In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of staying committed to the Christian faith and not giving in to the subtle strategies of Satan. He encourages believers to strive for a closer relationship with God and to live a life of prayer, comparing it to the regularity of eating. The speaker also highlights the decline of prayer meetings in the evangelical church, attributing it to the influence of television and the lack of importance placed on reading the Bible. He urges Christians to prioritize prayer and not be swayed by worldly distractions.

...tomorrow, and then of course we have the services together with this church on Sunday. And we really believe that God wants to work in people's lives during this weekend. Our big burden is not to have some special celebration over 25 years of work. One of the reasons we emphasize this was the hope it might bring a few old friends, and I've seen a few come. And some more will be coming tomorrow. But above all else, we want to exalt the Lord. We want to open His Word. We want to see what He has to say to us this weekend. I need to see what God wants to say to me this week. I personally needed to come back to Mexico at this time. I haven't been in Mexico for three years. And that's very unusual because generally I've been here every year. And when you're involved in so many countries, as I am, it's easy for the vision for Mexico to go down a little bit. And just to come back here to this huge city has already been a great challenge to me. Yesterday I was able to spend the morning with my dear friend, Valdemar Aguilar, El Monterrey. He would love to be here. But he's now a farmer. And in typical Mexican style, he also has a very big family. And they all work hard on the farm. And they have had no rain for three months in that part of Mexico. And the farmers are suffering much at this time. And it's going to be especially exciting on Monday to go down and visit the ship. And I think some of you have already been down to Veracruz. I've heard just wonderful reports of so many tens of thousands of people visiting the ship. And we're going to pray for that later tonight. And we have some who are here who have especially come up from the ship. Like Brother Chaco from India. Please stand up. And Brother Bob Clement. Well, he's half Mexican anyway. And there are some others. I was just in Kuwait. For Christmas dinner, I was in Kuwait. And I met the man who recruited Brother Chaco. And this man was in charge of the state where Brother Chaco was from. But there was another man who was in charge of the whole country, India. And I heard this story about Chaco. I'm not sure if it's true. But the man in charge of India, he wasn't sure this fellow should come. He was very young, very immature. They weren't even sure he was safe. But this brother in Kuwait was so proud that he had pushed for Chaco to be able to come out of the way. So we'll look forward to hearing from some of these brothers, maybe some of the sisters also, throughout the weekend. Now, I had several great joys today. One was to visit the bookshop. And the other was to go there by metro. And I was amazed at the number of people that push into one compartment. And thankful to the Lord, again, that I was a very skinny person and could find my way in. And when I got to the bookshop, I saw a couple of truly great books. And we have some of these displayed downstairs. And I'd like to just mention them. This is the first time I've seen this book in Spanish. We are trying to put this book into 100 languages around the world. Spiritual leadership by a great man of God. I believe one of the most significant Christian books that has ever, ever been written. And I hope you will get a copy. This is very important for the church in Mexico. If I lived here in Mexico, I would order 10,000 copies of this book. And I would send it to every Christian leader in the nation. Because without the message of this book, we're not going to see the blessing that God wants to give to His church. And then there's another great book about worship and prayer called Destined for the Thrones. I know people who have had their life revolutionized through this little book. And I really would like to recommend it. One of the main blessings God may want to give some people this weekend is to get some of these books. And I want to recommend them. There's also a book called Operation World, or in Spanish, To All Nations. A lot of work has gone into getting this book into English and then Spanish. And I've heard there's so much work that goes into this book, it will never be reprinted again in Spanish. Because there's so much work. Believe it. Just to revise it. And also, it does not sell very well. Because it's too serious a book for the average non-serious evangelical Christian. And I would just ask you to take a look at it. It's not a normal kind of a book. It presents prayer requests on almost every nation in the world. And important facts about each nation. I personally use this all the time in my praying. So there's some books that you can get. You've been given some free literature already. And there are many other books that are available. Including the new edition of my own book about the 29 lead soldiers. Praise God for the way he uses Christian books. Let's just pray. And I can pray in Spanish, so I'd like to lead you in prayer in Spanish. Lord, we thank you for everything you've done in the last 25 years. It seems impossible that so many years have passed. We thank you for the thousands and thousands of souls that have received your word. And have received a knowledge of your great salvation. Lord, we thank you for the 23,000 that have received some training in OM, in different parts of the world. Lord, we thank you for the two parks. Lord, we thank you for the 250 people that are currently working in the Muslim world. Bless each one of them, in Egypt, in Jordan, in other countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, in the north of India. Lord, we thank you for so many prayer requests. For everything you've done in so many lives. And Lord, we want to give you all the glory. All the praise. And Lord, this weekend we want to learn something more. About what it is to live in your power. And in your love. Lord, fill us again with your Holy Spirit. Help us to learn more about the depth of your love. And