impossible using the minority. Was it not Gideon with an army of three hundred believing soldiers who God called to deliver Israel? And yes, was it not a band of unsophisticated disciples, reduced from twelve to eleven, whom Jesus called to turn the world upside down?
Alas! The church must be reminded, that though we offer the natural bread of drinks, food, and clothing to our communities, this bread though essential, is only a cursor to the true bread of life – Jesus. What bread does for the natural body, Jesus does for spirit for humanity. In fact, when the members of Jesus congregation came back for around of whole wheat vegan bread, Jesus said don’t even try that, “you are seeking me, not because you saw the signs [the power of god], but because you ate your fill of the [natural] loaves (John 6:25-33). In this midnight, it can become challenging switch believer's mindset from diluted crusade and outreach promises to a solid serving of spiritual bread. Nevertheless, many a traveler of the midnight is “drawn” by God & to God. Did He not drew you out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire and set your feet on a rock?
Like the man in the parable, travelers are seeking three loaves of bread:
They seek the bread of LOVE. The world can be a cold, harsh, judgmental place, but the spirit whispered in the ears, “I know a better place”. This is why he came to the one familiar landmark- the church. Unfortunately, they have been left in the frustrating midnight of cosmetic smiles, cautious handshakes, and blatant hypocrisy. Some have suggested, that he should find congregations that matches his races. In other words, if you are African American, membership should be “black” conference or if you are Caucasian, then join a white church. This unspoken aged-old midnight ethics continues to silently plague the body of Christ. No wonder both the so-called “black” churches as well as the so-called “white” churches are so spiritually anemic and substance-less.
Furthermore, the existence of “black” conferences or churches is just as evil as the existence of so-called “white” conferences. “We are one body and one Spirit, one church — just as we are called to one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). Today, I declare and decree that in the name of Jesus, we are pioneers of new territories, a new creation. The Devil is a liar. When new converts see the Christ in us, they must be able with certainty to change the question mark of Jeremiah question into an exclamation mark, and declared, there is a Balm in Gilead. Then with fervent zeal, they will join with the song writer and declare:
O yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary,
The long night dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
This agape love shown by the indwelling spirit of God must be accompanied with the bread of Hope.
Like a man in our parable, these weary travelers seek the bread of HOPE. He came because he was drawn away from the hopelessness of the midnight! For so many the light of hope went out because he felt heartless, helpless, aimless, worthless, fatherless, powerless, and worthless. Thus beneath the superficial need for the natural bread of this life, his sad heart aches a hurt with nameless dread and fear of the midnight. He is searching for something or someone to medicate the pain of being himself. This might very well be his last chance at life. She might be on the verge of taking her own life or committing fornication or smoking pot right after church.
Alas! The church must be reminded that many folks came to hear a word from God. A word that would consume their fears and guilt of roaming out there in the midnight. A word that would consume the nagging accusation of self-inflicted wounds. He word to reach deep into their broken dreams and failed aspirations and work all things for good to them that love the Lord. He came for a new perspective, something fresh.
Therefore, we CANNOT afford to offer mildew leftover recycled preaching. We cannot afford junk preaching, slick suits, sugar daddy, fearmongering, sounding brass, and tinkling cymbals. We CANNOT afford smoothed talkers, emotional, sensational wishy-washy messages. I now, I am not speaking against well-dressed preachers or eloquent preaching, but this midnight we face is too turbulent to sugarcoat the living word of God or drive fear into people, only to fill up the church paper record. As God’s children, we must also care about the preservation of the forest.
In this midnight, it is too turbulent lure people through false promises of easy jobs and social welfare hand-out without disclosing the substratum of our faith rooted in the bloody cross and wounded savior.
In this midnight it is too tempestuous to raise our members on junk food, and popcorn, and lollipop sermonettes and do not tell them that from Genesis to Revelation there is a Lamb slain from the foundation of the Earth. Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone (Matthew 16:24), and this must be our eternal message to all humanity.
It is at the cross where worship in spirit and truth BEGINS, and fake preaching, fake handshakes, fake people, fake profile, fake love, and fake hope ENDS. Which takes me to my next point. He came for the bread of worship.
He wants the bread of WORSHIP. In this terrible midnight there should be no room for confused Hip hop, R&B culture to creeping into worship. They told me that David dance before the Lord, and that is the reason, we can dance with loud crazy music, with repetitive words – “Jesus Jesus over 300 times” before the Lord. But we must take note, who David dance before. Therefore, if the Lord was never exhibited fruits your praise and worship team members lives, they are dancing for their own glory. Nevertheless, many of Churches have confused muscularity with a high levels of spirituality. Sometimes, there is more flavors of legs, breast, and thighs in praise and worship, than there are on the KFC menu on any given day. But wait a second, didn’t I not read somewhere in Exodus 20:26 where God said that “you shall not go up by steps unto my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it”. Did not, even the seraphim in the presence of God covered their faces and feet and cried “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty”. In the Saturday divine hour service, did not brother ISAIAH proclaimed “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts”
Let me hasten to say, there is another type unfit bread of worship. It freezes over with cold formalism, calm low-energy singing, that are sedated with short shallow timed sermonettes. On this other extreme, the Church of the living God is also ineffective in this night of gloom. Consequently, both types of worships have neither the vitality nor the relevant Holy Ghost power to fortify the soul against the vicious attacks of the Devil.
In closing, the weary traveler is really seeking the breaking of the day. But you must know this, there are difficulties times ahead. Nevertheless,
Though you may feel midnight’s darkness dashing,
Trying to conquer the Church;
I’ve heard the voice of Jesus,
Telling her still to fight on;
He promised never to leave her,
Never to leave her alone,
No, never alone.
With this promise! Which has inspired the courage and perseverance of saints throughout the ages, the church of God should know with all certainty that the dawn will come and He will not tarry.
