Sid: Well this is a man that probably a lot of you do not need an introduction to you’ve heard of him. He’s number 3 or on National Gospel Charts, his name is Eddie James. When I did a special with TBN they could not get enough of Eddie’s music, but there’s a story behind the story. And the last time I interviewed him and I’ll kind of review because some of you did not hear that. At age 8 he became a believer and he heard the audible voice of God, what did God say to you Eddie?
Eddie: He said that “God was going to use me He had a plan for me to do music and to minister” and He said “I’ve called you to preach and I’ve called you to worship and I’ve called you to write music.” At that moment when I said “Yes to the Lord” at 8 years old He marked me with a call of God.
Sid: Then you went to your mother and she pulled something from her Bible which she had never shown you before what was that?
Eddie: She pulled a card out because when I was… when she was pregnant with me there was a preacher from Africa who told her that I was a son and that I would preach the gospel, I would travel across the world, I would lead worship, I would write music.” And she wrote all of that down on a card and she held it in that place in her Bible until the time that I spoke to her at 8 years old and told her what God told me. I actually told my dad first, my dad and I were on our way home and I told my father what the Lord told me and my dad said, “Make sure you tell your mother.” And so I went to go tell my mother and that’s when she pulled that card out, she was just blown away.
Sid: Now you had quite a destiny even when you were a student in school in high school and God had to prepare you for it. So I’ve heard of people being baptized in the Holy Spirit but you really got baptized in the Holy Spirit! What was that like?
Eddie: (Laughing) Well before I went into high school that year that we were going to go into high school my church at the time was talking about being filled with the Holy Spirit and so I was praying and wanting it so bad. And the Holy Spirit that particular summer just before I went into high filled me with the Holy Spirit, baptized me in His fire and such a way I spoke in tongues all day, spoke in tongues all night. The next morning I was speaking tongues, I mean it….
Sid: How long did that fire last?
Eddie: Well it never quenched (Laughing) it’s going on to this day.
Sid: I know but I guess what I’m asking and I understand that and I believe that. However I’ve talked to people that have been baptized in fire and sometimes, they’re just so wasted they can’t even function normal, is that the way you were?
Eddie: Well Sid honestly for about 3 days I could not even think English, I could not…
Sid: (Laughing)
Eddie: I could not function normal in society. I was so drunk, I was so taken by the Holy Spirit. And if people understand my particular church background that’s just the stuff you don’t conjure up and you just don’t do, you know I received the Lord when I was 8 and I so did not want to be what they would call fake or putting on or just kind of doing this because I saw others do it. And it took me awhile for me to really be healed or give into the presence because I didn’t want Him I just more afraid of myself not really doing this the right way. But when the Lord broke… helped me to break through that and I just yielded for about 3 days Sid I couldn’t even think straight.
Sid: Hmm.
Eddie: It was incredible.
Sid: But that was an empowerment for what was coming next and as a youngster I consider someone in high school a youngster. I mean I’m amazed that you had the ability to start a small choir, and the small voices went from 30 to 300. But God gave you another encounter in high school which is outrageous; you were in class and all of a sudden your spirit left your body. What was that like?
Eddie: I can remember it was like yesterday. I was at my music class we were singing a song called Adonai in my music class and while I’m there at the point of singing that song my spirit leaves my body. The building, the roof over my head begins to split in half. I go into midair. The hand of God comes from heaven into midair and from His hand comes these crystals that come into my spirit, I see it coming into my face and my chest.
Sid: I’m starting to shake over your just telling that story.
Eddie: It was the most defining spiritual experience of my life. I mean I could remember like I said like it was yesterday. I am hanging in midair and these crystals come into me and I was there for the entire class period because once the bell rang it was time to go to the next class. I remember my spirit going back into my body, the roof closing up and they said I operated in class like it was normal. I don’t remember anything about that class or much of that day, all I can remember is being so connected to the Spirit of God. My spirit in midair hit His hand and just the impartation that I was receiving I didn’t understand what God was doing in that moment; I didn’t know why it happened, it wasn’t something that I necessarily prayed to happen. It’s just God supernaturally took me into a place in Him that has marked me for a life time.
Sid: Well we’re going to talk on tomorrow broadcast on how He equipped you to go into a traditional Jewish (Laughing) synagogue and oi vey I can’t believe what happen there but we’ll save that for tomorrow. But I want you to know that your new CD “Yearn” and also the other two of “Shift” the one “Yearn” how in the world did you come up with idea of “God, me, and my piano?”
Eddie: I’ll tell you that it was birth is many of you all know what I do for reaching young people and in the early days of doing that and rescuing kids many of them went home for Christmas celebration. So I was at my house in my home studio just begin to worship the Lord. I pushed the record button and I just got lost in worshiping God as I normally do. And when I looked at it I felt the unction of the Holy Spirit that people needed to hear this and to be able to have intimate time with God. So the second one I did was called “Yearn” and I would never forget it. Sid when I did this song, when I did the yearn project and there was the song called “As the Deer” I was so gripped by God that the gentleman that was with me he was helping me to engineer this song in the studio. I fell from my keyboard onto the floor, and for about 45 minutes I wept and I just rolled on the floor. Holy Spirit so gripped me and so poured into me and I was just gone. My spirit was just with Him and I was so gripped by me and I really believe that somehow comes through on the “Yearn” CD. I don’t…
Sid: Okay Eddie…. “As the Deer Pants”
