Sid: Hello Sid Roth back with Art Thomas and this is one of these interviews I wished would go on forever but Art you say that you a supernatural music gift. Why do you say your music gift is supernatural?
Art: The first reason is because I saw what I could do naturally first (Laughing).
Sid: And what did you do naturally first?
Art: (Laughing) Yeah I as a kid no singing voice whatsoever just off key and not together. And then in middle school I was in a band and I had a “D” average in which you have to be really bad to get a “D” average in middle school band. When I was just graduating out of 8th grade it was either before or after 8th grade we had a summer tent revival service at our church and somehow my mom convinced me to take the trumpet out of the back of my closet that I swore I’d never play again and to play it during this week of meetings at my church. So sheepishly I pulled it out and practiced with the worship team I would write down a little 2 note harmony that I could figure out on my sheet music and played and it was not good but it was pretty lousy I was off on most notes but all the little old ladies in our church did the little old thing “Oh it’s so wonderful to see you up there during their revival.”
Sid: (Laughing)
Art: And sure enough they convinced me and I kept playing and just a few months went by and I realized I was always laying my trumpet on the chair and I would like to have a stand that I could put my trumpet on. So I went in our churches sound booth there was a junk corner on a whim maybe there’s a trumpet stand. And I found this stand that held about 5 or 6 different instruments there was a place for a saxophone and a flute and of course a trumpet and bingo this is it. And it belonged to a guy named Dave who passed away 5 years earlier so I knew that he didn’t need it any more.
Sid: (Laughing)
Art: And I brought it down, set it up on stage and put my trumpet on it and all of these other apparatus were sticking out from the thing but it was great it held my trumpet. And you know I heard the story of Elijah and Elisha and it might have even been that morning in Sunday School but on a whim with child like faith I was about 16 years old I said “Lord I want this to be like Elijah’s mantle handed off to Elisha and I want double what Dave had.” And I went to get a sip of water before the worship service just like I always did and when I came back the sheet music that I had written my 3 note harmony on was gone, the worship leader had changed some songs at the last minute and here I was not know what I was going to do. The drums started playing and I’m like well “This is it.” So I picked up my trumpet and started playing by ear like I never had before in my life. And since then I’ve picked up all of these instruments pretty quickly.
Sid: How many instruments do you play right now?
Art: Well most of them I haven’t played for a long time I’ve kind of settled on piano and guitar.
Sid: How many could you play at one time?
Art: Probably a little over 20.
Sid: Twenty instruments and you can’t even sing on tune?
Art: I can sing on tune now.
Sid: Oh you can now.
Art: I actually got a voice yes and now I lead worship and I play mostly piano when I lead worship sometimes guitar; I play on my church worship team.
Sid: So just out of…let me just ask you a couple of questions because I’m curious. How long did it take you to learn how to play the piano?
Art: A week.
Sid: I protest that’s unfair. How long did it take you to learn the saxophone?
Art: Six hours.
Sid: How long did it take you to learn the flute?
Art: Two hours.
Sid: How many instruments had you been able to play?
Art: Previously I could barely crank out something on a kazoo (Chuckling).
Sid: And currently you can play?
Art: Yeah in some level of skill over 20 I’m by no means a Mozart on them but (Laughing) I can play (Laughing).
Sid: Okay we have people on the edge of their seat and I put my glasses on I have to be honest my staff knew but you don’t know I’m taking them off again. So I’m getting ready for you to pray for everyone but also me. And now does this count for any condition that anyone has that you’re going to pray for? In fact why don’t you teach for 3 or 4 minutes and then pray.
Art: A yeah Jesus paid the price 100% for your spiritual healing, emotional healing, emotional healing and wants you to be completely whole because He wants you to be able to relate to Him and obey Him to the fullest capacity that you’re able. That doesn’t mean that you can’t obey him when you’re sick but you know as well as I do that when your body is fully functioning it’s a whole lot easier to do things that you couldn’t do if you stayed the same. So what we’re going to do we’re going to seek the Lord for complete wholeness which Jesus already decided He wants to do. We don’t have to beg God because we don’t have more compassion than He does He wants it more than you do; He wants it more than I do. He was whipped for it I wasn’t by His stripes we are healed. So if I could just help you see that this is not about you doing the right thing or jumping through the right hoop it’s all about Jesus doing the right thing. He paid the price for it He wants it He would never pay for something He didn’t want. I tell people that you know if you went to Wal-Mart and bought the biggest big screen TV that you could find and you had it delivered to your house opened up the box and it was empty you’d be pretty irate you’d be at Wal-Mart you’d be on the phone you’d say “Give me my money or give me my TV.” “You don’t pay for something that you don’t want and Jesus paid a price much higher than a measly $5000 so that you could be completely whole body, soul and spirit. So right now I just speak to every sickness, every disease leave in Jesus name. Pain stop eyes open, deaf ears open in Jesus name. Back problems especially I’m feeling right now. I was healed of 4 years of degenerative disc disease in 2011 and I’m still completely whole. So I want to speak specifically to degenerative disks especially in the back and neck be complete whole receive new life right now. And I just speak to legs and knees arthritis be healed in Jesus name. Cancer disappear, tumors shrivel up. There was a woman in Africa the report came to me that she showed up with tumor on her stomach so large that she was…she looked pregnant and when we ministered healing from the stage and said…commanded tumors to leave in the name of Jesus name she said that it completely vanished. And so I just speak that over you as well as well if you’ve got tumors, you’ve got cysts they seem to melt under our hands and we know that Jesus paid for it. If there’s anybody who can test out your condition immediately start to do it start to move around and try to do something you couldn’t do don’t injure yourself if you’re not healed its okay you’re doing everything right. But if you are healed I want you to test and test it and test it and don’t be afraid to step out and see what God has done.
