Enemy Territory: A Christianýs Guide to Spiritual Warfare

By Douglas Mosley

The battle rages in enemy territory are you prepared for victory?

As an ordained minister and former Marine Sergeant, I hope to bring you insight into the battle we face against an enemy that walks among us every day. This enemy is not of any foreign power; it is not even of this world. The enemy we face attacks us spiritually. We must be prepared to fight him spiritually just as much as any physical army is prepared to fight its enemy physically.

We must be equipped, trained and prepared for serious spiritual warfare to win this battle. The enemy comes at us from all angles, with all forms of attack. Millions of souls hang in the balance where so few people are even aware of his presence in their lives.

Through these pages, I endeavor to enlighten you with an understanding of the various weapons and tactics of the enemy we face in spiritual battle. Armed with the Word of God, I will show you how to engage the enemy in his territory and defeat in him once and for all. And not just in your personal life, but in the ongoing quest to bring souls to the Kingdom and bring Glory to God!

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 25, 2007
• ISBN: 9780595878338

Douglas Mosley

As an ordained minister and former Marine Sergeant, I have a unique insight into the weapons and tactics of the enemy that prowls among us seeking to take us from our Christian walk. I am currently the pastor at a small rural church in the hills of Clearfield County in central Pennsylvania. The events of my life have been a testimonial to the power of God in our lives and what we need to do for victory in the spiritual battle that rages around us. After years of wandering in the darkness, I am enjoying the blessing of God?s graces with my wife, Marilyn, as we launch our own international ministry from our humble home in the Pennsylvania highlands.

Book preview

A Christian’s guide to spiritual warfare

Rev. Doug Mosley

iUniverse, Inc.

New York Lincoln Shanghai

ENEMY TERRITORY

A Christian’s guide to spiritual warfare

Copyright © 2007 by Douglas Mosley

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,

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for them.

ISBN-13: 978-0-595-43507-4 (pbk)

ISBN-13: 978-0-595-87833-8 (ebk)

ISBN-10: 0-595-43507-6 (pbk)

ISBN-10: 0-595-87833-4 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

1

A Call to Arms and a Call to Serve

2

Enemy Territory

3

Preparing for Battle

4

Weapons and Tactics of the Enemy

5

Captains and Commanders

6

Your Allies

7

In Conclusion

References

About the Author

Acknowledgments

To my parents, to whom I give credit for everything I did right and indemnify from blame all I did wrong before I came to know Jesus Christ.

To Pastor James Braswell, ELCA, for being the inspiration for where I am today and for confirming my call to ministry before I was even sure of it myself.

To Staff Sergeant Lauria and Gunnery Sergeant VanAlstin, two crusty Marines who will probably never know the impact of their presence in my life and just how much can be gained from giving someone a second chance.

To Tracey, an angel whom God sent into my life to remind me of who I am and why I am here after more than a decade in the darkness. Her effect on my life can

never be overstated.

To Marilyn, the next angel that God sent into my life to get me back on track when I let the enemy derail me on my spiritual journey. Her presence in my life is a blessing beyond words and will be cherished for all of my days.

To Barry, the strongest human being I have ever met. He was the embodiment of the power of faith and an inspiration to all who were blessed by his presence in

their life.

To Pastor Kevin Stock, CMA, for his tireless efforts on behalf of the Kingdom. There are not enough pages in this book to list the people he has touched and the lives he has changed, including my own. One day, he shall surely hear the words, Well done my good and faithful servant.

To Rick Sodmont, who, at 9:05pm on April 19th, 2004, brought me before our Lord and Savior where the power of the Holy Spirit changed my life forever.

And above all, to our Creator, our God, for the gift of His Son, who died for me to redeem me from sin. I praise Him for bringing all of these people into my life to take me to where I am today.

Preface

I want to thank you for picking up this book to spend your time with me, and more importantly, with the Lord. It seems that everything in today’s society is hurried like a drive-through service and everyone wants everything here and now. What little down time you do have is precious, and I appreciate that you would choose to share that limited time here with me.

