1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,080 We failed to protect the church and to preach good doctrine 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,160 and address those moral and cultural issues 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,960 that everyone else is talking to, but for fear we haven't. 4 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,640 Just seems like there's a window of opportunity open 5 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:16,560 over 2025 for a real spiritual renewal and revival. 6 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:21,560 2025 is upon us and we are looking at what is God saying 7 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:23,400 for this upcoming year. 8 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,360 And with me today is Pastor Travis Johnson. 9 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,680 And we are gonna talk about what God is telling him 10 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,160 about 2025, but we've got a great story 11 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:34,720 that you gotta stick around for, 12 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,680 but what he's been doing with Christmas trees. 13 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:40,000 So stick around with that. 14 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,000 Pastor Travis, it's great to have you here. 15 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:43,940 Hey, it's great to be with you, John. 16 00:00:43,940 --> 00:00:48,380 So let's talk about what God is saying 17 00:00:48,380 --> 00:00:51,800 about the year 2025 to you and your church 18 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,240 and the people that God has you influencing with. 19 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,520 What is God saying and how do we need to respond to this? 20 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,400 Absolutely, a couple of things that I'm hearing right now. 21 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,640 Looking out at 2025 and in the cultural mash 22 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,040 of this environment that we're in, 23 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,640 where there's so much, there's like a window 24 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:13,680 of opportunity open. 25 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,080 It feels like to me, I don't know that it's revival, 26 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,980 but it's a window of opportunity for revival. 27 00:01:21,980 --> 00:01:26,220 And we see really a revival of the American spirit. 28 00:01:26,220 --> 00:01:31,220 I feel like we are going to see a revival of the family. 29 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,160 You know, not necessarily speaking, 30 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,840 spiritually church revival, but just a renewal 31 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,320 and a refocusing, a re-gripping of the family 32 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:44,320 and a revival of things good and decent and profitable. 33 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:46,800 So for me, for the church, it seems like 34 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,440 there's a window of opportunity open over 2025 35 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,920 for a real spiritual renewal and revival. 36 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,800 And so in that context, what I'm hearing in my heart, 37 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:02,320 what I'm sensing, what I find myself speaking regularly 38 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:03,960 is that in that environment, 39 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,260 it's not a time for a lot of talk. 40 00:02:06,260 --> 00:02:10,220 It's not a time for a lot of consensus building. 41 00:02:10,220 --> 00:02:11,640 It's a time to go. 42 00:02:11,640 --> 00:02:12,480 It's a time to go. 43 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,540 And so what I'm hearing is take dominion, 44 00:02:14,540 --> 00:02:16,800 show up, take dominion. 45 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:18,440 The environment's already been prepped. 46 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,900 Step in, step forward, take dominion and go. 47 00:02:21,900 --> 00:02:26,760 And then with that, people will come with us. 48 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:28,320 People will come along. 49 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,600 But then there's always a temptation 50 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:32,360 to stop and try and bring everyone, 51 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:34,520 get everyone deciding with you, 52 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:35,720 working through that process. 53 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:36,560 And that's good. 54 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:37,840 That's who we are, pastors. 55 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:40,840 And a lot of Christians are like this 56 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,240 in that we are conflict avoiders 57 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:46,980 because we have a need to be liked. 58 00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:49,260 And I think some of it's probably natural, 59 00:02:49,260 --> 00:02:51,080 but some of it's built to just 60 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:52,760 from kind of the work that we do. 61 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,800 But what I would say is go with the goers. 62 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:57,720 Go with the goers. 63 00:02:58,660 --> 00:03:00,560 Praise God we wanna bring everybody along. 64 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,960 Let me just say this to you, John, 65 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:04,080 which I know is no problem. 66 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,920 And you are alive and vibrant in your faith 67 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:10,580 and as enthusiastic as anyone that I've ever met. 68 00:03:10,580 --> 00:03:13,180 I walk away strengthened in my faith. 69 00:03:13,180 --> 00:03:15,540 But to you, to my wife, to my friends, 70 00:03:15,540 --> 00:03:19,440 my children, my church, believers, 71 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:24,080 is I would say this, I want you to go with me. 72 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:24,920 I want you. 73 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:26,040 I'm going to heaven. 74 00:03:27,220 --> 00:03:29,880 I'm going into the presence of God. 75 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,200 I'm going to take dominion in 2025. 76 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:34,860 I'm gonna move forward and I want you to come with me. 77 00:03:34,860 --> 00:03:38,340 But if you don't, I'm going. 78 00:03:38,340 --> 00:03:39,180 I'm going. 79 00:03:39,180 --> 00:03:40,480 There's this tremendous opportunity. 80 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,840 I feel like God is orchestrating so much. 81 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:45,440 He's done so much look back. 82 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:46,940 It's not the way we would have done it. 83 00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:49,400 I wouldn't have planned it that way. 84 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:51,880 All of these little miracles and all of these things 85 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,080 that have been organized together 86 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,660 to bring us to this point, I wouldn't have done it. 87 00:03:56,660 --> 00:03:58,800 But when you look back in retrospect, 88 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,400 you go, look what the Lord's done. 89 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:02,320 And so here's what I'm doing. 90 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:03,840 I'm on the threshold. 91 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,760 I'm walking through the door in 2025. 92 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:08,840 I'm not looking back to see who's following. 93 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:11,480 I have confidence that as I walk through, 94 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:12,520 people are following. 95 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,320 I know that because I'm following other people 96 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:17,520 that are walking through that door as well. 97 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:19,840 There are generals. 98 00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:22,000 There are some sweet little grandmothers 99 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,840 that have been on their knees before the Lord praying, 100 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:28,680 seeking His face, calling out our names out over decades. 101 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:29,640 And they're walking through. 102 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:30,800 I'm walking through too. 103 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,080 And I think the Lord's really going to bless the church. 104 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,200 I think we're going to see revival in 25. 105 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:36,720 Amen. 106 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:37,880 I love that. 107 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,160 As you were talking about this, there's 108 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:45,840 a window of opportunity to do this as well. 109 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:50,800 I just mentally had this picture of an apple orchard. 110 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:52,840 And the apples were ripe. 111 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:54,000 And there's a time to pick. 112 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,120 But if you let them sit there too long, 113 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:57,440 they're going to rot. 114 00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:58,600 And they're going to fall off. 115 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,080 And they're not good for anything at that point. 116 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:06,840 So what I'm feeling is that there's a time 117 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:08,000 that the fruit is ripe. 118 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,360 And this is the time to pick. 119 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:12,160 And if you wait too long, it's going to rot. 120 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:13,040 Oh, 100%. 121 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:14,640 Think about this too. 122 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,880 Let's talk about giving and givers. 123 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:18,920 You can't stop a giver from giving. 124 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,360 Givers, they give. 125 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:22,800 All you can do is make sure that you 126 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,480 have soil that's fertile and productive enough 127 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,320 that they would want to give into what you're working on. 128 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,160 And so the Lord is looking for people 129 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,160 who are a good investment and people who will listen 130 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:37,640 and who will follow. 131 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,220 And so the time between when we see a thing 132 00:05:40,220 --> 00:05:42,680 and when we act on a thing is important. 133 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,800 You talk about apples, but hey, when God opens the door, 134 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,480 it's not the time to second guess and to say, 135 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,680 well, I wouldn't have structured it like this. 136 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:52,680 Are you sure? 137 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:53,680 Is this the right time? 138 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,720 No, when you see it, you walk through that opportunity 139 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:57,960 as quickly as possible. 140 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,880 I can't tell you how many times I've seen people approach 141 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:02,240 an opportunity. 142 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,880 And then they overanalyze it, analyze it so long 143 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,320 that then the opportunity was gone. 144 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:08,980 Someone came along and took it. 145 00:06:08,980 --> 00:06:11,360 So our ability to respond and say yes to the Lord 146 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,120 is powerful. 147 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:17,640 I'll say this, but a parent, when talking to their child, 148 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,360 if the child obeys but is delayed obedience, 149 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,760 delayed obedience is disobedience. 150 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,400 There's a window of opportunity the Lord's open for us. 151 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,320 And I just want to be as early on in walking 152 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:29,640 through that as possible. 153 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:30,520 I feel it. 154 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,240 I feel I can see it. 155 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:37,560 Yeah, that is really encouraging about this 2025 year. 156 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,480 What else is God saying to you about this? 157 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,840 For maybe nationally, I know you have some influence 158 00:06:43,840 --> 00:06:46,640 with other Christian leaders nationally. 