Something serious happened to the church at Ephesus: they had fallen away from the things of God. They had laid down their weapons. And then Paul admonishes them to put their weapons back on.
Now we know he's talking to born-again, Spirit-filled, tongue-talking believers because he calls them brethren.
Unfortunately, many Christians get saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, and they are on fire for God. But then they cool down after a while.
You should never cool down. Of course, this can happen in the natural, but it should not happen in the things of God.
Your Holy Ghost fire should be getting hotter and bigger than ever before. Jesus said He would rather you were hot or cold - because if you are lukewarm, He will spew you out of His mouth. That means it's possible to become lukewarm believers.
So Paul tells them something that's very important. He tells them to be strong. The word "strong" means to empower, to enable, to increase in strength. It means to make strong progressively.
In other words, you should be stronger today than yesterday, but you should be stronger tomorrow than today. This is a progressive thing. So you should be stronger next year than this year. Better yet, you ought to be stronger now in the things of God than you were a year ago.
Thank God for last year's testimony, but you can't stay in last year's victory. Today is a new day and you ought to be progressing in spiritual strength. Remembering what happened last year should only strengthen you to experience your victory today.
Now notice Paul tells the church in Ephesus to be strong in the Lord. The in the Lord tells you that this strength, this ennoblement, this empowerment can only be found in the Lord.
You won't find this strength anywhere else. You are not going to find it using your brain, having new friends, making more money, or by finishing your degree. This strength only comes from the Lord.
If you're going to win a war you have to have power. You have to get stronger everyday. God provides power in this very hour; power that's outside of the flesh realm and is only found in the Lord. His power will bring you victory in every area of your life.
Scripture Reference: 2 Timothy 2:1-3; Colossians 1:10-11; Ephesians 3:16-19
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