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As I strapped myself into my seat, I felt the hot tears welling up again. I turned
and looked out the plane's window to hide the emotional flood that was assaulting
me. I was reeling from the news of my mom's death.
When I had played it out in my mind, I'd always imagined her dying in my arms. I
would be there to comfort her, to stroke her hair, and whisper words of love as
she slipped from this life into the next. Instead I had been on the other side of the world in
New Zealand.
In the last five weeks I had ministered in eight different cities -- 55 meetings
in all. When the call came about my mom's death, I stayed up all night crying and
packing. I was physically exhausted, but even worse, I was grief stricken, completely
overwhelmed by the loss of my best friend, and my inability to do anything about
it. I tried to still my heart to hear God's voice on this two-hour flight -- the
first leg of the arduous 20 hour flight back to Los Angeles.
When Death Came
Just a few days ago the Lord woke me up at 4:00 in the morning. I sensed a spirit
of death was coming against my mother. I phoned and found her in tremendous pain.
I called several friends and asked them to pray and visit her. Over the weekend
she did better, but Monday morning she admitted herself into the hospital. Her left
lung collapsed and she was put on a respirator.
I had received an emergency call from a nurse right before I was to minister to a
large crowd. She told me that my mom was in critical condition. Immediately I was
overwhelmed with grief and a profound sense of powerless. I couldn't get there.
Everything inside of me was screaming, "I'm on the other side of the world. Please
Lord, keep her alive until I get home."
I knew there was nothing I could do and there was a church full of people waiting
for me. I began to cry. Then I remembered Mom had told me that no matter what happened
to her I should keep ministering. I did the meeting with tears streaming down my
face. The Lord moved powerfully.
"He's Coming For Her!"
As soon as the meeting was finished I called the hospital and was surprised to talk
to Lillian, an old friend of mine, who had pushed through hours of bumper-to-bumper
traffic to pray for her. This Hispanic pastor from East L.A., who lived and ministered
in the barrio, had never met her before.
My mom had been a medical doctor who worked for over 30 years at the L.A. County
Hospital in the midst of a sprawling barrio. She loved the poor, the outcast, and
the broken and even reached out to her patients' families. The Lord brought Lillian
as a wonderful picture of how my mom had poured her life out to thousands of homeless
and destitute people. Now, alone on her death bed, she was attended by this Hispanic
woman.
"Lillian, I'm so relieved you're there. Quick, break the spirit of death. Tell my
mom to wait for me to get back from New Zealand. Tell her to fight for life." Suddenly
a realm of eternity opened. I saw a vision. In the distance a glorious man was emerging.
White light illuminated Him. He was getting larger as He quickly approached. His
face was radiant and His fiery eyes penetrated my soul. I knew He was coming for
my mom.
Startled, I cried out, "No, wait Lord! I need to get home to be with her." But even
as I spoke the words I knew nothing would deter Him. He came closer. I could feel
His unstoppable determination and love. It was her time. Urgently I said to Lillian,
"He's coming for her. I see Him now. Quickly, get right down to her ear and pray
the prayer of repentance." I hung up the phone and prayed until I felt a release
in the Spirit.
"She Laughed Herself
Into the Arms of Jesus"
Later, Lillian told me that when she entered the hospital room it felt lonely and
depressing. My mom was in a coma and had been unconscious for hours. As she prayed,
the atmosphere began to change. She was aware of angelic activity moving throughout
the room. The darkness was displaced by a glorious light.
Lillian continued, "I told her about the Lord and to my surprise your mom sat up,
laughed, and said, 'Now I know what Jill meant.' Then I said, 'Betty, your womb
has brought forth a prophetess, so now you can have the prophet's reward. Just run
to Him.' She literally laughed herself right into the arms of Jesus." Lillian told
me, "I felt Him come for her. She went peacefully into His arms. And do you know
what? She sounded just like you when she laughed."
The Angel in a Business
Suit
As the plane lifted off from Christchurch, New Zealand, I prayed through my tears,
"Lord, my whole world is falling apart. Because I left to minister to
thousands, I wasn't able to comfort the most important person in my own life."
Waves of pain rolled over me as I was trapped in a cocoon of grief, wondering if
I had made the
right choice.
