Meet Lawrance Perez! Upcoming Christian Musician!

Where does the wind blow? Wind blow. Where does it come from? Come from. Where's it going? Going. Only God knows. Knows. Yeah, only he knows.

Hello, welcome back to John Humenik Ministries. My name is Caitlin Humenik. I'm here with Lawrence Perez, Christian music artist, and we're going to be talking about his testimony and and how he started to make music and how he glorifies the Lord through that and everything in between. So let's open this up in prayer. Dear Father, we thank you for this day. We glorify you, Father. We bless your name, Father. We just thank you for this livestream, for this video, Father. We pray for the person across the screen that you can plant seeds today, Father, because testimony holds power, Father. We just thank you for that, Father, for delivering us from all of these things in our life, Father, so that you can have glory, so your name can have glory, Father. Thank you, Lord. We just pray that we can have a fun time, that you can get to know Lawrence here. And we just pray that you can increase and that I decrease, Father. And we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

So we're gonna start with your testimony. So tell the people how your life, what it looked like before Jesus.

My life

before the Lord. Oh my Lord, um, it's kind of a weird scenario because I was kind of one of those kids that kind of grew up in church. Like, your family always went to But I was so young at the time, I didn't really know what was going on because my parents, they had separated when I was about 6. So when my parents separated, we also kind of separated from the church too. So it was kind of one of those things where like I've always known the Lord, you know, even growing up as a kid, but like there had to come a point where I had to find him for myself. So I would say like I'm 24 now, but from when I was 6 to about I want to say 14 or 15. I was— I would say I was a regular kid, to be honest. I mean, I, I did things obviously I wasn't supposed to do, but I would definitely say is that like I didn't know what the calling I had on my life was. Like, I thought, um, I thought I was gonna do something with music, but definitely for like a secular realm, like American Idol or like The Voice. Mm-hmm. And it even got to the point like Where I actually tried stuff like that, um, in the past, and it just, it never worked out. Um, what I would definitely say is like the first real encounter that I feel like I personally had with the Lord was when I was 16. I was, uh, I was actually watching this movie called Son of God, and, um, I— this was the first time that I had actually sat down and I was watching this movie. And basically the movie was pretty much just describing the life of Jesus, and it was showing everything that he had been through as a, as a kid, and then all the way up to his 3 years of ministry, but then also like his crucifixion. And as a, as a kid, like always knowing about the Lord but never really like personally going to him, it's like I saw something. It was weird. It's like, you know how the Bible verse that talks about how the Lord will use the dumb things to confound the wise? It's like he used a movie, you know, to instill a seed of faith to— for me to recognize like, oh wow, like, you know, I, I need saving. You know, because this man, he was, he was, um, he was innocent. And like, the fact that he took on the weight of the world and the sin of the world for a people that were so far from him, they were so undeserving from him, they were so unreceptive to him. You know, John talks about how, how the Lord walked among them, but the people didn't— their creation didn't recognize their Creator. And it was like, for, for a moment in time, I was like Before I found the Lord, I kind of felt like I kind of knew who he was, but like I didn't recognize him for who he was to me. And so when I was watching this movie, I see him and I, I see him getting crucified. Now of course, like, this is a movie, like, so this isn't even like— this doesn't even compare to the realness of what actually happened according to scripture. But I felt like how the Lord, he still used this movie for my heart to be open to him. And I remember like watching this movie, I After I was done watching this movie, I was crying in my room and I just started to pray. And I felt like I saw the Lord in my room for the first time, and I feel like he just had revealed to me everything that I had ever done. And this is a true story, like, I ran downstairs to my mom. I pretty much told her, I was like, I'm sorry, Mom, for being a terrible son. Because I was— I ain't gonna lie, I used to disrespect my mom a lot. I used to call her out of her name every now and again because I definitely struggled with anger. Um, for a really, really long time as a kid. But that was also just because of, you know, the type of upbringing that I had. Um, single parent home. We used to move around a lot. Um, single mom, of course. We didn't have the most money, especially because my parents, they were married for, I want to say, 21 to 22 years at, at the time of separation. So they had already been together at that point for about 25 years because my older brother But I remembered, like, after watching this