Through these pages I will endeavor to bring you an insight you can keep, in much less time than it took me to learn it and with much less grief than it took me to experience it. The messages I bring to you are born of experience, tested by faith and confirmed in the Word. Anything I impress upon you herein is backed by scripture and noted accordingly. I encourage you to keep a Bible companion with you as you read to fully understand the context and meaning of each passage as it relates to the concept I am presenting. Different people take different meanings from scripture, and I can only hope that I am clearly representing the biblical intent of these passages as they apply to my life experiences.

There were many people I encountered along the way who were very influential in getting me to where I am today, and I feel compelled to mention them here. The names you see in this book are real, unless stated otherwise where I felt anonymity reflected better discretion.

As you read this book, it is probably important that you know that these experiences and events are not the product of a life spent in holy servitude, nor are they the outcome of years of post-graduate study for lofty degrees in divinity. I only recently became a pastor, and had only been saved for about two years at the time I put these words to paper. Much of what I include here happened before both of those events and draws on the cold, hard facts of life—independent of theological ideology and outside the sheltered walls of church and congregation. I hope that what I learned the hard way may, in some small measure, prevent you from having to do it the same way or at least minimize its effects.

I pray that you find something in here of value that you can take with you, and maybe even pass on to others as well.

—Rev. Doug Mosley

1

A Call to Arms and a Call to Serve

When one is called to serve, it is not without purpose or preparation as a true calling is neither ambiguous nor lacking direction. You are not just picked up, pointed in some general direction and left to your own resources for hope of a positive outcome. It is a clearly defined mission along a carefully chosen path, regardless of the capacity in which the Lord calls you. Whether it is teaching, preaching, feeding or clothing, He calls you to a specific mission and provides all of the tools you will need to accomplish that mission.

I have listened to preachers preach many sermons that may include many different topics, but like my own experience, those sermons tend to revolve around a consistent message. Whether it is the concept of salvation by grace, the function of the Holy Spirit or any other theological subject, we all seem to have a distinct primary message to deliver. And not only do we all have our own message to bring, we do it in our own peculiar manner of delivery, shaped by the life experiences that have brought us to where we are today. Preachers, missionaries, evangelists, counselors, teachers—we are all called to a purpose, and we are prepared for that purpose before we embark on fulfilling it in our lives.

My purpose, apart from my message, was clear from the beginning—Go forth. It was a command that echoed through the cobwebs and confusion in my head long before I began any form of organized learning or discipleship. I have long felt compelled to reach beyond my limited scope of existence and touch the world in ways and means never before present in my life. It was a strong feeling, a yearning, and most likely the driving force that steered the course of my posthigh school life away from continued education and into service in the United States Marine Corps.

I was a fairly bright student and an accomplished artist with a number of achievements under my belt, surrounded by expectations of a long and distinguished career in the fine arts. Imagine the surprise and dismay my parents expressed when I informed them where I was headed after graduation! After twelve years of school, I just was not in the mood to sign up for four more and then have to pay someone for it to boot. I wanted to see the world, find out what was beyond the Laurel Highlands and what kind of life existed outside of my little corner of Pennsylvania. College was out, and unless I wanted to work in a steel mill, the military was pretty much my only option anyway. It was by no means a quick sell to my parents, but after a few failed attempts to discourage me, they finally yielded and signed the papers that enlisted me in the Marines. For good or for bad, I was on my way to becoming one of The Few and The Proud, and unbeknownst to any of us, beginning a journey that was bigger than anyone could possibly imagine at the time.

That journey went beyond just traveling to that miserable, bug infested swamp they call Parris Island, SC. It went beyond my technical schools at Naval Air Station Memphis in Millington, TN. It went beyond my first tour of duty at New River Air Station in Jacksonville, NC, and even beyond my world travels aboard amphibious assault ships in the Mediterranean Sea and along the African coast. Those events were all just part of the journey, and none of them alone stood out in individual significance. However, together they comprised the military experience that marked what I see now, in hindsight, as the first steps of my spiritual journey towards accepting and fulfilling my call to serve our Lord.

The very first steps were taken in the year of delayed enlistment I served before I even left my rural Pennsylvania home. I was several months into my enlistment, with months to go before I actually departed for active service when, of course, doubt began to set in. The cumulative effect of the continuous criticism I received from friends and family had eventually set me to wondering if indeed I had made the right decision for my path in life. The doubt became even more persistent when considering the means by which I chose my glorious ‘Corps over any other branch of the service. (Now, I have only ever told two people this story in my whole lifetime, neither of which being any one of my own family, so please keep this to yourself.)