My sister was already at the family home, where I had been living with my mom. She
had told me that mom didn't want a funeral or memorial service. I opened my Bible
and was surprised to read, "A man may have a hundred children and live many years...but,
if he does not receive a proper burial, I say that a still born child is better
than he." (Ecclesiastes 6:3-4)
The last thing I wanted was to talk to anyone. I was embarrassed that I was so unglued
in a public place. I just wanted to disappear; I was overwhelmed and distraught.
The comforting voice next to me invaded my space by tapping my Bible and saying,
"I know the author of that book."
Through my swollen eyes I saw a slender business man in his mid-40's with slightly
graying hair. He looked very British and very proper dressed in his expensive suit,
not someone I would naturally be drawn to. I was surprised that I wasn't offended
by this intrusion. Instead I felt warmth and acceptance coming from him.
My heart began to tremble as a spiritual energy enveloped us. I felt a heightened
sense of the Lord's presence and He whispered, "Don't be afraid." Revelation came
to me that this man was a divine messenger, an angel of the Lord. I knew then that
it was all right to share the grief that was engulfing me.
I said, "I have a question for you. My mom just died and my family tells me that
she did not want a funeral or memorial." I showed him the passage and asked what
it meant. He said, "She doesn't have to have a funeral, but she should have a memorial
or celebration meeting to release the fullness of her radiance and honor her life's
work. It's a public witness testifying to the fullness of her life."
Knowing and Going
As he spoke I felt life penetrating my grief and releasing deep comfort and much
needed hope. I wanted confirmation of her salvation, so I asked, "Is she with the
Lord?" He gently said, "Mankind measures a human life by years, but Jesus
measures a life by the passing of seconds. And the last three seconds are the most
important to Him. In those last three seconds Jesus is the most forgiving and has
the most mercy. God is a God of details, right down to the last second."
He continued, "Many people are 'knowing and going.' They go back and forth, leaving
and returning to the Lord throughout their lives. We almost lost a young man last
week, but in the last three seconds we got him into the kingdom. We have many people
like that all the time."
"No One Can Steal
a Human Life Out of the Hands of Jesus"
I talked to him about the heavy spiritual warfare in New Zealand that targeted us.
We experienced witchcraft, and Satanists were praying against us. This made me wonder
if my mom had been taken out early by the enemy. My angel assured me, "No one can
steal a human life out of the hands of Jesus. It was her time to go home.
"When a person is preparing to die, his heart either gets more cynical or more tender
toward the Lord. When you look over the last several months, weeks, and days, what
was your mother doing? What was she talking about? What was she focused on?"
Although I was still on the plane, we entered a different realm. The atmosphere
literally changed as we became engulfed in the tangible presence of the Lord. He
quoted scriptures and they became more than three dimensional. They opened up portals
and doors into eternity. I was flooded with colorful visions. Time had no limitations;
I was in a place of eternity without earthly boundaries.
It was as though the two of us were sitting in a private movie theatre, seeing past
events, flash backs of my life and my mom's life. I was seeing, feeling, and hearing
conversations of our last several weeks together.
My trip to New Zealand had been delayed by two days because the airplane ticket
was lost. My mother followed me around the house reading to me from a book on angels
and talking about God. I wondered at the time if the Lord was preparing her to go
home. These visions settled my heart once and for all that she really was with Him.
Many of my unresolved questions from the past were answered. I also received preparation
for what was ahead. These heavenly experiences gave me confidence that He was indeed
orchestrating everything.
Following Jesus
to the Uttermost Ends of the Earth
I apprehensively asked, "Did I pass the test?"
He said, "The city of Christchurch is the uttermost ends of the earth and you were
willing to leave your mother and follow Jesus here. You certainly passed the test."
My heart warmed as I heard the love and acceptance
in his tender voice. He opened my Bible and read:
"Then He said to another,
'Follow Me.'
"But he said, 'Lord,
let me first go and bury my father.'
"Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the
kingdom of God.'
...But Jesus said
to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the
kingdom of God.'" (Luke 9:57-62)
A Test of Forgiveness
He looked at me with his penetrating brown
eyes and solemnly said, "You have another test coming. However you judge, you shall
be judged, and however you measure, it will be measured again to you."