movie, I ran downstairs and I— she was in the kitchen and I was talking to her and I said, hey, Mom, I'm so sorry. I said, for disrespecting you. I said, I love you. I said, I'm gonna start going to church on Sundays. And eventually I did. I kind of got plugged into a church. It was an African Methodist Church in Lancaster. Well, actually Columbia, PA. It was African Methodist Church and I was— that's where I gave my life to the Lord for the first time. And then ever since then, I had always kind of been walking with him. On the flip side though, like, as far as like music, like, I gave my life to the Lord when I was 16, but I was still trying to go like a secular route as far as music. And then as I started to grow up and I started to become closer to the Lord for myself and seek his face for myself, I started to recognize that it's like The, his— the word talks about how gifts are given without repentance. So you can see the people who thrive in today's society, you see the people on the big screens, you see the people in movies, and they're thriving because of a gift that the Lord gave to them whether they repented or not. That's what that means. So I feel like the Lord started to convict me the moment I moved to Florida in 2020 because I had been trying to search for all these different type of experiences and opportunities to do music Um, but outside of his will. And so when you try to do anything outside of his will, it's like a fish trying to swim on the sand. You're not gonna get far. You'll probably hop a little bit, but by the time you get so far on your own will, you had gotten so far from the source of which you were supposed to operate in. It's like, now how do you even get back? You know what I mean? So I felt like that's kind of how it was for me when I was trying to do music by myself. But, um, I felt like he convicted me, and it was like, there's a peace that the Lord brings. My mother's always told me this, um, when the Lord provides you a blessing, he adds no sorrow. Hmm. So just because you're blessed doesn't mean that you have the peace that God will give you that surpasses understanding, because there's a peace that God will provide to you even when he rebukes you, even when he chastises you. Um, I learned something very valuable, um, lesson from Tim Timberlake. And, uh, on a Tuesday disciple, uh, chapel meeting, I asked him a question and I said like, how do you know which voice, uh, is coming either from the Lord or coming from the enemy? And he said there's a type of peace that will be provided when you're hearing from God, even when he's chastising you. Hmm. And the scripture that he used to bring that scripture to life, or bring that example to life, was when Jesus was crossing on the boat and he was sleeping in the bottom of the bunker, and his disciples were basically showing the lack of faith that they had. And they're like, Jesus, wake up! We about to die! You don't care that we about to die? And he said, peace be still. So it's like, even when you're with him, unless you believe that the peace that he has that he's given it to you already, it's like it's not even there. So it's like, that's what my mother's always told me. She's like, just because people open doors for you and they, and they give you opportunity and they give you exposure, they give you experience, if his peace isn't there, don't go. Think of Ruth, you know. She, she said, you know, uh, she was a Moabite woman. She said to the people, you know, if you're— wherever you go, I'll go. If you say, I'll say. If you move, I'll move. And that's kind of what it means to walk in the spirit. You know, if we you can walk with God in the spirit, even if you're lame in the physical. So I feel like the Lord he's um he's definitely matured my faith, and I'm still growing and still learning. I'm still young, 24. But what I would definitely say is that like no matter where you start, it's like where where you start at is. How you honor God. It's not about the fluff. It's never about the destination even. It's more so about the journey, because where you're going, every step you take is something that he wants us to pay attention to. You know, the first thing that Jesus ever said to his disciples before he even called them disciples—I'm talking about the man now—he just said, "Follow me." So he whenever you follow somebody, especially like little kids. My wife, she's an elementary school teacher, and every single day, all teachers that are in elementary school from pre-K to about maybe 6th grade, maybe 5th, depending on the school— sorry— they all line up their children to follow whoever the line leader is. So in the same way, that's why Jesus talks about having childlike faith. To have childlike faith is to operate in a system That isn't chaotic, but it's productive, it's systematic, and it's actually beneficial to keep the sheep in alignment with the shepherd. See what I'm saying? So at the same time, it's like I started to learn, I would say about 3 years ago, that it's like every step that we take and every step we don't take is just as important. When it comes to following the Lord, because it's not about just the things that you say yes to, but it's also about the things that you say no to, you know. So I hope that answers the question.