what it is to die for ourselves. And live in the power of your resurrection. Lord, we know that you are going to return very soon. We don't have much time left to evangelize the world. And establish your church. Lord, open our eyes. And teach us great things of your word. Because we pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us turn to Ephesians chapter 6. I want us to think together just for a little time. About the reality of the spiritual warfare. I think this is so important. When I first came to Mexico, I was 19 years old. I was very young. Very naive. And I had many other needs in my life. Most people can understand that. That's no problem for most people to think. I still have many needs in my life. Some people don't understand that. They think that Christian leaders arrive at some great spiritual level. Where they don't make so many mistakes. Where they are now the wise Christian leaders. You know, it's interesting. Over these 27 years that I have been a Christian. Some of the most unbelievable sins and mistakes that I have seen. Things that I would not tell you tonight. Because you would go out of here confused and depressed. These things haven't been done by the babes in Christ. They have been done often by Christian leaders. Men 25 years in the Lord. And I wrestle with this again and again in my own mind. And I'm convinced more than ever about what it says here in Ephesians chapter 6. Most of you are young people. And this message is of double importance to you. Because if you don't get some understanding of this. You will not persevere in your Christian life. Even when I lived here in this city. I saw many people begin the race. And as I watched them over a period of say 10 years. I saw them fall one after another. And I wrestled and I thought about. I realized this passage is just so important. And we need to realize even this weekend. Satan may attempt some subtle strategies. In our own personal lives. Satan doesn't give us free time to get more training. He doesn't say well now take six months free. Get training so you can come and destroy my kingdom. No. From the moment of our conversion. Satan is at our heels. Trying to deceive. Now I don't believe the devil. And his demon powers can indwell a believer. I do not believe that. But Satan can deceive Christians. Through spreading false doctrines. Through the media. Like television, the newspapers. Through many different methods. Using sometimes our own natural weakness. Our own tendency to go one direction. Or the other direction. I'll never forget listening to a tape recording. By the director of our ship ministry. Mr. George Miley. There had been some extremism on the ship. Which is out in India. The smaller ship. And George felt burdened to share. We're told in Corinthians. Not to be ignorant of Satan's devices. So let's look at this passage in Ephesians. And I'm going to ask my brother just to read in Spanish. From verse ten. And right through verse twenty. And let's give much attention. To the word of God. And let's give much attention. To the word of God. And let's give much attention. To the word of God. And let's give much attention. To the word of God. I challenge you to meditate. During the weekend on this chapter. I converted to Christ about 27 years ago, and I think I've been just learning these lessons of this chapter for 27 years. One of the most important things I ever did in my Christian life, I started as a young Christian to memorize the Word of God. And something that really amazes me today is how few Christians memorize the Word of God. I just had a number of meetings again in England, where I live, and often I ask people to raise their hand if they memorize Scripture. Never more than 1 out of 25 people raise their hand. Very few Christians memorize the Scripture. And it is one of the reasons that so many of them suffer spiritual crippleness in their lives. Now I cannot say much about Mexico. I don't live here. I'm just one more poor gringo coming down here. If I had my personal choice, all the American missionaries would leave Mexico. I would take them to Pakistan, to Bangladesh, to Saudi Arabia, to these countries that have 1 in 100 of the witness that you have here in this over-evangelized, over-literatized nation. And if it wasn't for the vision that we have, to see some Mexicans launching out to other countries, then I would be here to talk to Dick Griffin about closing OM in Mexico. Because we know the evangelization of Mexico is the responsibility of the Church here. Of course, God is using international teams all over the world. And there will always be scope for some missionaries in Mexico. Especially the humble, broken variety who know the fullness of the Spirit of God in their lives. And who will walk with great sensitivity and brokenness before God. But so often that's not the way. But really, I can't say too much about Mexico. But I can tell you a little bit about the states in England and a few other countries where I've spent a lot of time lately. And I feel very strongly about it. If this is true of you, that's a decision between you and the Lord. I will not sin against God in judging you. That's not my task. But I really believe that in England and America, many places I have been, the majority of evangelical Christians, or Pentecostal Christians, or charismatic Christians, we don't want to leave anybody out. Because the temptation is always to feel, that's not my group. We're not like that. And each group likes to feel that it's a little bit better than the other group. But I think all of us together who know Christ personally, who say we believe His Word, I believe the majority are deceived into playing games with God. That doesn't mean they're not saved. That doesn't mean the work of grace through salvation has not begun. But it means they have failed to grow. To become men and women of God. Men and women of prayer. Men and women who know how to use the Word of God. Men and women who know how to tear down the strongholds of the evil one. Men and women who understand spiritually what it's saying here in Ephesians chapter 6. And who understand the reality of the Book of Acts. I hope before the weekend is over we can spend a little time in the Book of Acts. Because when we think of anniversaries, I think we like to go back to Pentecost. We're not really interested when