The Signet Ring

  

   I was recently reading in Tim Sheet’s book, Planting the Heavens, about the concept of the signet ring:

   Tim: “In those days, the king would wear a very special ring upon his hand—a signet ring. The seal of the king’s kingdom was engraved on the face of the ring. It was a governing ring. When important documents were brought to the king, he would stamp the document with it, leaving behind the seal of his kingdom. He would press his seal on it….”

   Julie: When I read this, I immediately saw a picture of God handing me His ring and saying, “I am giving this to you so that you can represent me on the earth.” I put the huge, heavy ring on my finger, and it spun around, looking as if I was trying to wear my dad’s ring (which indeed I was). I had to hold it on with my other hand. How ridiculous it looked. I was like a kid in a costume. But my Father said, “You’ll grow into it.”

   The complex symbol extending from the top of the ring stood ready for imprinting His authority on any document or impressionable object. Even on an open heart. But I said, “You can’t entrust me with this!,” 

   “Indeed I can,” He countered. “You are to boldly represent Me not only in speaking My Words but with My heart.”

   An image from the movie of Prince Caspian (from The Chronicles of Narnia) suddenly appeared in my mind. Lucy, the youngest of the children, walks out on a bridge, which the huge enemy army is about to storm. She carries only a tiny dagger. The enemy leader stops abruptly in consternation and then in derision, rather like Goliath at the sight of the scrappy, scrawny David. What is this ridiculousness? However, slowly appearing behind Lucy is the great Lion, Aslan. Ahhh….

   Despite how insignificant Lucy first appeared, she stood on that bridge in the authority of the King, the Lion of Judah. As do we when, as ambassadors of the King of Kings, we declare and decree His Will from His Word,  from His true heart. He wants us to represent Him. He has chosen to partner with us. (See The Huddle* post.) He wants us to represent Him sincerely. Represent Him well. Represent Him in truth. 

   More from Tim:

   “The Hebrew idea is that words do the same thing. They leave impressions and they seal God’s words. God’s words are always right words. When we meditate upon God’s Word, when we roll it around and around in our minds until we are renewed by what He said, it begins to penetrate our hearts and our spirits. God’s Word leaves an impression. It leaves its seal in us. Then out of our hearts, Jesus said, our mouths speak and agree with the impression God’s Word has left there. The right words will be forcible and change situations, activating the promises of God and stamping the seal of God’s promise on the problem.”

   Julie: To the world, we may appear to be too young, too old, too simple-minded, too insignificant. We certainly don't feel dressed for the task. But Elohim begs to differ. We are just the kind through whom He loves to work. (I seem to remember a young girl, a poor carpenter, and an animal feeding trough…as well as some uneducated fishermen.) Yet we need to do what He asks of us with the confidence and authority only He can give. No wimpy, half-hearted prayers and declarations allowed. No qualified, uncertain, pathetic whimperings and whinings. Rather, bold declarations of our King’s will and intentions. We say what He says. We decree what He commands. We speak what He desires done, as an accomplished fact, as any great ambassador would. We’ve known Him well and long. We know His will.  We are growing in the knowledge of His heart. We double-check our understanding of these things against His Word, both Logos and Rhema. Then we speak it with the authority He has given us.****

Our qualifications are these:

• a belief and trust in His power and saving grace, 
• a willingness to partner with Elohim, the Creator and Sustainer of the Cosmos,
• a sincere desire to see His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, 
• a will to serve Him, 
• a continuing deep-dive knowledge of His Word
• a sincere love for Him, in all three of His Persons:  Elohim, Yeshua, and Ruah Hakodesh….Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit

   It is not arrogance in which we represent Him, but humility. We represent Him In the desire to please Him, to respond to and obey Him. To commit to taking whatever time is required to speak forth, to decree, to bring life out of dead bones, light from darkness, truth instead of deception. 

   The church on the whole has abnegated its responsibility to preach and teach a huge portion of these truths from the Bible, from testaments both new and old, for fear of stirring up controversy and in trying to keep people comfortable and happy. However, Jesus didn’t say we are meant to be comfortable, did He? He does want us to have ‘life abundant,’ but He also said He didn’t come to bring peace, but rather a sword.****

  Are we adrift** in comfort without facing challenges to grow in wisdom, word, and action? Are we ignoring Holy Spirit’s proddings to MOVE? Yes, let’s enjoy the life abundant He desires for us, but let us also examine what our Father would have us be up and doing, believing and SPEAKING in His Name.

   If any of you are gardeners, you will especially love this book, which is full of analogies on the theme of planting and growing things. In this case, for our families, for our nation, and for the Kingdom of God. Let’s plunge our hands in the earth, wearing God’s signet ring, and become the Master Gardener’s ambassadors.

