"The Divine Ambush"
--Jill Austin

Master Potter Ministries
www.masterpotter.com

The Divine Ambush

Jesus Was A Mudslinger Too!

During three days of fasting, the Lord showed me Jeremiah 18:2, "Arise and go down to the potter's house and there I will cause you to hear My words." I thought, "Wow Lord! There are mudslingers in the Bible! You're a potter! But, still, how can You use me? I have such a longing to be used by You but I don't know what it would even look like."

A Holy Ambush

It was the last day of a festival I was attending, and it was drizzling and overcast. I was assigned to spend some time with the children at the festival, and the children reminded me that I had promised to show them a potter's wheel. I really didn't want to go out in the rain, but I knew that I was trapped. So I went out onto the muddy field thinking, I shouldn't have promised and this is stupid. I took a piece of clay and with exasperation, said, "Oh, all right, come on over!" The children were so excited.

Now I had to deal with not only making a pot in the rain, but with my bad attitude. I was frustrated and angry, and I especially didn't want to make a pot for children in the middle of a muddy field. But, I tried to get my heart right because I wanted the Lord to use me. I also wanted to be nice to the kids because I thought, the Lord's going to take me to the woodshed later.


So in the middle of the muddy field and the drizzling rain, I put the clay on the potter's wheel, and I began to center it. All of a sudden, I heard the Lord's voice. It wasn't a big holy moment or a radical revelation. The heavens didn't open, and the angels didn't begin to sing. I was wrestling and working out my heart and, although I didn't realize it yet, God had just ambushed me by using these little children to push me through the birth canal and into what would eventually become my prophetic destiny.

The Audible Voice Of The Lord

As I spun the wheel, I heard God say,

"I will center you and take away your double-mindedness. I know you."

As my hands started to go into the foundations of the clay, He said,

"I will build a foundation which is based on the Word of God. When you were in your mother's womb, I knew you and loved you."

Revelation just started to flow through my whole being. My hands became His hands. I'd made thousands of clay vessels before, but suddenly He added the living word of God.

"You are beautifully and fearfully made."

I was listening to Him talk and thought, Wow, Lord, that is really good! He responded,

"Well, if it's that good, why don't you repeat it?"

So, still concentrating on my pot, I simply repeated what I heard. I said things like,

"I know your destiny, and I know your birthright. Your form was not hidden from Me. Your name is written on the palm of My hand."

As I spoke, the revelation of the Lord fell on me. A crowd started to form around me out in the rain and the dreariness, and people started to laugh and cry.

As I pulled up the walls on the pot, I repeated,

"I will shape you and pull up your walls, almost to the breaking point, but I know who you are. I know your shape; I know your form. I know your function. My fingerprints will be seen on you."

I ended up making two vessels in the rain, and when I got off the wheel, I was trembling. I knew the Lord had sovereignly given me a profound gift. I knew He had spoken through me. I didn't know it was prophecy. This was 1971; there was no language about prophecy yet.

Ambushed Again!

A few days later, my Pastor phoned me and said that he had heard that I was doing stories on the potter's wheel.

"I only did one at the festival," I replied. He shared about the Saturday night concerts at the church and how they wanted to feature local talent before the main band. He asked if I would be willing to share my story on the wheel. Naively, I said I would.

The next Saturday night, I showed up at the church with my potter's wheel and wearing my overalls and my clunky, clay-covered hiking boots. The Pastor asked me to come to his office where all the musicians were hanging out. They were all wearing their black, shiny leather jackets and looking cool. I went up and said, "Hi guys!" and tried to look cool along with them. It's really hard to project a cool image as a female wearing dirty hiking boots.

The Pastor asked, "Do you have your script? Are you ready?"

I was taken aback, "Script? What do you mean by a script?" You see, I was trained as a fine artist, not a theatre major.