Talk about your life now and how, um, like the gifts that God has blessed you with, basically.

I think the Lord, he's so strategic in everything that he does that he wants to see what you're willing to do in secret so that way he can promote in, in public. Like, if you don't honor him when nobody's looking, why would he give you a platform in front of millions or thousands or 10 people. You see what I'm saying? Because like, if you're faithful over a few, you'll be faithful over much. But it's like, I think, uh, I think of David, right? Like before, before David ever even got to the battlefield, he was always in the field. He was always in the field singing unto the Lord. He was— he had already killed a bear, he already killed a lion. So Goliath was— he was a free— that was a free throw. If you really— for my basketball people on the channel, if you like basketball, like Goliath was a free throw when it came to, when it came to defeating Goliath. And another thing too is the Bible discloses how, how he didn't even have a sling. It talks about how he went down to the brook and he got 5 smooth stones. What's that mean? Wait a minute, so yeah, does that mean he's gonna miss? No. If you read the context of that scripture, Goliath, he was a Nephilim. And Goliath was known to have 4 other brothers. So in case they jumped in, they could get this work too. So he was so intent— David, he was so intentional with working on his craft that he knew that who he was surrendering his craft to, by the time the opportunity came about, he knew he wasn't gonna miss. Because he knew the one throwing it wasn't even him. So whenever you throw your shot, when God is calling you to a new place and he's calling you to a higher standard, only what you are disciplined in, in private will be promoted in public.

So what does your life look like now, and how do you honor God through the, the gift of music that he's given you? That's a great question.

I would say that like when you, when you try to honor the Lord, you don't just honor him through your gifts, but you honor him through your life. As we mentioned earlier, gifts are given without repentance, but our life is also the greatest gift that he's ever given us too. So if you think of the gift that we get in a day, we get 24 hours in a day, we get X amount of breaths each day. You know, Genesis 1 and 2 talks about how the Lord breathed the breath of life into the man. Mm-hmm. And then he became a living soul. What King James talks about, how you steward not only your gift but your life. You know, the Bible talks about how we are to do everything as it is unto the Lord, not just with our gifts. A gift is just a privilege. A gift is a— is an assignment. A gift is a— is a tool that we get to graciously use to give back to God, to expand his kingdom. For me specifically, music is just one of those gifts that I don't deserve, but that he's graced me to have. And if he told me to give it up, I would, because at the end of the day, what's most important is him. You know, there's angels in heaven that surround the Lord's throne and they sing, holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord. They call him Hosanna. And when we really think about it, it's like there's nothing— especially like when it comes to stewarding gifts, like I was just talking to my older brother about this. We're 10 years apart, and we were talking, and, um, there's nothing that we could ever give the Lord that he would be impressed by. But the one thing that he would be pleased with is if we give him our devotion and our worship. And that was Lucifer's problem. He was— Ezekiel discusses how Lucifer was the model of perfection. He, he was made like this man. I tell you what, like, he, he literally— he was a musical instrument physically. He was a created being. But instead of the worship coming through him to go to God, in the beginning God had delegated all of the responsibility to one angel to worship God, right? And because of that big head, that pride that he had, instead of the worship coming through him, he wanted it to come to him. And God was like, no, no, no, no, no. And so he cast him out. And then all of a sudden, it happens in the garden. The difference between Adam and Eve and Lucifer, even though they've all sinned technically against the Lord, Adam and Eve were tempted. Lucifer was never tempted. Do you understand what I'm saying? Because whenever you make a decision and you make a choice to rebel against God without temptation. That's the decision. Mm. And because God is holy, he also lives in eternity. So what does that mean? Eternity is, is a realm where there— later doesn't exist. Tomorrow doesn't exist in eternity. Yesterday doesn't exist in eternity. It's only now. Think about it. The story of Job, the angels were in God's court and then, uh, the devil, the adversary, came to the court and then he was trying to conflict pain onto Job and all this stuff that happened. For those that do know the story, uh, he basically was questioning the Lord about if he had considered Job and the The adversary or the devil, he said, "Have you considered a man to only worship you and to be faithful for you for what he has?" So he took everything from him, and so he lost over six thousand sheep, three thousand oxen, five hundred camels, and all these other things. So he lost his wealth, but he didn't lose his faith. But then he also stroke physical pain and torment on his body too. So it's like, are we surrendering even the pain that we go? Because that's that's the big question. That really what it comes down to. It's like, are we willing to surrender not only the good things to God, but we— are we willing to surrender our pain to the Lord too? Because there's a lot of things that will happen even with our faith that we have to almost remind ourselves that it's like, it's not even about us, it's about God. Like, if you think about it, what if Jesus said, I've had it, when he was on the cross? I'm done. If he said, I'm done, what he meant to say was, we done. Because if he says, I'm done, there's nothing worse than to fall into the hands of the wrath of God. So that's why— that's what it means to be in reverence of him, to reverence him, to be in awe of him, because he did something that we could never do for ourselves.