O.M. began. One little small spiritual movement in God's great work across the world. But how as we look back over these 2,000 years, what God has done through His church, through individuals, is something very exciting. And I believe the reality we read about in the Book of Acts. This is the normal Christian life. It's so interesting that sometimes people think of O.M. as some super spiritual band of fanatics for Christ. We're going to have a prayer meeting tonight. If you have prayer meetings of more than one hour in length, people will look at you. Their glasses will drop. What are you trying to be spiritual? But if you look in the Book of Acts, page after page you read about prayer meetings. In Acts 12, Peter was in prison. But the church was praying. And many hours later, when he was miraculously delivered through prayer, he went to the house where many were gathered, not eating like today, But today, if this happened, he would be thought of as a group of super spiritual evangelical freaks. A.W. Tozer was sent to the nation north of here. I believe God sent that man. He had a message. But the church would not listen. Now that he's dead, many are reading his books. Of course, not many in comparison to the number of Christians. Because the vast percentage of Christians don't read any Christian books. Why? Do you want to read books? Television has everything you can need. You can watch the Bionic Man, the Bionic Woman. What do you need the New Testament for? And do you know what has happened to many of the churches? In the present sick state of the evangelical church, we don't have prayer meetings anymore. Because you can't compete with television. And church after church has closed the prayer meetings. Probably 50% of all the evangelical churches in the United States have no more prayer meetings. And if you say something about it, people will look. What, do you feel you're better than us? We pray in our homes. We pray in the car on the way to the meeting. Or they'll tell you about some little meeting that is going on somewhere where maybe one out of every 100 in the congregation comes. Why do I say this? One, because I read this book every day. And I feel that where we are and where the book says we should be, the gap is too far. It's too far! I don't believe the book should change. I don't believe God's standards should change. I believe we must change. And I am not talking about something super spiritual. I'm not talking about something that only can be obtained by a few very special people. I'm talking about an ordinary way of life in one thing. That all Christians can live. What is this reality in the book of Acts? We've mentioned prayer. These people knew how to pray. Simple as that. All of you know how to eat. You eat three times a day. Is that a big problem? It's a normal function. Of a physical being. And if you're born spiritually, you know how to pray. It's as simple as that. And if you don't know how to pray, it's because you've got away from God. You're on your own road. You're deceived by the enemy. And your Christian life isn't worth a peso in a Russian slot machine. And therefore you must come to God in repentance, in brokenness, and say as the disciples, teach me to pray. I was 17 when I did that. I was nobody special. I didn't have a high IQ. I had a lot of problems in my life. I said, Lord, more than anything else in life, I want to learn to pray. And he taught me to pray. So I went to St. Frank. I was only in secondary school. We were 17, 18 years old. I said, let's start prayer meetings. That was no big thing. We didn't have to phone Billy Graham or the president to get permission. We started prayer meetings. And we asked God to break into that school. And within one year, 200 people in that school surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. And a movement known today as Operation Mobilization was born. I went off to college. And I met a man. And before I met him, I was warned about it. You know what people say? They said he goes around praying. He prays. And he was praying for the other sinners in the college. Of course, there were other stories. They said that he was baptizing people in the showers. And so when I got to meet this man, his name was Dale Rotund. I was very enthusiastic to meet this man. And we started to pray together. That was 25 years ago. We came here to Mexico 25 years ago this summer with one other brother who I was just with. And the main thing we did was pray. We were young. We were just beginning to learn a little Spanish. And we made mistakes. But we had learned how to pray. A simple, basic reality we see throughout the whole Bible. And I want to ask you this question. Are you a man of prayer? Do you spend all day on your face as some great prophet? I like to be balanced. And I would say that if you were having a half an hour or an hour of communion with God each day, why, you would be a man and woman of prayer. God's not trying to put some load on you. You cannot bear. He's not asking you to pray five hours when you can barely pray for one half hour. In any case, it isn't firstly the amount of time, but the reality of the heart that makes a man or a woman of prayer. And I want to ask you this question. Are you involved in the prayer life of your church? Are you there at the prayer meeting? Not just sitting, like one more bump on the benches. But you're sitting there asking God to fill you with His grace. Asking Him to open your mouth and being involved. She feels often inferior. She's a very ordinary woman. Go to a prayer meeting with her. And that's not as hard as the devil wants to make you think. That's why it's a great deal to preach in Spanish. It's difficult to pray in Spanish. It's no problem at all. I pray to God. I have to preach to you. Whenever I preach in Spanish, people come after me and they tell me the mistakes I make. But God never has given me one of my grammatical errors yet. And if you have never prayed in public, I would invite you to stay to the meeting tonight. And open your mouth. Forgetting what other people think. We live far too much for the praise of men. Let us meet God in a powerful prayer meeting here in this church tonight. But there's another reality there in Acts. One of the things we do today, we specialize in it. Make everything complicated. If you want to be a preacher, you've got to go to four