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*The Huddle: https://tennyandi.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-huddle.html

**Adrift: https://tennyandi.blogspot.com/2025/08/adrift.html

***Luke 12:51

“You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways. —Job 22:28.  AMP

“Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” —Proverbs 18:21

“For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. —1Corinthians 2:16

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth [a]must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth [b]must be what is already loosed in heaven.” —Matthew 16:19

****Jesus replied, “Have faith in God [constantly]. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will]. Mark 11:22-

   Tim: “If you are born again, this statement [above] is about you. It is also a timeless word because it is an eternal word—-it will always be true. So this verse is for you right now. Do not dispensationalize this. You are one of the “whosoevers” who can command mountains to be moved. You may not feel like it, you may not think so, you may not believe this, you may never put this promise into practice, but it is a word for all heirs and it is potential Christian living for everyone who believes it.”……. 

Later he says, “I began to see faith as a seed that could grow and meet the challenge of a mountain.”  “You move mountains by faith that is maintained, nurtured, and guarded. Faith grows to maturity and produces what is decreed. You change circumstances and situations, not by a faith that is moved by what it sees or how it feels, but by a faith that is moved by the Word of the Living God.” 

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More from Tim on Mark 11: “Jesus said it, so God definitely meant for you to know this. This was not a slip of the tongue or a divine oops. He wants you to rule and reign with Him (see Rom. 5:17). He wants you releasing authority language, you exercising your dominion as an heir, and understanding that in His name you can summon to you what does not exist yet. You can also command things to go from you that do exist. You are authorized to use authority language. Mountain, go there and go there now. Hindrance, get away from me.”

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“Tim: “In Romans 5:17, the Apostle Paul said that we are to reign in life through Jesus Christ. Clearly, God wanted the earth filled with those made in His image who would bring the earth under the influence of His Kingdom. He wanted His sons and His daughters ruling with Him, walking in right relationship with Him and exercising their delegated authority on the earth.. Earth, not some spiritual dimension only. Not something in the heavens only. It’s vital that we understand what is being said here because we are losing the soul of a nation due to lack of understanding” — Tim Sheets, Planting the Heavens

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Interested in more? 

““We can plant words filled with life—-words that when believed, decreed, and acted upon become the very thing they describe. Word seeds have the innate ability to become what they are describing. They are seeds releasing their inner codes to reproduce in the soil in which they are planted.”  “What possibilities has God given to man? What opportunities has He given us when we understand the principle that words are seeds? Plant words of life. Plant them in the heavens. Plant them on the earth. Plant them in your life, business, and children. Plant purpose-filled seeds.” —Tim Sheets

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I also found this research very interesting: 

“ Dr. Cho spoke to us on a fascinating topic. He had recently met with a neurosurgeon who was explaining to him new breakthroughs they had discovered concerning the mind and the power of words. The neurosurgeon told him that they had discovered that the speech center of the brain affects all the other parts of the body. It even helps control the nervous system of an individual. Words affect you. The doctor said that human beings can manipulate their entire bodies by simply speaking and declaring words. He gave some examples and said that if someone keeps saying, “I’m weak and insignificant,” every cell in the body receives the message, “It’s time to be weak.” The entire nervous system and all of the cells begin to prepare themselves to become weak because that is what was communicated from central control and that’s what happens. They begin to adjust their attitude for weakness and weakness actually begins to flow throughout the body. If someone says, “I’m a nobody. I just don’t have any abilities,” their entire being receives the message that they are a nobody and have no ability. So they don’t act properly; they don’t respond to situations like they could because they think they’re a nobody. When things happen in their life they say, “I can’t handle this. I’m a nobody.” Their entire being begins to submit to the words they have declared and live out wrong words.” —-Tim, ibid

Woooooh, that’s life-changing ‘scientific’ knowledge.’ 

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Adrift

   

  When I was young and my family vacationed in the Adirondacks, I used to take a book, a drink, and a snack with me and row our old wooden boat to the middle of Long Pond. It was more of a lake than a pond, whose central area was sometimes affected by winds coming from several directions at once. Other times it was quite tranquil, with barely a ripple seen on its surface. 

   Although fit and wiry-strong as a child, I was not really the adventurous sort. I might take out the kayak on occasion, but never the large metal canoe, which frightened me by its need for such strong control. (One time I nearly ran over my older cousin when I was supposed to be watching over him as he swam across the lake. I can still see the look of shock on his face when he looked back at me, about to run him under!.)  No, the old red rowboat was just my speed. I could let it drift gently with the current while totally absorbed in my book of the moment. 

   I remember reading Leon Uris’ Exodus, a hulking but power novel of Israel’s birth, and becoming lost in its pages, only to find I had drifted far beyond what I considered a known and safe location.  Not only was I no longer in Israel in the late 1940’s, I wasn’t even in the known world of my 1965 Adirondack lake.