What was it like when you started making music?

Well, when I first started making music, like in general, like I've always done music my whole life. I actually come from a family of musicians, to be honest. The first time I've ever got my hands on an instrument, I actually asked my mom when I was 10 years old. And, um, I asked her, I was like, hey Mom, like, for Christmas I wanna— I want a keyboard. And she looked at me like I was crazy, like I had 3 heads, because she was like, who's going— first of all, I'm 10 years old. Second of all, we broke. And third of all, she doesn't know how to play the piano, so she's like, "Who's if I get you this piano? Who's going to teach you how to play it?" I said, "I just want one." And so I remember like I think it was like eight months went by, and I knew Christmas was coming around the corner because when I was in elementary school, we used to like do like the little gift bags that we'd hand out and we exchange stuff in school, like little Christmas parties or whatever. And I remember like it was around Christmas time, and I came home one day. And there was a huge Yamaha. The first keyboard that I ever had, it was a— I got a Yamaha 77-key keyboard when I was 10. And I tell you guys, like, that was the first time I've ever cried over an instrument. And it was in that moment, like, I felt connected to something that was beyond, like, life. Like, I felt like for me growing up, like, music was always like a— it was almost like an escape way. Like, if I went through something, I was doing music. If I— I even remember too, like, going over to my brother's house growing up as a kid and just taking the music that I had. Like, eventually I got like a couple guitars and I would take it over there with him and we would just sit down on the couch and just start writing music. We never recorded though. We would just sing it, write it, and just— Pray the Lord open doors, you know. And, uh, that was kind of like the essence of like my musical journey as far as like as a kid musically, or my musicianship per se. The first time I ever got on a mic like such like this is when I was 13. I was living in— where were we living? We were living in Stonemill Apartments. Stonemill Apartments. I ain't gonna lie, y'all, it's kind of ghetto. They were called Stonemill Apartments. And, um, I had this— I used to— I was 13, I was in 7th grade, and I used to hang out with the older kids at the time. And I used to have this friend, his name was Nick Sapone, and he used to do music at his house in his walk-in closet. And so I remembered, like, we— I ain't gonna lie to you, don't look these up— we wouldn't sing about the Lord, you know what I'm saying? But that was the first time I had ever, like, gotten on a mic. So I remember like going into his room and then I'd see his setup, he'd have the mic, um, and that was really the first time I've ever really experienced and had the opportunity to like, I would say, record myself vocally-wise. Like, that was the first time like, uh, it was documented, uh, because that's really what recording is, especially for like audio. Anytime that you record something, it becomes documented. Um, and so the second time, as far as like my recording experience, I was 17. I was my first professional featured artist on this guy's album. It was called Focused, and the artist's name, his name was Milan Kretl. He was actually a really, really good mentor of mine when I was in high school because he was, I think he was one of the either guidance counselors or adolescent counselors at our school because I went to inner city school. It was a little ghetto too. Go McCaskey, go Tornadoes. Um, but, uh, yeah, his name was Milan Kretl, and, um, he asked me to be a featured artist on his album. And I, um, I sang the song called Focused. I sang his hook, and then I also sang, uh, his hook— or his chorus, sorry— for another song called OD Cry. And that OD Cry was actually about, uh, his cousin that was shot and was murdered. And so it was, it was a really good song, but I was just That was like the first time I've ever had the opportunity to be on a professional release. Um, now again, I didn't know anything about contracts or anything like that back then, so I was just excited to be in the room. I was excited to just sing or anything like that. Um, 3 years after that was when I moved to Florida, and ever since I moved to Florida, like, I've— I feel like the Lord, he's done nothing but open up doors. Like, I've, I found Celebration Church through a YouTube video. I was living off of Bay Meadow Circle East at the time in Jacksonville, Florida, and Bay Meadow Circle East is literally like 10 minutes from the church. And so I— when I found the church, I started serving there for about 3 years. I met my wife there. I met some really good lifelong friends there. Um, I met you there. Hallelujah! Woo! Go, Humeniks! Thank you, Jesus. Um, so I've been serving there for about 3 years. Um, I also have had the privilege to sing background vocals traveling with Jessica Reedy. She's a famous gospel artist. Um, I, in 2017, I've sang in the gospel choir for Anthony Evans' performance, Tony Evans' son. Um, what else have I done? I've sang, um, background vocals for a