159 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,480 What are some other things that maybe God is saying about that 160 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:50,640 that you can share? 161 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:53,440 Well, I do think that one thing that's happened over the last, 162 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:55,880 not just the last year, but really 2020 163 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:57,200 was kind of a dividing line. 164 00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:59,800 A lot of the people that we look to, a lot of the voices 165 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,320 have changed. 166 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:06,160 People were forced to pick a side or a path. 167 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,480 And then so many of us were radicalized. 168 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:14,520 You're surprised at the pace at which things happened. 169 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,240 So there's a kind of a reorganizing of voices 170 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:19,360 that God's raising up. 171 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:20,600 I'm thankful for that. 172 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:21,760 I am. 173 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,960 So there's some of that conversation. 174 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:30,200 But within this, my mind and heart 175 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,160 is going to Revelation chapter 3 when Jesus is talking 176 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,240 to the church at Sardis. 177 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:40,560 And the Lord says, strengthen that which remains. 178 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:41,560 Well, we don't have a lot. 179 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:43,240 The church is so compromised. 180 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:45,360 There is compromise in the church. 181 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,440 I mean, look, we have been hammered by woke gender 182 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:49,640 ideology, our kids have. 183 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,240 In school, the pronoun hospitality, the restrooms, 184 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:54,960 all of that stuff, it's crazy talk. 185 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,880 It's happening in every state. 186 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:02,240 You think we're aborting our unborn children? 187 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:03,560 There are so many things. 188 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,800 Religious liberty is at stake, free speech has been at stake. 189 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:11,840 And think about how many pastors said nothing, said nothing. 190 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,480 Here's what the Lord says to the church at Sardis. 191 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,800 He said, you are known for your good reputation. 192 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,080 So we're nice, respectable churches. 193 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:22,720 We're nice, polite churches. 194 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:27,160 We have this nice veneer, and good things are being said. 195 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,080 But we failed to protect the church 196 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,880 and to preach good doctrine and address those moral and cultural issues 197 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,200 that everyone else is talking to, but for fear we haven't. 198 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:41,200 And so the Lord says to that the way to approach that 199 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,440 is to strengthen that which remains. 200 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:45,960 It's not to go back and try and get consensus, 201 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,440 but it's to build up what is good and righteous. 202 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:54,360 And when we do that, that's what would have moved the church at Sardis 203 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:55,440 through. 204 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,880 And so my prayer is that we as a church step into that moment. 205 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:02,360 And I see that organizationally. 206 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,920 I see that in groups like National Faith Advisory Board, 207 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:10,560 the people that are coming together, the courage that has really come up. 208 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:14,400 Man, I think about pastors like Jensen Franklin. 209 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:19,760 I'll never forget him, a 19-year-old boy, 18-year-old boy at a youth camp. 210 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,960 And Jensen was much younger, playing his saxophone. 211 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:24,040 He's doing an altar call. 212 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:28,160 He pulls me up onto the stage, and he's prophesying over me. 213 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:32,440 He looks at me, says, you were not made for small things. 214 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:37,640 And I'm just going, of course, I was a mess at that age. 215 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:42,640 And seeing those, in my mind, heroes in the faith, 216 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,640 consistently, faithfully through the years, moving on through, 217 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,400 and seeing so many of those people rallying together. 218 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:53,680 And their voices from different streams, too, coming together. 219 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:57,600 Moving into me, it feels like there's a real mustering taking place. 220 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,760 And there are people all over looking for someone 221 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:05,360 to wave that standard on the battlefield so that people can muster to that. 222 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,760 It feels like that's already happened and is happening even more. 223 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,360 I feel like you've seen some of that stuff just politically, 224 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:17,480 a reassertion of goodness in leadership. 225 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:19,120 But spiritually, I see it. 226 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:24,800 I believe God's raising up some great voices in this moment. 227 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:26,320 Amen, amen. 228 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:31,080 Pastor Travis, one of the things that God is raising you up to do 229 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,640 is actually changing lives by buying Christmas trees 230 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:36,360 and giving those around. 