Hearing the Call

The year was 2001, I believe, and MSOG, the group, had been through many trials and the trials had taken their toll on us. Though we were still ministering before people, we were still messed up on the inside. The flesh had us walking in lust or pride all the time. And though no one voiced it we all wanted out of the group. Not because the group was bad but because we were tired of fighting what was in us. Have you ever felt like that? Just tired of fighting. Like Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:23, But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. This is where we were. We were fighting that law in our members, but always losing. We were tired of fighting and wanted to just give up. We each had another route we wanted to take. Daryn was leaving to live with his cousins who were famous in the music world. This seemed to be a perfect opportunity for him and his cousins were singing gospel. Shaun was leaving to do some producing for a friend from his former church. This friend had already promised Shaun a large sum of money for his skills. Poor Byron was just being sent back to South Carolina. Greg was dealing with lust as we all were. Feeling his spirituality diminishing and his life at a standstill, he began to get frustrated with himself. Theo had just gotten married and his dilemma was trying to be a good husband without forsaking ministry but he was failing in this. Clay, though he was the responsible one, was getting discouraged in what he was seeing in him and us. He knew we were better and could do better. Me? Where was I? I was in jail. (Ha ha ha) No, seriously I was. But before I went to jail, God had instructed me to move to Leesburg to help pastor the church. I was not too thrilled with this. I had been in Lauderdale my whole life and to just up and move would have to be God. My life was in Lauderdale, my friends, family, everything. The scripture I had to consider was, St. Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

If you have not noticed I am trying to teach you to live by the Word of God. At different intervals of this story I will attempt to show how our lives coincide with the Word and how it is life for us. I am trying to show you that you must apply the Word to your life in order to be a disciple of Christ. But I also want to show you that you can trust scripture. Back to the story . . . I was in jail at this time but the Lord had a task for me elsewhere. He called me to Leesburg but He first had to humble me in jail before I could be of any use to Him in Central Florida. In jail, God taught me how to walk in the Spirit through the humiliation of my flesh. I took on the mind of Christ after I gave up my will, my ego, and my image. I agreed that my life was in God’s hands and I had no control over it at all. This agreement I came to caused me to walk in the Spirit. After God taught me how to walk in the Spirit, He miraculously released me from jail and guess where I was going? You got it . . . Leesburg. My wife, Micheka, was in agreement and we were leaving. No house, no money, nothing but faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Before we moved, I was led to have a meeting with MSOG. This meeting was to determine our next move as a group. It was after church one night that we all met. Everyone was coming in for the meeting, sitting down, but you could tell we were pretty much out of it. We were not enthused anymore. Time had taken its toll on us. We did not even feel the support from our own anymore. We began the meeting with prayer and then began to plan for our next album. I tried to reassure the group that I would still do my part even though I was moving. They were hearing me but not feeling me. We were dying of thirst and needed water to live. Doc was sitting to my left, eating, and not saying anything. You see, my mom will not fight to make her presence known but will just sit and listen. I think this is her way of encouraging me to be a true leader. She and I are a tag team and I had to “tag” her in. So, in the middle of the meeting I asked her, “Mom, do you want to say anything to us?” And she began to speak. Her words were the water we needed. The anointing rested on her as she spoke and our souls were lifted. Christ was in the building and I could feel Him. I always can. But I was not the only one who felt Him. We all felt Him, and we heard Him calling us.

St. John 10:3

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

Christ used Doc to call us and lead us out. We all made a decision to move to Leesburg following Christ’s voice leading us. This was a new beginning. Now let us see what you have learned: God will call you at a time that does not seem convenient to you. When He calls you nothing can stop you, but YOU. If you are His, you will know His voice. Walking by faith is not being able to see your way but trusting God to make a way. Accept that your life is not your own.

Now, back to the story . . . We were all on one accord about leaving and within weeks God had provided us all with places to stay. He also added Primes to the group who is such a great strength to us. Primes and I have become good friends. We always talk concerning the Word of God. It is very important to let the Word be the topic of discussion. This keeps you spiritual. Yes, Primes and I are a good team. I knew God had chosen Primes for us. He and I both had the same mind about this time in our lives. We saw this as our last chance to serve God. We both had past failures in God, so we felt privileged to be used one more time. Now, in this review, our goal is to make sure certain points of the study guide were received. Also, to show you how the pages of the study guide relate to your own life. Has God called you to be His disciple? Are there things in your life right now that hinder that call? Do you know if He called you or not? Did not God call us all into His army at the second youth advance at Camp Geneva when He had our apostle to address us in the congregation? So, if our apostle is a true apostle from God, and the call is from God, why is there no manifestation? Let us consult the Word.

St. Matthew 16:24

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Can you truly say that you have denied yourself, taken up your cross and followed Christ? What have you sacrificed to be as Christ? What have you suffered to be His disciple? Or, are you trying to be His disciple while yet being your own person? This mindset keeps you from ever coming into true discipleship, and therefore, there is no manifestation of your call. Yes, I believe you were called, but until you believe it enough to lay down your life and pick up His life, you will never walk in it. You see if there is no self-denial in us as the joint-heirs of Christ, there is no proof of our relationship with Christ. Self-denial is a characteristic trait of those who are Christ’s, and when we refuse to deny ourselves our growth in God halts. Judge for yourself how much have you grown in God without suffering the pain of denying yourself of something, or someone you wanted? And even in those times when we have indulged ourselves in those things we have wanted, we still lived with the condemnation of knowing our spiritual life was at a standstill. So with all the pleasure that came from fulfilling our earthly desires, there was still a constant discomfort on the inside that came from knowing that we were as the branch that Jesus spoke of that bore no fruit and withered away. In the beginning, MSOG and I knew that to stay in Lauderdale after God had called us to Leesburg meant spiritual death. Therefore, we had to deny ourselves of the comforts of Lauderdale which we were so familiar with, and leave for Leesburg, simply because this is where our cross had led us.