couple other local Jacksonville artists as well. So ever since I moved to Florida, I feel like the Lord, he's really expanded my opportunities, really opened doors. I've had the privilege to go to Texas, to Houston, to perform at the— what was it called? The gospel— what was it called? The Archefella Records Awards. And that was hosted in Houston. I've had the privilege to travel to New Orleans. So the Lord has really graced me these past 4 years. Like, past 4 years, I got married. My wife's over there. She's my biggest supporter. I love her to death. But as far as like music, it's like it's definitely grown and it's definitely given me the opportunity to, to do things that I never thought that I would do. And honestly, it's more so like you really are operating in the dark, especially if you do something for the first time, especially if you're also doing it by yourself, you know. So like to take a little bit of encouragement for anybody that's out there like don't let anything stop you, and most importantly, don't let yourself stop you from walking in the call that he's called you to do, especially if he's called you. Because nobody can deny the call that God has called you to because they weren't a part of that conversation. They weren't on that phone call. That's why it's called a call. Thank you, Jesus. But, um, yeah, honestly, it's like I would say like— 2 is like, I feel like I've stumbled Like, I've always stumbled forward into what he's called me to do. I feel like where I'm currently at, I feel like I'm still learning now. Like, there's so many other door opportunities that I feel like that are opening as far as like live musician opportunities that I feel like the Lord is graciously providing, and they're all coming out of nowhere. Like, I, I was talking to my wife like literally 3 weeks ago, and I was like, I literally don't know what else to do. Because it's like you put so much time in it and you put so much hard work in, and it's like sometimes you feel like the work you do is in vain. But I promise you that it's not, you know, because I think the difference between Cain and Abel was the heart that they gave it and not what they gave. Mm-hmm. So when you give unto God, you know, especially talking music, right? Like, give it— get— do everything as it is unto him, you know, and he'll reward you. You know, because what he wants is he wants your faithfulness. And I learned the other day, a couple months back in school, um, is that your faith actually means your allegiance. And allegiance means to be— it's a military term, you know. So wherever there's a chief captain and the soldiers, they are in alliance and in allegiance to their country that they're serving. So it's like, in the same way, it's like he called you on deployment To go out into the world and preach his good news. Mhm. He's literally calling you a soldier, but for the kingdom of God. So it's like, I'm just so blessed to even be able to sit here with you and in your, in your studio and just be able to talk about music, because I never even thought that that would ever happen, you know. I never thought that in this point where I'm at with my life, like, I never thought I'd be here, but I could only Definitely. Say that I am by his grace, his mercy, his compassion, his kindness, his— oh my gosh, it's just like the list goes on and on and on. But like, I would say like the musical journey, like I feel like now it's only really getting started. And all of the back experience that I've ever had was really just me tilling the soil. Because especially biblically speaking, like anytime that they had to, uh, sow, or anytime that they wanted to eat they had to physically work the ground. So God told Adam, from the sweat of your brow you will eat all the days of your life. So I feel like from the moment when I was 13 years old— 10 years old when I got my first keyboard, 13 years old when I got my first mic, 17 years old when I did my first feature, 20 years old when I moved to Florida and I traveled to all this stuff— all of that was just tilling the soil. And now it's like, oh my gosh, like, okay, I've seen like you willing to work, work the field. And it's almost kind of like the Lord wants—he's looking for a people who is faithful throughout the entire process. Like even if it doesn't go to the expectation that you thought it was going to go to, like are you going to trust Him enough to know that He has what's best for you and not your plan? For many are many are the plans in a man's heart, but the Lord's purpose is what prevails. So yeah, I'm just. Blessed to be here, and, um, I'm really grateful to see what the Lord is doing. And, um, yeah, I just recently released, um, an album called God's Child, you know what I mean? It got 15 songs on it, and it just— the whole album pretty much just encompasses like, um, the reminder and the reiteration that like we are God's children, we're God's child. Like no matter how far off you've gone, no matter how much you've gone astray, like you are his child. Um, And when you believe that you are his child in faith, then we can receive that adoption as sons and daughters in Christ and receive his Holy Spirit and take on the life that he's given us so graciously.

