BUILDING GODLY CHARACTER – Part 4 - BEWARE OF SATANIC AND WORLDLY INFLUENCE

​Read Ephesians 6:10-13 (KJV).
SATANIC INFLUENCE
Loved ones, one way to FAIL in building Godly character is to allow Satan and this world to lure us from our duties. In our text, Paul addresses Satan's wily craftsmanship. To counter this evil influence… we must take up the whole ARMOR of God, especially the shield of faith, “wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (v. 16).
It is sometimes difficult for us to comprehend that Satan wants to destroy all of God's people. Therefore, our task is to preclude the master deceiver from deterring us from our goal of developing Godly character.
Satan is replete with cunning devices to cause us to stumble and become discouraged. He works to divide and cause us to stay away from Christian brethren during the week, or to stay away from church worship services on Sunday.
There is an impressive story in the Acts 5:1-11 about Satan's influence that we should take to heart. We read in verse 3, "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?"
In this scenario, Ananias and his wife probably wanted the praise of the church and the apostles. They were willing to lie and deceive to get approval and look good in the Christian community. Through many years of tempting mankind, Satan knows the larceny in the heart of men and worked on the minds of this Christian couple to convince them that their plan to lie about what they received for the price of their land was a good plan. The tragic result was that two people lost their lives.
Ananias and his wife were probably good people in many ways. They may very well have been Christians we would have been blessed to have in our local fellowship. However, through ignorance of the truth, Ananias was unaware of Satan's awesome power! If that couple had thought carefully, prayed to God, and meditated on the potential consequences, they probably would not have carried out their sinful charade.
Satan uses us, plays us, and lures us, and then he is off on another journey while we suffer the consequences of our actions. We will never build Godly character as long as we succumb to Satan's influence.
ARE YOU LISTENING? This lesson is a powerful one. Satan will take the ambition, desires, lusts, and seemingly good intentions of anyone and lead him or her astray. Satan can also lead ministers, elders, and their wives astray through the ambitious desires they possess.
Each of us must be able to walk away from any bad situation. We must possess the ability to say "no" when it is appropriate. Ananias should have said "no" when he was tempted! His failure shows us that we need to be very sensitive to Satan's awesome power and influence.
So many people naively say, "I just told the old devil to go away!" They, like most people, do not realize the power and cunning of Satan. James says to "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Resisting is more than just saying something. Resisting takes an active, conscious effort toward avoiding what Satan is tempting us with. Ananias is an apt example of not resisting!
We must keep our minds keenly aware that any thought fueled by lust, greed, jealousy, envy, pride, or strife gives Satan a chance at getting to us. When tempted by Satan, Jesus had the presence of mind to quote Scripture to him and not waver in His convictions (Matthew 4:1-11). Reading, studying, and sharing the Bible offsets wrong motivations and helps us acquire the mind of Christ. So, we continue to encourage you to read, study, and share the word of God every day.
Satanic influence is a steppingstone to WORLDLY INFLUENCE. John, the apostle of love, has this to say: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:15-17).
We should be able to see the very close relationship between worldly desires and Satanic influence. Satan’s goal is to distract us from the spiritual truths of our existence. He uses our lust for “things we can see and feel” to confuse our sense of rightness. We are talking about TV, movies, video games, lotteries, casinos, and 1,001 other cunning devices. It is the Godly character of Christians that helps them avoid and preclude the evil influence of Satan and this world.
Ananias and Sapphira were no doubt enamored by the "pride of life"; they wanted recognition—and it cost them their lives! Our political and corporate leaders can be ensnared in greed and the "pride of life." The lure of money has caused many to stumble. For these reasons, many are being convicted in our legal system for fraud.
The same is true of lust. In 2 Samuel 11, David’s desire for beautiful Bathsheba is a stark reminder of the ensnaring temptation caused by the "lust of the eyes!" The Christian must remember that we only "see" this world; we do not "see" God because He is Spirit. It is easy to forget God because we cannot see Him. However, we do see the actions and errors of famous people who glamorize theft, lies, unfaithfulness, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and such.
Like them, whenever any of us has an insatiable desire to have wealth, recognition, or status, we need to be extraordinarily careful because of the potential consequences of becoming ensnared by our own lusts from the influence of the world. If we are diligently seeking God, honoring God, and producing fruit, we will be more discerning about what is happening to our lives. We will become sensitive to what God wants versus what we want!
Having a clear vision and understanding of God's plan will assist our efforts to build a Godly character and resist the devil and worldly influences. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." We who have the Spirit of God need to have a clear vision of what God has planned for us - His faithful children.
With the proper vision our decisions will become more Christ-centered rather than self-centered. We must develop wisdom, understanding, and the ability to follow a sure steady path. This cautionary step may prevent disaster in our lives. To really develop Godly character, we need this driving motivation to achieve God’s goals for us.
Through the media, family, and friends are heaped upon us many temptations. The goals of honoring and seeking God diligently, bearing abundant fruit, resisting the Satanic and worldly influences will become easier to achieve if we know where we came from and the end result of where we are going.
To the God of heaven be the Glory as His Will is done (1 Corinthians 10:31). Please pray for wisdom, for me and my wife, Cynthia, and for the Liberty NW church of Christ meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. We are praying for you, and we love you all so much. Samuel.