It could be said that I was a little nai’ve in my younger days, and such clueless-ness was actually the contributing factor in my becoming a Marine rather than a soldier, sailor or airman. I picked up a magazine one day, packed full of those postage-paid cards that everyone hates so much. On one of them was an offer for a really cool pair of athletic socks with the USMC logo and name emblazoned down the side. Thinking back now, they probably looked a little gaudy, but at the time I just had to have a pair of these socks that I knew none of my friends could possibly be sporting in gym class next week. What could be the harm? It was just a little promotional gift—an advertisement. I honestly had no idea that they used these things to contact you about your possible interest in joining the service. So about a week later, my socks arrived and I was immediately launched to the coolest heights ever with this scarlet and gold printed footwear of the gods. Card sent, socks received, end of story. Right? Wrong ... so wrong.

Shortly after that I received a phone call from a Staff Sergeant at the Recruiting Sub-station in Johnstown asking me to come down for a visit one evening to see what being a Marine is all about. Puzzled, I asked him why on earth I would want to do that. He firmly responded, in true Marine fashion, Well son, you sent in the contact card. Then the light bulb went on. Whoa, I thought.

But again, what could be the harm? They sent me free socks, the least I can do is go down and hear out this guy’s sales pitch. That was the deal, apparently, and it only seemed fair. I made an appointment and showed up promptly on time for the meeting that would turn out to be the beginning of a whole new world for me. I have to admit that I went to that meeting with absolutely no intention of joining the Marines. I was going to hear what he had to say, pretend to be interested but then politely decline and go home. This, in my little head, rationalized away the free socks and, having met with this fine Marine, I could call us even. Unfortunately, I was unaware of just how good these people are at what they do. I got in there and was overwhelmed with images and stories of patriotism, combat, honor and legend. I went from no thanks to where do I sign? in just one meeting, probably one of his easiest candidates in months. All over a pair of socks .

But back to the doubt. After a few months, I was beginning to wonder about my decision to become a Marine. It’s not like I had this legacy of legendary military figures in my lineage in whose footsteps I was destined to follow. I joined the Marines over a pair of socks! What was I thinking? So I managed to express my second thoughts one day on the phone to Staff Sergeant Lemro, my recruiter. Again, demonstrating just how proficient these fellows are at what they do, he immediately shot back with That’s odd, Doug, I didn’t have you pegged as a quitter. I must be slipping! It was so smooth, I never saw it coming. This was the military equivalent of a schoolyard double-dog-dare and my honor was at stake.

What? A quitter? I thought. Who did this guy think he was talking to? I let him know right then and there I was no quitter and by the time I got off that phone, not only was I still signed up to ship out, but I had also given him three or four names of my friends as referrals for contact. I guess I showed him!

Just six short months later, in a sleepy haze, I found myself being thrown out of a bus at 2 a.m. by a very vocal Drill Instructor who seemed to enjoy what he was doing way too much. Along with about 60 other confused young men, I stumbled onto those famous yellow footprints at Parris Island into my first platoon formation. It was right then and there that I came to the terrible realization that I had just stepped into hell over a pair of socks and a dare ... and this was just the beginning.

Looking back on this little course of events, though, I can now see both the beginning of the calling and the resultant efforts of the enemy to stop it as soon as possible. The closer you come to God, even when you are not aware of it, the more you draw the attention of the enemy. This is illustrated in the trials of Job, the betrayal of Judas and the sifting of Peter. Satan makes it his duty to take you from your relationship with God, and as you progress towards building a spiritual relationship, the obstacles will begin to show up in proportion to the closeness of that relationship. God had a plan for me, and my military enlistment was part of that plan. So doubt, a tool of the enemy, was manifested to discourage me and stop me from going down this path. It was at that point that Staff Sergeant Lemro became an unwitting pawn in life’s spiritual battle and took a swing for the Lord in prodding me to stay. And stay I did, but not without enduring a few further attempts to discourage me as my journey progressed.

Boot camp was no picnic. I grew up in a pretty sheltered life, spending my teenage years with girls, cars and motorcycles in a nice suburban school district with little or no exposure to the darker side of our world. I had what I describe to many as that perfect Hollywood teenage life. Ferris Bueller had nothing on me. So