Somewhat taken aback I asked, "What does it mean?"
"Forgiveness."
"Who?"
"You must keep your heart right. When you get home, and the family inheritance is
divided, you will be plundered."
The plane landed and he held my hand as we walked up the ramp into the terminal.
I felt strength and peace flood my being. I was greeted by friends who were there
to help get me to my international flight. I turned around to look for him, but
he was gone. I knew I'd been ministered to in this great time of loss by an angel
on assignment.
Return to the Nations
Six months later I was once again sitting on an airplane crying, "Lord, I don't
even have a home." I had been living with my mom, but the family home had been sold.
My few belongings were in storage. I'd given my cats away. Two suitcases stuffed
with my meager possessions were stowed in the plane's belly. I had no phone. I was
on my way back to New Zealand with no return address. My whole life was turned upside
down. My mom, my home, and my city were behind me.
On the week of September 25, 1992, a radical revival and visitation hit our meetings
in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Lord broke in miraculously in a little inner city
church, gripping people with heavenly encounters -- salvations, deliverances, and
healings. Open heavens penetrated the atmosphere releasing angelic activity and
waves of heavenly glory.
I sensed the presence of the living witnesses, the ones who had gone on before,
and my mom was with them cheering me on. September 25 just happened to be her
birthday. It was one of her dreams to someday visit New Zealand. I smiled as I
realized she had
finally made it.
The Austin Comet
When I left New Zealand the Lord directed me to live in Kansas City. When I got
there I found out that Bob Jones, a renowned Kansas City prophet, had predicted
that a literal comet, called the Austin Comet, would be discovered in the heavens.
He also predicted that a "comet" named Austin was coming to Kansas City on December
5, 1992, on the tenth anniversary of his church's founding. That's when I showed
up.
The celestial Austin Comet was discovered by a New Zealand scientist and could be
seen in the heavens from 1990-1994. During those years I ministered 12 times in
New Zealand and saw the Lord shake that nation with His glory.
(For a color picture of the Austin Comet see this website:
http://www.psiaz.com/schur/astro/IMAGES/COMARCH/aus5-4~1.jpg.
They also took a picture of the Austin Comet on April 27, which is my birthday.)
Heavenly Strategies
In the middle of all the chaos surrounding my mom's death, the Lord sent me a divine
messenger. Looking back, I identified several ways the angel helped me.
-
Direction: The angel told me to do a
memorial service. As a public witness telling of the fullness of her life, I hosted
a radical prayer and celebration meeting. I displayed all her photographs, needlepoint,
and jewelry and I could feel the glory in the room. It was an open heaven.
-
Comfort: He showed me that the days
and months before Mom died she had gotten closer to Him. This gave me assurance
of her salvation.
-
Revelation: I wondered if the enemy
had taken her out prematurely. The angel assured me that no one could steal a human
life out of Jesus' hands.
-
Encouragement: The angel reassured me
that I was faithful to God's call on my life in going to the ends of the earth.
-
Divine Orchestration: He helped me to
trust that I was where I was supposed to be. God had brought someone to minister
to my mother on her death bed when I couldn't be there. I actually participated
when I had an open vision and saw Jesus coming for her.
-
Warning and Strategy for the Future:
Unfortunately, what the angel said about being plundered by my family came to pass.
Although it was hard to forgive when I was left homeless, having the advanced warning
prepared my heart. I was not taken by surprise when I lost the family inheritance.
by Jill Austin
Master Potter Ministries
www.masterpotter.com
info@masterpotter.com
Copyright 2004, Adapted from AWE Magazine, Summer
2004. All rights reserved. Used with permission. For information see
www.awemag.com.
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"Master Potter"
From Brokenness to Divine Destiny - An Allegorical Journey
by Jill Austin
$12.99 Book
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...BEFORE THERE WAS HARRY POTTER - THERE WAS
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"Master Potter and the Mountain of Fire"
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$12.99
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The first book,
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"Abba Father - The Heart
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This teaching on forgiveness and reconciliation
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Seldom heard on tape, this is an incredible account
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"Master
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