   I was reminded of this recently while reading on the deck of our cabin in the Oregon mountains. I ‘awakened’ from my reading, to a world of mist, the trees barely distinguishable despite their nearby location. I felt the Lord prompting me to pick up the journal lying. beside me and listen to what He had to teach me analogously in that frozen moment. It applies to so many of our various situations as believers. Let Holy Spirit, both our Dock and Mooring, unpack its relevance for you, in this particular moment in your life. I know He did so for me. Here is what I wrote down:

   “You see how quickly you can drift away. Days pass by, hours slipping away. You drift from your Mooring without even realizing it. You expect to see yourself tied securely to the Dock, but you discover you’ve drifted far out to sea in the misty waters, where it is difficult to discern the shoreline or recognize your true location. It all happened so quickly while you were absorbed in other things. The rope slipped so gradually (with a little help from your unseen Adversary). The stealthiness of his visit gave you no warning. You forbore setting your security system because the peaceful mist lulled you into a false sense of security. You expected more fanfare in his approach. Just pulling the slipknot was subtle but effective. Now you float adrift.

   It is actually somewhat pleasant there, with no conflict, no battles to fight, no action to be taken, no challenges to face. You could actually drift comfortably off to sleep in the peace of it. Maybe you’ll just curl up and take a short nap. What could be dangerous, when you are enveloped in that seemingly peaceful cloud………

….adrift in the mist?”

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“Stay sober, stay alert! Your enemy, the Adversary, stalks about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” —1 Peter 5:8

“I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to put restrictions on you — I am simply concerned that you live in a proper manner and serve the Lord with undivided devotion.” -—1 Corinthians 7:35

Misplaced Compassion

    

      “Misplaced compassion,” the Lord answered me recently. 

   “Hmmm?” I said. 

   “You asked me how so many loving, compassionate people with good hearts could get things so wrong. That’s the answer.” 

   “Would you explain more, Lord? I’m still confused.”

   Here is a summary of His response, as best I can express it. Humanistic compassion that originates with man, rather than with the Lord—-His heart, His guidance, His direction, His perspective, His wisdom—-leads people off into deception. It can seem so right yet be so wrong. There is also pride in this compassion which is tied only to human understanding and logic.

   He brought to mind an example:  a person can be horrified at the mistreatment of one of His creatures (as He is), yet support the torturous death of His children in their mothers’ wombs. Or they are righteously indignant about the treatment of someone who has committed a crime, yet remain less concerned about the criminal’s past or future victims.

   This is ‘human’ compassion without reference to His wisdom and will. In this way, we have put ourselves on His Throne, seeing ourselves as righteous residents there. We judge others who believe differently and even judge those whom He has sent to help us, without knowing the truth about them.

  Yet our hearts are responding to the situations and feelings of others, as does God’s own heart. How, then, can it lead to so much anger and virulent, vitriolic rage against others? So much deception, so many wrong attitudes, thoughts, words and actions. So much hatred, wicked speech, and even demonic doctrines.?

   Human logic (which I have heard expressed) says, for example, “This baby growing in her mother’s womb may have a very hard life or may cause the mother hardship, so let’s encourage her to kill her baby before she is born. This will protect this child (whom God created)  and her mother (whom God also loves) from a potentially difficult future.*

   Compassion, twisted. 

   It also negates any faith in the Lord to redeem and restore, to make ‘beauty from ashes, give the oil of joy for mourning, or the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.’* No looking to Him for His plans, His will, His destiny for both mother and child. No ‘graves into gardens,’ no ‘bones into armies,’ no death into resurrection. No provision where there seems none, no hope to replace despair, no mercy from those around them responding to His call. 

   “My mercy doesn’t always look like man’s,” He said. “My mercy is bigger and wider and higher than man’s mite or understanding of it.”

   “The mercy of My children who are daily connected to Me, however…….those who are studying My word, spending time with Me and humbly listening to my Holy Spirit, never assuming they are always right, will more often truly reflect My heart and truth. None on earth will see things perfectly. Yet they are more likely to avoid twisted compassion. Those who say they believe in Me, yet remain disconnected from My church, My Word, and My Holy Spirit, are easy prey for the Liar who “prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”** As I have said before,*** Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He hasn’t changed his spots. He loves to “masquerade as an angel of light”****. Hence, what seems right and beautiful can actually be grotesquely ugly and lead to death.”

   If we find ourselves hating, judging, speaking fouly, and refusing to interact with others who believe differently than we about circumstances in the world today, it’s time to examine ourselves and ask the Lord, according to Psalm 139, “Search me, O God….and see if there be any wicked way in me…”  He may even show us that we need to step down from our thrones of self-righteousness.

   Let’s be continually praying for freedom from deception for all of God’s people, as well as the whole world, including ourselves. One Scripture I like to pray daily is from John 17: 17: “Your Word is Truth. Make [us] holy by Your Truth.” Lord, fill us with Your compassion, Your mercy, and Your Truth. Grant us discernment and spiritual eyes to expose twisted truths, in ourselves and in the culture around us. So be it.

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*Read Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, in which human-based compassion and logic lead to a horrific but right-sounding solution.

** 1 Peter 5:8

*** John 8:44

**** 2 Corinthians 7:14