Sid: Okay you’ve been challenged; I’m going to tell you something you are..there is no reason why you can’t do everything that Art can do. As a matter of face I believe that you can even do it better…..Art give me a couple of nuggets that are going to help our people.
Art: Yeah I would say some people are afraid of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing, you know there is something to be said about representing Jesus well. And I’ve learned that the only way you can do it wrong is just to miss represent Him. So you know I encourage people focus on the character side so that whether a person is healed or not the person that you ministering to still encounters a measure of Jesus. And so I want to make sure I’m walking humbly, I’m being gentle. I’ve learned that your authority is not based on the volume of your voice it’s based on Ephesians 2:6 that right now you are seated on the throne with Jesus at the right hand of the Father. You can whisper with authority and the demons will flee. The key is finding James where he said “Submit yourselves then to God resist the devil and he will flee.” So #1 Submit to God and #2 Resist the devil and if you do that you’re going to see far more results than you’ve ever imagined. But again don’t wait until your character is perfect before you step out step out the Lord will correct you. You know God told Moses to speak to a rock and water would come out and instead Moses struck it. Now the good news is water still came out of the rock. God’s desire was still accomplished; the bad news is Moses was disciplined for it. Now thankfully we’re in a covenant where Jesus takes our punishment so you know we’re not going to get kicked out of the promise land for ministering the wrong way. But the truth is He still disciplines those He loves and punishes everyone he receives as a son. And so He will correct you He’ll walk you as a son; “Son you did it wrong let’s just do it differently next time you can represent me well and we’re going to keep doing this thing together.” It’s a really great way to live and I can’t right now imagine living any other way.
Sid: Tell me about the first healing miracle once you were activated that occurred in your life.
Art: Yep this was when I preached to my youth group that Jesus wants to heal and He wants you to do it. And there was an intern in our church who being an intern had no money, no health insurance and had an ear infection that he just let go. And it was causing excruciating pain and he had actually lost some of the hearing in that ear. And so there was a group of 7th grade boys who were ministering to him just like I taught them in the sermon but again I still had never seen that happen through me. So even though I had just preached with all of this emphasis that God’s going to do it I still didn’t…I wasn’t sure that He would use me. So I stood back and let the kids minister to each other and the 7th grade boys laid hands on the intern be healed in Jesus name nothing happened. And so they…he came up to me the intern and he said “Pastor I feel bad they prayed for they prayed for me nothing happened what should I do?”
Sid: And of course that’s where I’m at right now except that’s where I’m at right now except you didn’t lay hands on me. I don’t feel bad either but I want to be able to see, what advice did you give him, what advice are you going to give me?
Art: Yep I said to those boys…I told the intern go back to them have them do the same thing again. So they did they did it again they had the 7th or 8th grade boys came up to me “Pastor we tried everything.” And I’m like “Really what did you try?” And they listed “You know we laid hands on him, we commanded him to be healed, we prayed for him.” And no I didn’t I don’t’ think it’s going to work for me I’m just trying to be a typical smart aleck youth pastor who thinks of something they haven’t done.” And I said “You didn’t try everything did you, did you try this?” And I strugged forward and stuck my finger in the interns ear and just said “Open.” And the intern said “Oh my gosh that worked.” And of course I was more surprised than he was, “I got it to work really?”
Sid: (Laughing).
Art: I learned in that moment I didn’t even say in Jesus name like your suppose to I did everything wrong but I learned it wasn’t about having…it wasn’t about doing everything right it was simply about obeying and believing Jesus and making an opportunity for Him to touch someone. And the more we persevere the more we speak to that stuff. I mean I was healed I had scars all over my face from 2nd degree sunburn and after a vision of where the Lord I saw Him appear to Thomas and say “Put your finger where the nails were.” I felt He was speaking to me I didn’t take the pain and suffering for your sins so you don’t have to but I also even now bare the scares so you don’t have to.” And then I put my hands on my face and said “Jesus take the scars nothing, happened but I made it part of my daily routine kept laying hands on my face Jesus take the scars and within 1 month it was 4½ years before it was even medically plausible for this to happen everyone of those scars disappeared.
Sid: Alright I got my advice…
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth