by Jill Austin
Swirling gusts of dazzling magnificence surround Master Potter as He transforms into a heavenly Bridegroom King before their stunned eyes. His humble, brown potter’s clothing transforms into flaming garments of white light down to His feet. Girded about His chest is a golden band. His handsome and rugged face is like the sun shining in its strength. Torrents of brilliant light reflect from His fiery eyes. His head and hair are white like wool.
The purity of the light blinds the vessels; they automatically hide their faces and turn away from His fiery glory. Holy Spirit sweeps around Him in rushing surges of heavenly devotion. As their eyes adjust to the brilliance, they gaze upon His transcendent beauty in awe and wonder. The intensity of His presence grows brighter. Glory beyond earthly imagination fills the room.
They marvel as a blazing golden ladder is lowered through the portal into the fireside room. Celestial wedding music grows louder as the heavenly musicians playing harps, flutes and stringed instruments descend the golden steps.
Next, a mighty angel carrying a dazzling golden crown covered in precious jewels descends and places it upon Master Potter’s snow-white hair.
The next angelic processional descends carrying shimmering white wedding gowns draped over their arms, one for each of the vessels.
The lovesick Bridegroom passionately calls out: “I want a deeper intimacy with you. Will you trust Me and come into the higher fires? Will you not only be My army, but will you also be My warrior Bride?”
An aura of purity and holiness causes the vessels to join with the angelic hosts prostrating themselves before Him in adoration. Overcome by the glorious Bridegroom King, they cry, “Holy, holy, holy!”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
THE BRIDEGROOM KING
Master Potter motions for the enthralled vessels to stand. He directs their attention to a beautiful, completed royal purple pitcher with gold trim as she enters the fireside room.
“This is one of My vessels of honor. She just returned from The Land of Lost Promises where she ministered in the Village of Despair.”
The manifest presence of the Lord rests upon her with unquenchable rays of celestial light. She is wearing a beautiful, iridescent wedding gown adorned with the rare pearls of suffering. Carrying herself with regal beauty and dignity, she exudes authority and government as she shimmers and blazes with His glory.
As the vessels watch her, a holy jealousy arises. A deep yearning that nothing else can fulfill stirs in the vessels’ hearts. This supernatural, heavenly desire erupts in their souls as they long for completion.
Amazed, they question each other, “How did she get so beautiful?”
“There’s something about her. What is it?” asks Sweet Adoration.
“Look at her brilliant colors!” says Beloved.
“Great balls of fire,” blurts out Harvester. “She must be glazed!”
THE BRIDEGROOM’S DELIGHT
The delight of the Bridegroom is obvious as He warmly embraces her before placing her on the shelf.
Maybe the higher fire is worth it! thinks Beloved.
Approaching Beloved, the newcomer looks intently into her eyes. “My name is His Desire. You’re Beloved, aren’t you? You have a calling very similar to mine. You also will be a voice for Him—but one firing isn’t enough. You must go into the higher, more intense fires in order to come out glazed and finished.”
Beloved recognizes a kindred spirit in His Desire. “I don’t know if I can bear it! Isn’t there another way?”
“I asked the same question myself. But only His purifying fires will enable a clay vessel to carry His holy presence. I hated the fire and wondered if I would even survive, but Beloved, it was worth it! I’m more passionately in love with Him than ever before.”
INVITATION TO THE HIGHER FIRE
“He told us the first fire was called the refiner’s fire. What will happen in the next one? Maybe if I know ahead of time I can prepare myself!” Beloved asks hopefully.
“There is no way to prepare to die, except to lovingly cling to Him. You must humble yourself and remember it’s His great love motivating your death. It’s His faithfulness and mercy to touch every area of your life. His consuming fire penetrates and removes everything that hinders love. You can try, but you can never do that yourself.”
Overhearing their conversation, some vessels murmur among themselves.
“We know all the best worship songs, go to the most anointed conferences and hear all the famous preachers. We’re on the cutting edge,” says Diligence.
“That’s right! Besides, if we left, who would run the church programs and work in the nursery?” asks Abundance.
“We have no need of the higher fire; we can keep maturing here,” says Diligence. “After all, the Potter’s fireside room has all the fire we need, and it’s so warm and cozy. If we can’t mature at the Potter’s House, where can we mature?”
Abundance and Diligence yawn and fall asleep on their comfortable pews as spirits of deception confirm the wisdom of their logic.
THE COST
Looking at Abundance and Diligence, Master Potter cries with deep sadness, “There’s a price behind the anointing. So many are content to be lukewarm and refuse to go into the higher fires because they’re also hotter. I long for every vessel to say yes and fulfill his or her destiny. Sadly, not everyone does. Yet, some do. Just look at His Desire!”
The vessels watch in amazement as she heals the sick and delivers them from the trauma of the warfare they just experienced. The vessels’ countenances are changed as she delivers fiery proclamations from the heart of the Father. Her powerful prophetic words set destinies in motion as the Bridegroom looks on with a gleam in His eye.
Pointing to the beautifully glazed vessel, He explains, “She paid an incredible price for the anointing.”
Comrade blurts out, “But Lord, I gave You everything in the Potter’s Field. I said You could have my bank account, even though I only had a hundred dollars. I offered You everything I had 15 years ago.”
Tickled with his outburst, Master Potter says, “Well, it’s 15 years later, Comrade! So, now I’d like to make a withdrawal. Giving Me ownership of everything is part of the next fires I’m inviting you into.”
Comrade yelps, “Now You’re really getting personal, Lord. I labored all these years for those things. That’s my life’s work.”
“Exactly,” says Master Potter, turning his penetrating gaze on Comrade.
Fearless whispers to Harvester, “I think we’re in trouble. I can smell a barbeque coming, and I think we’re invited!”
Harvester jokes, “He loves the smell of the burnt offering—there’s nothing like the sweet aroma of our burning flesh.”
“That’s not very funny, Harvester. You have a lousy sense of humor,” Long Suffering moans.
Master Potter continues, “The higher fires usually take place after you’ve known Me for many years. Now you’re financially successful and have a measure of anointing and a sphere of influence. This is the time to test your heart to see if you really love Me more than you love your lives.”
A groan runs through the room as the vessels realize they must make sacrificial choices to fulfill their destinies.
“Remember, it’s a custom-designed death to work My character in you. For some, it’s tearing down financial strongholds. For others, relationships may be involved. I need to deal with the idols of your heart. Everything must bow to Me. Are you willing to pay the price?”
WILL YOU BE MY WARRIOR BRIDE?
Stopping in front of Beloved, He holds up a beautiful gossamer wedding gown for her to see and gazes deeply into her eyes. “Are you willing to love Me with an insatiable love, no matter what the cost, even when you don’t understand My purposes and the mysteries of My scorching fires?”
The uncompromising love of the Bridegroom King beckons to the deepest longings of her heart, uncovering the raw naked ache of neediness and loneliness hidden deep within.
Beloved’s eyes a
re riveted by the glowing purity and translucent beauty of the wedding gown. Lustrous pearls and opulent embroidery symbolize the future sufferings of the high glory fires.
“So Beloved, are you willing to follow Me?”
“I want to, but I’m scared. I don’t even know what will happen if I say yes.”
“If you say yes, Beloved, it will cost you everything. First you will be glazed, totally bathed and covered in My love to prepare you for what lies ahead.
“Then you will ride with other willing vessels on My pottery wagons through Precarious Pass into the dangerous Formidable Mountains. Hidden there is My Mountain of Fire, which is hollowed out into a huge kiln.
“It will be hotter and more intense than the last fire, hotter than you can even imagine. But when the fires are done and I open the door, you will come out glazed and completed—a beautiful, shimmering vessel of honor. Then you will be in a position to fulfill your destiny.”
He looks lovingly at her and asks, “Will you be My warrior Bride?”
She looks away from His eyes in shame as she remembers the pain of the last fire. How could anything be worse than that? I don’t know if I can bear it. Glancing around the shelves, she sees other vessels that are responding. They are being picked up by rejoicing angels and carried over the threshold into the bustling, busy glazing room.
“I’m ready to go,” booms Harvester’s loud voice. “Count me in. This is what I was created for. I can feel it in my bones.”
“Me too,” says a more hesitant Comrade with his voice wavering and ending in a little squeak. An angel picks him up, and he cries out, “Wait, wait.”
Fearing he changed his mind, the angel looks forlorn and sets him down. “I’ve just got to get my armor. I can’t be without it.”
Beloved watches her two friends as they choose their future and destiny and are carried into the glazing room. She hears Harvester’s voice as the door closes behind him.
“Great balls of fire, this is amazing. What color am I going to be? You’ll need a lot of glaze. I’m a big guy. Let’s get on with it. I have a score to settle with some demons.”
She glances at the very back shelves and sees Diligence and Abundance sleeping. They are surrounded by old, dried-out vessels. Inside her spirit, she suddenly knows these friends will grow old and die on these shelves, never being glazed and never fulfilling their destinies.
She turns again and looks longingly at His Desire, the regal purple pitcher with gold trim. “I remember being exactly where you are, Beloved. I was so scared and wondered if it could possibly be worth it. But I can tell you, it was.”
“I want to but I-I’m scared,” says Beloved, wringing her hands. “I’m so scared of the next fire.”
“Your flesh is always afraid of pain and death; that will never change. If you wait until you’re not afraid you’ll never do it. You have to make the decision in faith from within your spirit.”
“I-I…” Beloved stammers.
“Remember what I said before—there is no way to prepare to die except to cling to Him. It’s because of His great love and mercy that He sends His consuming fire to burn out everything that hinders love. Only through death can there be resurrection.”
She looks back into the Bridegroom’s eyes; they are burning with love for her. “That’s right, Beloved; only through death can you experience true resurrection life. Will you drink the cup of suffering, as I drank it long ago?”