All of a sudden, he looked terrified and blurted out, "Well, you have to have a script. I asked you to tell a story on your potter's wheel. Didn't you write down your story and memorize it?" With an intense look on his face he asked, "Haven't you done that?"

Well, you see," I stammered, "God, He talks to me, and I listen and then just repeat it."

He looked shocked and said, "Nooooooo! You can't do it that way!" All of a sudden, sheer panic fell on me.

"You're right, I can't do it that way." I didn't know I needed a script. God, I should have asked You what I was going to talk about. I didn't even know enough to ask. I've got to run and hide and find some place to hear You and pray.

So that's how I ended up in the broom closet, terrified, as I heard the pastor's footsteps coming down the hall. He knocked on the door, and I said as nonchalantly as I could, "Yes? Come in."

He pulled open the door and said sternly, "No. You come out!"

A few guys carried my potter's wheel out onto the stage. Fear gripped my heart as I watched them carry it all the way to the other side of the huge stage. Oh Jesus, why did they take it over there? How am I going to get all the way across the stage?

I took a step out from behind the curtain, got halfway across the stage and made the mistake of looking out at the audience of 2,000 people. Four thousand eyes were all staring back at me, and I froze. I had this silly grin on my face, but inside I was screaming, God, get me out of here. I promise I'll be good! I'll never sin again. I repent, forgive me for the past, the present and the sins I haven't even committed yet. Why was I so stupid to say yes to this? I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I'm so totally disqualified. This was so stupid; I'm so stupid--stupid, stupid, stupid.

God To The Rescue!

Suddenly I saw an open vision, and I heard the Lord say,

"You know your clay, right?"

And then He walked across the stage, and it was like I hung on to the hem of His garment and followed Him across that long stage and sat down at my potter's wheel. I managed to say, "Hi!" to the audience. I was still so scared. I didn't know what else to do, so I began making a pot. I put the clay on the wheel, and as I added water and began to center the clay, I heard the living, audible voice of the Lord.

The Gift of Prophecy

"Oh my child, I will never leave or forsake you."

My response was, "What took you so long?" But I didn't want to get too mad because I didn't want Him to stop speaking. So I began to hear the voice, and once again I portrayed God's heart while making a beautiful vessel.

As my hands went deep into the clay, He said,

"I will pull up your walls and I will shape you. When you were in your mother's womb, I knew you."

As I formed the clay into a pitcher, He said,

"And you shall be My mouth piece. I will glaze you blue with revelation and with the gold of My Glory. I will send you forth to Argentina to bring forth revival to my people."

I shared approximately 15 minutes, and as I walked across the stage, 2,000 people gave me a standing ovation. It sure wasn't because I had stage presence or looked cool. It was because Holy Spirit came.

I believe part of the key of moving in the prophetic is having a heart like a child that will simply follow Him. As soon as you get hung up on the titles, you begin to lose that child-like faith to fly like an eagle.

Jill Austin
Master Potter Ministries
www.masterpotter.com

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Jill's Upcoming Itinerary:

Blow the Trumpet/Sound the Alarm--California
March 8 - March 12, 2006
Jubilee Church, Camarillo, California 93012
Speakers: Jill Austin, Keith Miller, Robert Stearns, Andre Ashby,
Brian Lake, Sandra Teplinsky
(805) 482-5424 or email: jubilee@jubileechurch.org
www.masterpotter.com/events/

Open Heavens Conference--Texas
March 22 - March 25, 2006
Harvey Hotel, Irving, Texas 75063
Speakers: Jill Austin, Keith Miller, Bobby Conner, Wesley Campbell,
Michael Larson.
(877) 675-4133 or (972) 929-4500
www.sfwm.org/newhome/index.cfm?page=itinerary

Open Heaven Conference--California
March 30 - April 1, 2006
Crosspointe Life Church, La Mesa, California
Speakers: Jill Austin
(619) 971-5262
email: bart@thirddaychurches.com
www.thirddaychurches.com/conferences