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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Dylan McWilliams Weekend

Dylan McWilliams

Our Tactical Advantage, Part 1

Dear Lord, I just thank you so much for a wonderful Sabbath day.

Lord, the opportunity to just let your light shine as a witness, especially today, to a world in darkness.

And Lord, I just ask that you fill me with the Holy Spirit.

Lord, that the stories, they're not my stories, but they're yours.

And that your character will be seen in it and that you will get the glory, not me.

And Lord, we just ask that you be with everyone here today and everyone listening, and just let your light shine.

So my name's Dylan McWilliams, and I've worked with Gideon Rescue Company for about 10 years now.

And we do disaster response all over the world.

It started in 2010 with the earthquake to Haiti.

And I'm sure many of you know Scotty Meyer with LED Live.

His brother is actually the 1 that started this, Brock Meyer.

And they actually were, He was the Bible teacher at my school, my high school, Daystar Adventist Academy.

And he told some amazing stories of what God did.

And so I joined him and it's been transformative.

And I don't know about you guys, if you guys have heard or not, but Jesus is coming soon.

And I truly believe that we are at the point when the latter rain is just beginning to fall.

And it's evident all over the world in so many different ministries.

And people are just coming to this last day message of Christ's character.

But We've worked in disaster zones a lot, and I'm gonna be talking some of the stories from that, but in the last 2 years, God's really taken us into the conflict areas, specifically Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, and Russia.

And as you know, our message, Revelation 14, goes to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

And as an Adventist, I cannot choose sides.

You know, politically, not a Democrat, not a Republican, I'm a Seventh-day Adventist.

This 1, this, this, today I'm gonna be talking this morning about Israel and Ukraine.

And then this afternoon I'm gonna be talking about the last trip to Ukraine and Russia, which I actually just got back from last night.

Thursday night I flew in from Moscow into Dallas, stayed the night, and then flew here yesterday.

So I praise God for the host that I'm staying with.

But I wanted to, the biggest thing that we've learned, and I've titled this is our tactical advantage.

And what we have, the biggest thing we've learned is what is our tactical advantage as Adventists.

It is, and we've learned that if we are bold with that, God removes all stops.

And 1 of the biggest principles that we take with us is found in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 5, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

You know, and as we make decisions, you know, sometimes we make the decision based on this principle that it does not seem logical to man.

And if we go with that mindset, it is impossible.

But if we go with, man, we have all of heaven at our disposal if we will ask for it.

And God is waiting because he wants to answer.

He wants to say, here it is, ask the impossible, I wanna give it to you, right?

And if we will act with that faith, man, the door's blown open all over the world.

And I wanna tell you these stories because this is what has transformed my life and God is just as willing to do it with you.

And it doesn't have to be in Israel, Ukraine or Russia, it can be right here.

You know, we've been to LA multiple times, we were here for the fires, we were here for the mudslides last year, and God blew open the same doors, the same miracles happened, and the whole community got a demonstration of Christ's character.

Not from us, but from the whole church, the whole community came together, and I've never seen anything like it.

If we as Adventists and church members will step forward in faith and say, Lord, use me.

The opportunity's there if we're looking for it.

And you know, when you think about it, when Jesus called Peter, he called him from a very simple job.

And when he said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men, he used words that Peter understood.

He didn't tell him he was gonna go be a preacher.

He said, I'm gonna make you a fisher of men.

I took him from a simple job, used the simple language that he understood and built him into 1 of the greatest evangelists the world's ever seen.

And there was only 1 qualification that he asked Peter.

Sometimes we think, man, I can't be a missionary.

I'm not, no, I can't do medical missionary work.

If we love Jesus with all of our heart, man, we're already a missionary.

Right, Because that love is transforming and it's impossible for that light not to shine through.

So the other thing is, where did Peter and Paul end up?

That was like the most difficult place in all the world to be a missionary.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall be a witness to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

You notice how it starts in Jerusalem, right where they're locally at.

And then the different regions, boom, boom, boom, boom.

We gotta start in our own family, our own community, and just watch God work.

“But If Not”

Dear Lord, I just thank you so much again for a beautiful Sabbath day.

And Lord, I just ask that you give us opportunities this week that we can demonstrate your love and character to those around us.

In what we say, what we eat, how we dress.

Lord, that your light can fully shine through us.

And Lord, today I pray specifically that you speak through me that these will be your words and not mine, that your character will take the place of mine.

And Lord, I just pray that the message that you have prepared, that it will reach people all over the world to awaken them and to get them excited for the soon return of Jesus.

That it's truly not something to be afraid of and that we desire it greatly, Lord.

So please, work through us and even through me.