years so you can learn how to preach. And many people have said to me, they said, we've got a wonderful preacher. He went to this seminary. He's a nice fellow. Actually, we don't understand what he's saying, but he's a nice fellow. Hudson Taylor, who made such a great impact on China. You know, one of his strongest teachings? And some of the most beautiful Christians I've ever seen. From the villages, they hadn't read all the books. Are you sharing the message with literature or with your own testimony? Now, we may talk about that a little more tomorrow. But I want us to go back to this passage where it talks about this warfare that we are in. We're here this weekend to think about world evangelism. And if we're really honest, we know that we're facing an impossible situation. A little later, we're going to pray for the Muslim world. I've just visited about 15 Muslim countries. I wish I could come with some great stories how the church is growing how Muslims are flocking to Christ. But I cannot. And when I think about these Muslim countries, almost one billion people are now Muslims. One out of every five people in the world. 900,000 to be closer to the facts. And so far apart from me, there's very little response among these people. And one of the reasons we've organized this week, is to present this vision of the Muslim world. Because we believe the church in Mexico is just as responsible for world missionary work as the church in North America or the church in England. And that this church must be sending workers out to these countries even if it be just a few. We're talking about trying to break down the prejudice. Muslims have tremendous prejudices against the Christian church. It's just killing the chill and the burn to destroy these people. We brought the priests over with him to North Africa. And as the soldiers went out to murder, forget what the church has done in the Middle East. They will never, ever forget. The people that marched out of Europe in the Crusades with their crosses and murdered killing eight Turks for breakfast because there was such lack of food. We are a praying church. Unless we are a praying people. Unless we understand something of the nature of the spiritual warfare. Some crazy leader in Europe and if we launch out to evangelize the world without understanding the spiritual warfare without learning how to pray without learning how to resist Satan without learning what it speaks about in Corinthians where it says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty unto God to the pulling down of the stronghold. Unless we know something of this then it will be a futile it will be a heart-breaking and tragic effort don't think O.M. was not what we do but what we are not where we go but how far we're going spiritually with God on what basis we invite Mexicans to join Dulaz or Mexicans to work in Spain to learn how to pray to learn to spend a couple of years in church and there was a missionary who welcomed us and he was a man of God he's with the Lord now we saw reality in his life and in other people that we met and that affected us and I remember that missionary he took us out to see the pyramids and I'm on my way to the pyramids very gently because I'm sure he could see we were a bit heavy on zeal and weak on wisdom he reminded us of the importance of common sense in the work of God I cannot tell you how much we learned that summer and the next summer when five of us came back and I studied in Southfield I learned a lot I didn't know the terminology but in English we understand it well and it was here in this city I'll never forget it I offended a pastor because I thought he wasn't getting armed with a job terrible Spanish I tried to say something I offended him and I knew it God just broke me in that church and I begged that pastor to forgive me and to pray that God would change me two of us ended up weeping as he prayed that God would break this ugly American and change him and teach him something of spiritual revolution but Mexico was only the beginning Mexicans are very patient with Americans they've learned to endure them over many years but the Europeans are not so gentle especially the English who have a very great gift to cut an American down into pieces in five seconds God sent me to Spain then to England a few other countries I cannot tell you God's school I want to ask you are you in God's school accepting correction really willing to face some of the about yourself and about your culture and about the way you do things really willing for God to break that American pride or that Mexican pride or whatever pride it's all the devil's pride every country I've gone to when people have talked to me they've said to me you must be careful in this country the people here are very proud it's no different anywhere else in the world it's not a nationality problem it's a nationalistic problem it's a nationalistic it's a human nature problem that we are so easily proud so easily self takes its strong position I really believe without death to self there can be no real revival the river of blessing God wants to give will be stopped by pride quicker than any other way and I'm here not because I'm a great dedicated Christian not because I'm somebody special but because God is very very great somehow I learned how to repent for sin come back to the cross and ask God to fill me again somebody said to D.L. Moody the man who won more than a million souls to Christ why do you keep saying you need to be filled again and again with the Holy Spirit and Moody looked at him and he said it's because I leak I leak I don't know about the rest of you but I've got that problem and tonight as I come to prayer I need to be filled up fresh with the Holy Spirit that is my final question are you filled with the Holy Spirit a super special thing that only happens to a few preachers or a super special thing that only happens to very emotional people or certain kinds of churches that is one more trick of the devil being filled with the Holy Spirit is for every Christian and it's to experience every day it may begin somewhere if a person's away from God living in their own egocentric way they come back to the Lord He fills them with His Spirit and that can be a crisis but that crisis must be followed by the process every day taking up the cross following Christ with the Holy Spirit