So for the sake of the audience, would you like to show us a few songs?

I would be honored.

Well, let's get into it.

Where does it come from? Where's it going? Only God knows. Only He knows. You can't make one hair on your head white or black. I can't. I'll put my faith in the One, the One who never fails. I will seek You first. In the morning, I, I will trust your word. Trust though the winds blow, I won't move. I won't move. I won't move. I'll trust in you. I'll remain in you, let the wind blow. I know you're tired of working nine to five, picking extra hours up on the side. Load is getting kind of heavy, and your palms is getting sweaty. Yeah, too much anxiety. Lord, can you please help me? I'm never. Right now I'm trying to make it. I can't make it. Only with you I can do it all. I will seek you first in the morning. I will trust your word. Though the winds blow wild. I will trust you. Spirit, I know you're here with me, 'cause you care. You care. You care for me like no one else could. Oh no. So I lift my hands in total adoration. I will sing your praises all the days of my life. I will turn to you in the time of my troubles. I will come back home to the place where I belong. Amen. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. I'm coming home. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. Homecoming. Homecoming. What do I say? What do I do? Where do I go? How didn't I know that you were for me? So much time I wasted. Instead of living for the world when I should have been living for you. 'Cause you're the truth, and that's the truth. Nothing else can compare to you. So I lift my hands in total adoration. I will sing your praises all the days of my life. I will turn to you in the time of my troubles. I will come back home to the place where I belong. It's a homecoming, it's a homecoming, it's a homecoming. I'm coming home. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. Ah! It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming. It's a homecoming.