Sid: You know I have Tommy O’Dell on the telephone now I’m speaking to him in his office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tommy’s grandfather is T.L. Osborn; his mother has a major evangelistic ministry; his dad’s been in ministry; he’s seen so many miracles. I’ll give you a thought Tommy and I want your reaction to this. The first church was no different than when you go to Africa or Latin America; in other words miracles were the norm not the exception. Then, and that was all believers and we know about them because we read about them in the New Testament, then Peter got his revelation on Jews Gentiles were grafted in to form the One New Man. Rather than diminishing the miracles it increased when those two anointing’s got together. But then over the years the Jewish portion of the olive tree got fewer and fewer and fewer the miracles dried up on the average believer and it was only maybe the clergy that would have the ability to pray over the sick. They didn’t do a whole lot. I’m just wondering when Jewish people come back in and we will not see the average Christian doing miracles. I wonder, what do you think?
Tommy: Well, the Bible says in Romans 11 that if the wild olive branches were grafted on where the natural branches were then broken off if those branch are arrogant against natural branches they can actually be removed themselves. And it could be, and the Bible says if the exclusion of the Jews brought life to the world, their inclusion, their salvation, is going to be resurrection from the dead.
Sid: That arrogance that is described in Roman’s 11 would not result in even a curse that when the Jewish people come back in that curse will be lifted.
Tommy: Well, I think that that is very plausible idea. You know I’ve noticed that people that see miracles consistently like we do and not just around the world, but in our American meetings, our European meetings it doesn’t matter, everywhere we preach God confirms with miracles. It might be because we really love the Jewish people that have the right attitude about the Jewish people and are able to walk in more of a supernatural gift. And those, if you look at historically when the church was really stupid and really all of Christianity the whole church needs to apologize to Jewish people.
Sid: I have a question, when I think miracles the person that is with they’ve only seen miracles under their ministry. When I think of souls a person that’s reached so many millions of people I think of your grandfather T.L. Osborn. Out of curiosity I’ve never met him would he be as positive to the Jew in Israel as you are?
Tommy: Absolutely, absolutely. He is truly a man of love, his world he’s totally filled with love for the Jewish people.
Sid: I want you to paint some pictures for me as far as the miracles and not just one or two about. You haven’t talked too much about people, do you see many deaf people healed under your ministry?
Tommy: We were in a city again in Ghana, we’ve been all around the world but we’re talking about Ghana for some reason the city of Kohoy which is in the Volta region which is a notorious region of witchcraft and spiritual darkness and we campaigned there. There was sixty, 6-0, deaf and mute students and the principal of the school was a believer and she brought the students to the campaign and got them right up to the front. And when we prayed for the people after preaching the gospel many cripples were healed and began walking, the blind received their sight and started shouting. One by one these children started coming up and giving their testimonies. By the time it was over we realized every one, every one of the 60 students had been healed.
Sid: My goodness and as your telling me that I’m thinking of that what 16 year old that was shoved out of a car because his druggy buddies thought he was going to die, or even dead and felt the light force slipping out. He could put more than a couple of words together and called upon the name of Jesus and that power poured through him totally delivered him.
Tommy: That’s right.
Sid: And all of those 60 deaf and mute students might still be deaf and mute if you didn’t go to Ghana, and if God did ask you to. What about the people that are listening to us right now, are you special because your grandfather is T.L. Osborn or can they move in that same power?
Tommy: No, the Bible says “That those that believe in Him the same works Jesus did.” We’re talking about miracles, the same miracles Jesus produced we also will have those miracles because they believe. It’s having access to the throne of God it’s being filled with the Spirit of the living God. It’s having a connection with the Heavenly Father and being right with God, us being able to tap into that. It’s available for every believer; maybe at this time when Christians and Jewish Believers and Gentile Christians coming together, that’s going to produce and exciting locking of the supernatural that will affect all believers, not just the clergy but also every believer will begin to walk in the supernatural. I’m excited about that because without that kind of supernatural overflow I can’t see how the world can really be reached.
Sid: How can a Muslim, how can a Hindu, how can a Jewish person ever be reached without demonstrating the gospel.
Tommy: It’s almost impossible to reach a Moslem or a Hindu or a Buddhist, or an atheist, or an animist, an idol worshipper, or somebody involved in witchcraft, or a Shintoist without miracle proof.
Sid: Are you seeing many Muslim’s coming to Jesus?
Tommy: Oh many, many, many.
Sid: I get reports that Muslim’s are being visited by Jesus and they come to a meeting and they’ve already been prepared.
Tommy: That’s right, we have an incredible story about a Muslim man in the city of Brakum, in the Ashanti region of Ghana. He was not only a Muslim, he was the apostle of Islam. Fifty years before he had journeyed to this area that was all animist at the time they worshipped their ancestors that were involved in fetishism, and witchcraft and he came to that region preaching Islam. And so all of the now the tens of thousands of Muslims they can trace their conversion back to this very haji. This man over the years had become very very sick with some sort of a disease in his legs and ended up becoming totally paralyzed at his waist and his arms. He couldn’t even feed himself anymore. Our campaign in the city of Brakum and he said “Carry me to the meeting.” And they were astonished, this was a Muslim, this was THE Muslim the Muslim apostle but he heard about the miracles that were happening in the Muslim community too, let’s do it. So they carried him there, night after night on the last campaign the tenth night he was healed. He came striding across that platform from ear to ear and he took the microphone trembling he said “All my life I have been a follower of Ishmael, all of my life I followed Ishmael now I’m going to follow Isaac.” He was a Muslim scholar so the people didn’t understand what he was talking about. So then he said, “All of my life I followed the prophet Mohammed now I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, he’s the Son of God, he’s risen from the dead; for the Muslim of the whole area to give that…
Sid: Did many Muslim’s come to the Messiah as a result of that in that area?
Tommy: Yes, it was powerful so many received Jesus there. We’ve seen thousands and thousands of Muslims believe usually first they get healed. I remember one man…
Sid: You know people don’t get that, they’re not even believers and they get healed, look at the mercy and the love of God.
Tommy: Yes, there was one Muslim he was stubborn he was belligerent, God’s compassion is so great but he was totally deaf. The Lord opened up his ears and on his way home, he went deaf again and that really worried him he didn’t understand that doesn’t usually happen in one of our campaigns most people get healed and stay healed. He came back he was healed again on his way home he became deaf. Three times on the fourth night the Lord healed him again. He came up on the platform he shouldn’t had been on the platform, we weren’t inviting people to come up on the platform but he broke this way through and came to me and he was scared he said “Tommy O’Dell, I’ve been healed three times and on my way home, I’m deaf again and I could tell he was a Muslim. Immediately the Lord spoke to me the problem. I said “Have you received Jesus as your Savior as your Lord?” He pointed his finger steely eyed and said “There’s enough power here to heal my ears but there’s not enough power to turn me from Islam to Christianity. And some thing welled up in me and I said “Don’t you talk to me about power, you’ve seen power, this is about choice, you choose what you know is real and true or you choose to go back into the darkness, it’s your choice.” And so very reverently, that got to him, he went behind the platform and knelt down and received Jesus into his heart. The next day he busted up on the platform interrupted my preaching, grabbed the microphone from me.” But that night he hadn’t gone deaf again, he was staying healed because he had become a believer in Jesus Christ.
