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The second most important thing about Christmas is family and relationships.

Joy Stealers:

1. Unbelief

2. Unfaithfulness

3. Unforgiveness

How to avoid your joy being stolen:

1. Be filled with faith.

2. Be filled with the Holy Spirit

3. Be filled with exceedingly great mega joy!

True Joy is to know Jesus and His love, goodness, and favor.

How we can experience the joy of Jesus this year:

1. Receive the invitation.

2. Join the Celebration

3. Experience the transformation

In order to find true freedom and experience God’s peace, provision, and protection, we must learn to live Under Cover, ultimately submitting to God’s DIRECT authority (His Word and His ways), and God’s DELEGATED authority (those whom He placed over us in leadership).

One cannot just choose to be a pastor or in leadership, he or she must be called!

Our response to Church leaders and those they appoint:

1. Obey

2. Submit

3. Honor

4. Show great respect.

5. Show wholehearted love

Four Divisions of Delegated Authority: 

1.  Civil: Presidents, government officials, law enforcement

2.  Family: Parents, grandparents, legal guardians

3.  Social: Bosses, teachers, coaches

4.  Church: Overseers, pastors, elders, department head

Satan’s primary goal is to convince you that something is good, when it is actually bad for you.

Truth: Submitting to divine authority will provide protection, provision, and peace.

It's not about the person, it's about the position.

If you really know God, you will recognize authority. Someone who doesn’t recognize, respect, or submit to authority, simply does not know God. 

Four Divisions of Delegated Authority:

1. Civil: Presidents, government officials, law enforcement

2. Family: Parents, grandparents, legal guardians

3. Social: Bosses, teachers, coaches

4. Church: Oversees, pastors, elders, department heads

When you resist delegated authority, you resist God Himself.

All authority is of God, but not all authority is godly!

We must remember these things:

1. All authority is of God, but not all authority is Godly.

2. God is in control, not us. His ways, not ours. His plan, not ours.

3. Obedience is not unconditional, but having a submissive attitude is.

4. How you respond to leadership determines your future.

5. If you're in a position of subordination to a bad leader, unfair boss, or an ungodly supervisor, God wasn't surprised and wants to grow you. He may even want to use you to reach your leader.

What to do when under bad leadership:

1. Pray. Pray that God will show you the error of your ways. Pray for your leader.

2. Submit and obey.

3. Repent. Repent for any negative things you have said behind your boss's back. Repent for any gossip or slander that you have caused or participated in.

Living under cover provides freedom!

Three promises of being under cover (living in God's shelter):

1. Peace

2. Protection

3. Provision

Consequences for NOT being under authority: Instead of...

1. Peace: Unrest, fear, anxiety

2. Protection: Vulnerable

3. Provision: Lack (in all realms of life)

There is bondage in disobedience, but there is freedom in submission.

How to live under cover:

1. Submit to God's direct authority: HIs Word and His Way

2. Submit to God' delegated authority.

We are all living under the influence of something. So many of us are walking through life like a zombie being "tossed to and fro..." (Ephesians 4:14). But what if we flipped the script? What if WE became the influencers? you may not be able to jump on social media and build a following of millions of people and make millions of dollars. You may not have a platform that allows you to reach thousands of people, but you do have influence. Every single one of us has a level of influence. How can we use our influence to spread the Gospel?

We must first understand how we are currently being influenced.

Three things that influence us:

1. Culture

2. Others

3. Sin

Three areas where we have influence:

1. Family: Those closest to us and with whom we have the most influence.

2. Social Circle: Those outside of our family, but with whom we have relational equity.

3. Public Arena: Those who we interact with incrementally in the public setting.

Before we can have influence over others, we MUST reposition our lives to live totally 100% under the influence of Jesus.

Is what's happening right now in Israel part of the "signs of the end times?" What does the Bible say about our final moments? How should we as believers and followers of Christ respond to what is happening around us? Pastor Johnny does a masterful job of answering all these questions and more in this message, "God's End Time Signs."

Notes:

"God loves both Jewish People and Muslim People."

Four Types of responses from people during times like these:

1. Skeptical

2. Scoffers

3. Scared

4. Shouters

Are we spiritually awake enough to discern the times?

How should we respond? What should we do?

- Don't be deceived

- Don't be fearful

- Don't be asleep

- BE READY!