231 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,680 And you told me before we started this recording 232 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:42,960 that you had a very unique experience with this outreach 233 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:45,840 that you've been doing, which has started off in your church 234 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:48,680 whenever your church was in the Miami area 235 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:51,720 and has grown to many, many states. 236 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:56,000 And you've been able to give away millions of dollars through this. 237 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:01,160 But in responding to some of the disasters that have happened recently, 238 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:02,720 God brought you to a very unique place. 239 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:04,040 Can you tell us this story? 240 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,240 So, John, that's called ByatreeChangeAlife.com. 241 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,760 It's a small group missions project that just got out of control. 242 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,640 We were paying for raising money for an adoption 243 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,120 for a little girl from Ethiopia into a Coast Guard family. 244 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,240 Now it's across America. 245 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:19,640 This last year, it's amazing. 246 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,640 All of us together, it's not like one big person, but all of us together, 247 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:27,040 tens of thousands of families have helped us to give away over $13 million 248 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:28,640 to help children. 249 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:33,360 So as a part of that, we were sponsoring Christmas at Chimney Rock. 250 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:37,600 And Chimney Rock had really captured America's imagination. 251 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:41,520 During Hurricane Helene, a 20-foot wall of water comes through that town. 252 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,320 And just a lot of devastation. 253 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:44,160 Homes wiped out. 254 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:45,560 Businesses wiped out. 255 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:48,760 Four feet of silt in downtown Chimney Rock. 256 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:50,480 And so there's so many stories there. 257 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,800 Bottom line, we were there for the Christmas tree lighting, 258 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,440 just that little area. 259 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:01,520 And then the next day, I was standing outside, and I met two families. 260 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:06,560 Some kids run up to the Christmas tree, and they're seeing decoration 261 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:07,440 on the Christmas tree. 262 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:12,680 We had decorated the tree with items that had been scavenged downstream 263 00:12:12,680 --> 00:12:13,880 from the flood. 264 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:15,520 And they were shoes. 265 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:16,640 They were little toys. 266 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:20,040 They were little guitars that had been lost from people's homes. 267 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:26,040 So these little kids come up, and they're seeing their toys and clothing 268 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:27,080 in the tree. 269 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:30,880 It was the most joyful, tearful moment. 270 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:32,280 Really? 271 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,080 These items were in your house? 272 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:36,360 Really awesome. 273 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:36,840 Yeah. 274 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:37,320 Yeah. 275 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:37,800 What? 276 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:38,280 What? 277 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:38,760 What? 278 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:39,280 What? 279 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:39,760 All right. 280 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:41,000 So what all's yours? 281 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:41,760 That's what. 282 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,240 Like everything. 283 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:44,240 Like everything? 284 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,120 Let's see you guys. 285 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,400 I was so glad to be there for that. 286 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:50,120 It led to some prayer. 287 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,840 I love you. 288 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,880 Bottom line, one member of the family is actually 289 00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:01,760 moving to our area just above Orange Beach here in Alabama. 290 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:03,960 By the way, it's like heaven. 291 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:05,280 It's beautiful. 292 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:06,120 Get to heaven, John. 293 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:08,760 But if you can't, come on to Orange Beach. 294 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:09,800 But they're moving down. 295 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,360 And so tomorrow, we have a bunch of people from the church 296 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,720 that are meeting them with their moving van, 297 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:17,120 and we're unloading their house. 298 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:19,280 It was just this amazing thing. 299 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:25,160 And I felt like God had just bent down to kiss the earth, 300 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:26,760 and I got caught right in the smack. 301 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,040 I thought, this is really heaven. 302 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,160 So it was a wonderful time. 303 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,640 So these little kids were seeing their own toys 304 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:36,520 on this Christmas tree. 305 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,040 And I think one of the questions that everybody's 306 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,160 going to ask in the comments, and let us know in the comments. 