So I've titled this, But If Not, and, I wanted to, I hope you guys come this afternoon because the story that I'm starting with in the afternoon is my but if not story.

That how I had to make a choice to say but if not.

And you'll see how that turns out if you come.

But in Daniel 3, 16 to 18, it says, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King." All right, everybody loves that verse.

All right, when we're in the mission field and God can deliver and he does, that's great.

All right, That's where our true character and true faith comes out.

But if not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up." You know, there's a few other stories in the Bible where that was used.

Esther, right, she says, if I perish, I perish.

And Job, though he slay me, I will trust him.

That's what God is seeking to produce in his last day people.

Is a character of people that have the faith of Hebrews 11.

When we think of the Bible stories, we love them.

History, you know, they put David about 15 to 18 years old when he slew Goliath.

Esther at 19 when she went before the king.

The 3 Hebrews age 20 when they faced the fiery furnace.

Daniel was 20 when he was taken and where he had interpreted the dream to the king.

Joshua and Gideon are both described as being young men.

But these are young people in the Bible that God used to do great things.

And we know that the youth of today will finish the work.

All right, so I wonder if this this idea continued through the ages, right?

The Bible is 1 thing, but what about what about through the Reformation?

You know, there was a woman named Vibia Perpetra, I'm not good at Greek, but she was a prominent woman in the Roman city of Carthage.

When she wouldn't, even under torture, she was taken to the Colosseum where she was killed by wild beasts and gladiators.

Did you know her last words are recorded as this?

Stand fast in the faith, love 1 another, and do not let my suffering be a stumbling block for you." Did you know she was 22 years old?

There's a story of a man named Dirk Willems, and he was an Anabaptist preacher, or not Anabaptist preacher, he was Anabaptist beliefs, and he was put in jail, and he escaped out of a castle window, he was running across a frozen lake.

And his captor that was chasing him broke through the ice.

And he turned around and helped pull him out of the ice and to shore where he was then arrested and taken to the stake.

Do you think he regretted turning around?

In fact, his last words were, forgive them.

And ask you, she was arrested for heresy and tortured and released.

And then she was arrested again for her Protestant beliefs.

And she was tortured again, she even passed out.

And when she awoke, she preached for 2 hours to her captors.

She was then taken to the stake and burned for her beliefs and her last recorded moments were while she was being burned, her prayer for the people executing her.

You know, she was 25 years old and she died for her stance that God's grace was sufficient for us.

You know, when you think about it, Those just seem so small today, right?

Like so many of us have maybe asking ourselves, does it really matter what we believe on that?

You know, John Hus when he began his ministry was 26.

William Tyndale was 28, John Calvin was 23, John Smith was 27, John Wesley was 24, and Martin Luther was 27.

These are all, I look out here and I see that's us.

Do we have that same courage and same faith to say, but if not?

You know, there was a, in the great controversy talks about young children proclaiming the last day message in Scandinavia.

You know, when we think of the Sabbath, where do we get the Sabbath?

An idea, like of course the Bible, but where do we get the idea of the Sabbath?

Like our movement kind of got the idea from Rachel Oakes, but what about before her?

There was a Sabbatarian preacher in London in 1661.

And he read, he was convicted on the Sabbath, and he stood up front and he preached that the seventh day was the Sabbath.

They drug him from the street and they executed him in the street.

And his congregation was so moved and convicted by the truth that he preached that they raised money and they sent a missionary to America.

And in the 1830s, those missionaries started printing tracts on the Sabbath and those tracts fell into the hands of Rachel Oakes, Jan Andrews, right?

You know, But we don't really think about that.

The people sacrificed their lives for the truth that we have today.

When I, growing up, I grew up Adventist and I'd think of the pioneers as like, like, you know, Jay and Andrews are like super long beard, super old.

You know, it just didn't really matter too much to me.

They're just old guys that talked a lot and wrote a lot of books.

Our Tactical Advantage, Part 2

So this morning I talked a lot about Ukraine and Israel, and we've actually had as a team, I think 7 missions now to Ukraine.

And this section I'm gonna be talking about our very last trip to Ukraine, and then where God has led us from there.

Dear Lord, just thank you again for a beautiful Sabbath day.

We ask that you be down here with us, that your Holy Spirit just speak through me, and that they're your words, not mine, and that the stories that we share and the stuff that we're talking about, that they will not glorify ourselves, but glorify you.

So, Lord, impart your Holy Spirit on us, and just work through us.

All right, so before I get too far, this was the slide, the last video I wanted to show you.

I think it was either, I don't remember if it was this morning, I think it was this morning.

But, so the song and the background of this, we actually, my first trip to Ukraine, we were driving down this road, and we didn't really know where we were going, except we were looking for people.

