Knitting Hearts Gathering on August 8, 2018
Pastors Ed & Patty Garner, The Outpouring of Lancaster, PA
Attendees today were greeted and welcomed into the dining hall at Betheseda Church of God where they shared a breakfast together. Joyce Sanders opened the worship service with a brief testimony and then prayer. Lisa Salyards and the dance team led a worship dance to a song by Tasha Cobbs. The song focused on Zechariah 4: 6: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Almighty. We stood in awe of Him and cried out for His Spirit to come and breathe on us.
Following prayer, announcements, the Bible confession, and the blowing of the shofar, a couple from GCM in Darlington, SC, Paul and Emily McRae, led us in anointed worship that filled the atmosphere with reverence and awe. We joined in with them telling our souls to worship as never before because we had 10,000 reasons for our hearts to sing. The declarations continued as we sang, “I see Your face in every sunrise. I look up to the skies and say, ‘You’re beautiful.’” The hallelujahs continued as we praised the One who set us free. We proclaimed, “Death has lost his hold on me. . .grave has no claim on me. Oh, Jesus, Yours is the victory.”
Patty Garner prayed and then introduced the two young women, Amanda and Abigail, who came alongside her and her husband (from The Outpouring of Lancaster, PA) to minister to those who had gathered in the hall. Patty shared a Scripture the Lord had given her for today’s participants. Deuteronomy 7:6 states: “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.” We are royal sons and daughters of the King of Kings. We need to embrace kingdom living because He wants to take us higher.
Pastor Ed shared from his heart thoughts that the Holy Spirit had given him especially for the women who were there: “Women, you are front line birthers.” He recognized that the Presence of God was strong in the meeting place. He shared I John 4: 17: “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” How powerful to know that ‘“as He is so are we in this world.” God has provided for each of us a mind-renewing anointing. Pastor Ed challenged us with the question: “Are you ready to show up for life today, to fulfill your calling as a royal ambassador, to stand out for Christ?”
The Holy Spirit wants us to surrender to His ways. II Corinthians 3:18 states: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” We get to yield to Him, and through the Holy Spirit we have direct wiring from God. Pastor Ed said, “Sometimes we speak out of the love of God.” He used Isaiah 44:3 to illustrate this point: “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants; and My blessing on your offspring. . .”
As Pastor Ed surrendered to the Holy Spirit, he shared the following thoughts.
- Expectations are breathing grounds for miracles.
- Jesus is a prolifer.
- If there is a wall, we will break through.
- Women, you are transitioning from housekeepers to homemakers. God is all about family.
- It is about sons and daughters.
- Get connected into a local church.
- Let your life shine. He made you very special.
- We don’t have to chase God. He already found us.
- Holy Spirit, come. You take control.
- Send the wind of the Holy Spirit.
- The wind of the Holy Spirit is unpredictable. We can’t put Him in a box and expect Him to always do things in the same way.
Pastor Ed shared several testimonies. He likes to go out into the streets to minister. He finds this extremely rewarding. He does not go out in a condemning manner but as a vessel to be used by the Holy Spirit to minister hope and healing. On one occasion when he was on the streets and singing in the Spirit, various individuals gathered around. He connected with one specific lady who was set free from a legion of demons and then accepted the Lord as her Savior.
He was ministering in India and prayed for a man who had never walked in his life. The man was able to walk. He admonished us, “Maybe you are crippled, bound, paralyzed in other ways. You can be set free.”
He asked a question that Jesus Himself asked, “Can you love the unlovely?” Jesus told us not only to love the unlovely but also those who are our enemies.
He reminded us of the power of our words: “Your words are worlds.” He related a time when the Holy Spirit visited him in a very tangible way. A dove landed on the tailgate of his truck. The dove did not move even when he drove. The street that he was driving on was Christian Street. Only when he drove onto another street, did the dove leave. The Lord spoke these words to him, “When you stay in me, I will rest on you.” The Holy Spirit is our Helper–the breath of God–and He will teach us all things. We can expect visitations from God, and they look different at various times. “We are often in such a hurry that we miss the doves sitting in our lives.” We all have gifts from the Holy Spirit, and He wants us to stir up these gifts. When fear comes to cripple up, we must remember that fear is under our feet.
Before closing the session, Pastor Ed related several more testimonies of God’s amazing work. The first was the story of a drug addict who was living in a small box. The stench permeated the air so that he wanted to flee from the area. Instead, the Lord said, “Go in the box.” He knocked and went in. The Rose of Sharon changed the atmosphere, and he prayed for this broken man.
He told of a heroin addict who got saved and set free. He told the man, “You have a promise on your life.” When the Lord gives a prophetic word, there is power in it. The Holy Spirit comes alongside to aid us. Big Z got saved.
Daniel pastored three Baptist churches before tragedies fell. First, there was a devastating accident and then heart surgery. He needed a heart transplant. His wife filled his room with Scripture so that it was constantly flowing into him. The message from the doctor was alarming: “His body is too far gone for a heart transplant.” The Word of God overcame the negative reports. The left ventricle of his heart was miraculously restored He got a new heart.
Pastor Ed and his team ministered to those desiring more of Him, to those needing the ministry of reconciliation, and to those with specific needs and health issues. Afterwards, several came forward to give testimony of the Lord’s healing touch.
Our hearts abounded with praise declaring:
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free.
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me.
You have broken every chain.
There’s salvation in Your name.
Jesus Christ, my Living Hope.
Jesus Christ, my Living Hope.
Oh, God, You are My Living Hope.
Hearts United Women's Ministry 