Our Guest Art Thomas
ART: So I had to weave my – all these questions, you know, what about Job? What about Paul’s thorn in the flesh? What about Jacob’s limp and all that stuff? I brought them all to the scripture and the Lord showed answers to all of Them at face value. It didn’t even take a bunch of mental gymnastics to you know fit a square peg in a round hole and make it work.
JAMIE: Right, right.
ART: And from there it took 3 months and after 3 months I was convinced.
JAMIE: Okay. So how does that, you know, today when you see someone not healed does it push you?
ART: Yeah.
JAMIE: I mean I know personally that you know when I see somebody healed I’m like excited but when I see someone not healed at the end of a meeting or at the end of my prayer and it just pushes me to seek for more. I mean how does that play out in your heart?
ART: Yeah. So there’s one place in scripture where someone tried to minister healing in Jesus’ name and it didn’t work. The story is told 3 times but 3 different Gospels but it’s only one time it happened. And that was the epileptic boy. So Jesus, Peter, James and John come down from the mountain and they find the 9 disciples and this group of teachers of the law and just ordinary folks. They’re all just arguing and you know when we have a lack of results we produce arguments.
JAMIE: Right.
ART: We start coming up with reasons why they weren’t healed. I don’t know what their reasons were, what the argument was over but I could imagine what we say. You know maybe the little boy didn’t have enough faith. Maybe the boy’s dead. Maybe it was this atmosphere of unbelief. All you people not believing it’s your fault and we pin it on everybody else. Right? And so Jesus walks into the middle of that and He says: You unbelieving and perverse generation! How long will I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.
JAMIE: Whoa!
ART: Identifying yeah, I’m in an atmosphere of unbelief. Right?
JAMIE: Right. Right.
ART: Bring the boy to me. And right there in the middle of all of it He just says come out of this boy you impure spirit!
JAMIE: Whoa.
ART: Later the disciples come and ask Him why couldn’t we do it? Because this kind only goes out by prayer and fasting. Some manuscripts say and fasting. He pins the responsibility on the disciples as ministers.
JAMIE: Wow!
ART: I don’t like that cause a lot of people I minister to don’t get healed! And I have had people die on me! People I love. Right? But I’ve realized there’s a difference between taking the responsibility and carrying the burden!
JAMIE: Phew!
ART: Like the burden belongs to Jesus so if I walked around carrying the emotional weight of people not being healed I’d of quit this – I started in August of 2009, I’d have probably quit in November! [laughs] You know?
JAMIE: Right.
ART: So that’s not mine. The burden’s not mine. But the responsibility enough to go to Jesus and say alright Jesus. If you were standing here that would have worked. Instead they got me.
JAMIE: Wow!