And we found them in a warehouse, and when we went into the warehouse, they were just very shook up.

These guys were just like, they had just been in battle, their buddy had just been killed, he was laying on the floor.

And they asked us, they said, why are you here?

And we told them the same message, that God has sent us here for you.

And they just asked us, they said, would you say a prayer for us?

So we said a prayer, and then we sang a song.

And we were very close to the front lines and we actually audio recorded it.

So the song in the background of this video is the Amazing Grace.

And you can hear the mortars in the background.

And then the videos are just kind of from that first trip, just like simple videos.

And there's a video where I'm running up to and I'm handing out pictures.

That's the warehouse where this all happened.

So you'll kind of see where it was if it'll play.

♪ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound ♪ 10000 years Bright shining The little kids Of the sun We're in front of it now Yeah we gave out more here than we did anywhere.

That was the checkpoint that I was talking about where we just prayed for more Bibles and we opened the back and was full right So this last trip to Ukraine It was not only a mission to hand out Bibles, but it was also a mission to rescue Bibles.

We had 67 Russian God Pods that were still in Ukraine that we decided we wanted to get them out of Ukraine and take them to Russia.

Because the same, we believe the same opportunity should exist for the Russian soldiers as it does for the Ukrainian soldiers.

And we decided, you know what, if it's God's will, we'll go and we'll do it.

So this planet we've been really praying for since we went, how can we reach the Russians?

So this last trip we decided, you know, we're gonna we're gonna pull these out so That trip we were working quite a lot in the town of Kursan Ukraine and Kursan there's over 2, 500 drones a day that are attacking the city of Kursan.

Like, all day long, you just hear the explosions.

And I actually got a video of 1 that you can see.

And it's actually, when the video's playing, it's right, you can see it up above the van, like that van up in the sky.

So that's what's flying all over Kursk on Ukraine.

Like they're just, I mean, literally hunting people.

And this trip, this is our friend, Sasha, he's a translator.

He was like, when Kurson, because it was actually occupied by Russia, and then they were liberated, and they, he tried to leave while it was occupied.

And he was trying to go through checkpoints.

They actually pulled him out, and were going to execute him.

And him and his whole family, his wife and kids.

And it was crazy because he says that as he was, they had knelt him down to shoot him and a commander walked up and said, I don't know why I'm doing this, but you're free to go.

And he had walked away from faith, he had walked away from all of it.

And after that moment, he was like, you know what, I've gotta get right with God.

And he actually has taken, now this is his second trip with us into Ukraine.

So we'd been driving around for 4 or 5 days and this was our last day and he said, I have a place that I think we should go.

It's right on the edge of the river, the Dnipro River, and the Russians are right on the other side.

I'll have to drop you off, and I'll turn around and drive away.

And we'd actually seen a drone hit a vehicle right in front of us that earlier that day at the same area.

And he said, he said, but there's people there and they're afraid to come out of their house and we have a bunch of literature.

So as we drove up, I remember it happened so fast.

All of a sudden we were there and we had to get out of the van.

I stepped out of the van and all of a sudden I heard it above us.

And I looked up, and maybe from here to the ceiling, I see this drone up above us in the blinking light, just watching us.

And I was like, Sasha, get out of here, drive.

And the other 3 guys that were with us, they started to look, we were just looking at the drone and Brock, he's like, we got to move.

And I had stepped over a fence up against a tree and I'm standing with my back against the tree watching the drone and the other guys, they start running down the sidewalk and I'm thinking like, man, why would we run down the sidewalk?

Right we've seen these drones they'll drop a grenade or a mortar or they'll they call them a satchel charge drone where it has a thing, a C4 mounted on it with 2 wires and they'll fly it and they'll click the button and they'll touch and they'll explode.

And these guys will fly into inside vehicles, windows while they're driving, they're so good at this.

It's a terrible thing to be good at, but they're good at it.

And I just, I stepped out from underneath the tree to walk, follow them, and the drone just came right down towards me.

And I just remember stepping up against the tree.

It's like, if this was the tree, I'm facing the tree, holding the tree, looking up, watching the drone, and it started to come down.

So I stepped around this side of the tree and it came around, I went around this side and this happened in a matter of seconds.

And then all of a sudden I couldn't see it anymore.

But I could hear it getting closer and closer.

And then all of a sudden, boom, it exploded.

And it blew me off the tree and into the fence.

And I just remember laying there and like just standing up and like my...

Everything was just fuzzy, my ears were ringing, everything was spinning.

And I remember thinking like, what am I doing?

And actually, Before all this, I leaned up against a tree and when I couldn't see it anymore, I always forget this part.

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Dylan McWilliams Weekend

Our Tactical Advantage, Part 1

Transcript

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