307 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:45,560 Make sure you're subscribed to this channel and everything. 308 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:48,840 Did these kids get to just like, that's my toy, 309 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:50,400 and then actually get to receive that, 310 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:51,920 or is it just staying for decoration? 311 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:54,040 Tell us about getting those things back. 312 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,520 I mean, obviously, they want to take those down. 313 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:57,720 But I watched them. 314 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:58,880 The kids didn't even ask. 315 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,720 They were just, if you see the video, 316 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:07,320 it's euphoria and tears, and the family 317 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:11,280 is bouncing around trying to take all the pictures. 318 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:14,480 Actually, when that happened, I was behind the tree 319 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:20,160 taking some video of the tree, because it was so remarkable. 320 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:21,960 I mean, I don't know. 321 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,400 It was like seeing something in color in the middle of a black 322 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,560 and white TV show. 323 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:27,840 And so that all happened. 324 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,760 I actually have some other footage where I just say, hey, 325 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,280 if you'd like, I can take a picture. 326 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,600 I didn't even realize what was going on at that moment. 327 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:37,200 So I stepped over to take the picture. 328 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,160 And then that's when all of this euphoria starts to come out. 329 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,200 So hey, my family went through Hurricane Andrew. 330 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:45,040 We lost our home. 331 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:46,120 My dad lost his church. 332 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,920 I don't have a lot of pictures from when I was little. 333 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:51,880 He slept under a picnic table for a week 334 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,600 while he's pastoring the church as National Guard. 335 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:57,240 And that sort of thing came in. 336 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:58,000 He got an RV. 337 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,640 And I tried to talk him out of staying. 338 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:02,000 I wanted him to leave. 339 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,720 But he's like, I would be a terrible pastor 340 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,600 if I left my church right now. 341 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:08,760 But if you ask my dad, he would say 342 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,440 that was the best time of his ministry, 343 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,320 because it was so terrible. 344 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:16,360 Nobody should have to go through that. 345 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,240 Those dams breaking upstream and just wiping everybody out. 346 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:20,480 Nobody should go through that. 347 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,240 However, when people come together 348 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:27,000 and they help one another, it's extravagant. 349 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,480 It's actually a fulfillment of scripture 350 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,120 that the world will know us by our love for one another. 351 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:33,440 And I've seen that over and over. 352 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,000 Even in the comments of this video that's gone viral, 353 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,040 you see non-Christians saying, this is what it's all about. 354 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:42,560 This is beautiful. 355 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:44,480 Thank you for letting us know that there's still 356 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:45,400 people that care. 357 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:47,320 So John, it was awesome, man. 358 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:48,680 It was just awesome. 359 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:49,880 That's beautiful. 360 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,800 Pastor Jarvis, thank you for sharing that story with us. 361 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,880 That's very touching, especially this time of year. 362 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,680 We know that we're celebrating the greatest gift 363 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:03,120 that God has ever given us, Jesus coming to this world 364 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:05,720 to eventually die on the cross for us. 365 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,360 But he had to come as a baby as the greatest gift 366 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:09,440 that God has ever given us. 367 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,880 And we do that to each other. 368 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,080 We give gifts to each other to honor that. 369 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,840 And what you've done is give us a great gift as well. 370 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,360 So Pastor Jarvis, thanks so much for joining us here today. 371 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:21,120 Thank you so much. 372 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:22,080 And let me say this. 373 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,360 If anybody wants to be a part of By a Tree, Change a Life, 374 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,960 you can host a site at your church. 375 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:29,200 It's amazing what's done. 376 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,240 It's so much more than anything that you can imagine. 377 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:33,040 You end up making some incredible friends. 378 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:39,800 You can fill out an interest form at By a Tree, Change a Life.com.