Beloved is torn between His great love for her and her fleshly struggle to maintain control and avoid the dreaded Mountain of Fire.
Weeping softly, she pours out her heart. “I don’t want to sit on the back pew and die. I want everything You have for me. What was I thinking? Besides, I’m ruined! I’ve already gone too far. I desperately need You. I’ve lost my children, my home, my dreams of being happily married—everything! But, as bad as that was, it was nothing compared to the joy of being loved by You.”
LOVESICK FOR THE BRIDEGROOM
Envisioning herself clothed in the wedding gown He is holding, she makes the final decision to pursue the completion of bridal love. As her body trembles with fear, she hears her voice echo throughout the fireside room, “Yes, Lord. Yes, I want to be Your fiery Bride forever.” Hot tears flow down her cheeks.
Valiant stands with the other guardian angels watching her like a proud father. He weeps unashamedly as she agrees to give her all to Master Potter. At her declaration, Valiant says good-bye to his cohorts, who are left fervently praying for their pots, and he lifts Beloved up off the shelf to take her to the glazing room.
“Excuse me, Valiant,” says Master Potter, with a smile on His face. “May I cut in?”
The glorious Bridegroom gently takes her from Valiant’s loving grasp and sweeps her into a dance. “I knew you would say yes, Beloved. I knew you would.”
She is unaware of anything or anyone else. She is lovesick. Time has ceased for her as she revels in the Bridegroom’s deep love for her. All has fallen away as He holds her in His strong arms. Suddenly, she is aware that she is dancing in His arms on the sea of glass before the throne. She is dressed in her beautiful wedding gown. Her hair is swept up on her head and held in place by a diamond tiara.
From the corner of her eyes she catches glimpses of angel’s wings, glorious lights and blazing lampstands, but she cannot take her eyes off her magnificent Bridegroom to look at them.
Dazzling white purity of radiating holiness emanates from the Father on His throne. He is filled with unspeakable joy at the fulfillment of His Son’s desire for a Bride.
Lost in their own world, they dance to the celestial music. The majestic Bridegroom stares deeply into her eyes. “I have loved you with an everlasting love, Beloved. I’ve been waiting, anticipating this sweet moment since eternity past—before the foundation of the world. Your ‘yes’ means more to Me than you can understand. I gave My life to purchase it. I betroth Myself to you forever, Beloved.”
When the music fades, her surroundings come back into focus. She is wearing her regular clothes, and they are standing together at the door to the glazing room.
As she looks into her Bridegroom’s loving arms, He transforms back into Master Potter. Tenderly, He takes her face in His hands and whispers, “I believe it’s customary for the groom to carry the Bride over the threshold, Beloved.” He gathers her into His strong arms and carries her into the bustling glazing room.
BIOGRAPHY
Jill Austin, founder of Master Potter Ministries over 25 years ago, has traveled nationally and internationally as a conference speaker and prophetic voice in the Body of Christ. She has appeared on The 700 Club, PTL, TBN and numerous radio shows and has published articles in Last Day’s Magazine, SpiritLed Woman and Women of Destiny Bible. Jill is also on the teaching staff of the Forerunner School of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri, under Mike Bickle’s leadership.
As an award-winning potter, she combined music, drama and art to depict Jesus as the Master Potter in dramatic presentations throughout the world. Over the last 15 years she has moved from the potter’s wheel to the pulpit bringing salvation, healing and deliverance accompanied by signs and wonders.
JILL AUSTIN
Master Potter & Master Potter and the Mountain of Fire
* * *
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This exciting two-book allegory addresses the current fascination with supernatural phenomena. The secular market is flooded with power encounters, New Age, occultism, angels, demons, witchcraft and sorcery. There is a renewed hunger to move in supernatural power, reflected in the wildly successful Harry Potter series.
Master Potter tells the story of Beloved—wounded and left vulnerable by an abused childhood, she is rescued by Master Potter. Whisked away to his rustic home overlooking the quaint village of Comfort Cove, Beloved begins her painful journey of healing.
The hardships she endures, the lessons she learns, and the invisible world she discovers will cause you to cheer f
or each triumphant step she takes and weep with each mistake she makes.
In book two, Master Potter and the Mountain of Fire, Beloved’s adventure continues with a journey through the Formidable Mountain Range. Fraught with danger, she is under constant assault by Satan and his demons as she travels forward. Through it all, she is under the watchful eye of the Father and aided by Holy Spirit and angelic hosts activated by her prayers.
As the fire in the mountain increases, Forsaken travels into the glory realm in a crystal chariot with her angelic escort, Guardian of the Glory. There she visits such astounding places as, the War Room, the Heavenly Library, and a warehouse called Miracles Unlimited.
These two books vividly portray the cosmic war between dark angels and the forces of heaven. Supernatural encounters are framed within the Christian experience satisfying that deep hunger for spiritual encounters.
Available at your local Christian bookstore.
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