Podcast Summary: The Goal Is The Glory | Chris Cody | World Harvest Church | Murrieta, CA

Podcast: Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Host: Dufresne Ministries
Guest Speaker: Pastor Chris Cody
Date: October 13, 2021
Location: World Harvest Church, Murrieta, CA

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode features Pastor Chris Cody sharing a message titled “The Goal Is The Glory.” Pastor Cody explores the biblical concept of the “glory of God” as both the ultimate plan and goal for the church and individual believers. The teaching urges listeners to better understand, seek, and accommodate the manifest presence of God (His glory) in their lives and churches, emphasizing preparation, holiness, and pursuing divine order over worldly methods.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Is the Glory?

• Definition Challenge (02:00): Pastor Cody confesses the difficulty of defining God’s glory—it's a vast biblical topic encompassing all that God is, has, and does.
• Biblical Definitions:
  • Hebrew “kabod”: Means “heavy” or “loaded.”
    • “What is the glory? It’s heavy. Not heavy like burdensome… heavy means loaded with everything good.” (15:00)
  • Manifested Presence: The glory is “God manifesting Himself,” or the “manifested presence of God” by degree. (19:00)
  • New Testament Mystery: Christ in us, the hope of the glory (Colossians 1:26-27).
    • “The plan is the glory. The glory is the plan… Christ in us, the hope of the glory.” (08:20-09:40)

The Plan—Reaching for the Glory

• The purpose of the church is not just activity, but creating an environment for greater measures of God’s manifest presence.
• Scriptural Support:
  • Numbers 14:21, Psalm 72:19, Habakkuk 2:14—God’s plan is that the whole earth will be filled with His glory. (38:00-40:00)
  • “The plan is the glory, the glory is the plan.” (11:50)

Why Don’t We See Greater Glory?

• God withholds greater measures as an act of mercy to unprepared people; the church must be ready. (25:10)
• Bug Zapper Analogy: Like a mosquito to a bright light, if God’s full glory appeared among unprepared people, they'd be ‘zapped.’
  • “If God showed out, we’d be the bug, and He’d be the zapper…” (19:50)
• Ananias & Sapphira Example (Acts): Judgment happens differently when the environment is holy and full of glory. (28:00)

Preparation & Divine Order

• God is looking for a prepared, holy, and prayerful people.
  • “God’s glory will not manifest among a people who are not prepared.” (23:40)
• David & The Ark: Lessons from moving the Ark; following worldly patterns (the “new cart” idea from the Philistines) brings loss, not glory. God cares about divine order.
  • “Regardless of motive, there is something God cares about: order. Divine order. Protocol.” (50:45)
  • The story of Uzzah touching the Ark demonstrates that right motives aren’t enough; obedience and reverence matter.

Corporate & Personal Application

• The church should aim to accommodate the glory, not simply attract people with worldly methods. (52:00)
• Quote: “I will never design a church service that’s more accommodating to the world than I am to the glory.” (52:30)
• Personal Challenge: Remove whatever is blocking the flow of God’s glory in life—whether sin, relationships, or habits.

Defining the Glory (Notable List)

• Cody shares a commentator’s list for defining “glory.” Any real definition must include:
  • Wealth, Numbers, Commerce, Power, Wisdom, Promotion, Superiority, Dignity, Authority, Nobility, Splendor, Valor, Magnificence, Extraordinary Privilege and Advantages (54:35)
  • “Extraordinary privileges and advantages… Wealth, numbers, commerce…” (54:50)

The House, The Work, The Glory (Haggai 2)

• When God’s Glory Fills the House: The biblical pattern is that God’s glory fills when the work (preparation and order) is finished (referenced in Exodus, 2 Chronicles, Haggai). (58:00)
  • “It wasn’t until the work was finished… the glory of God came in like a cloud…” (58:30)
• Haggai’s Prophecy: The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former; this is for the present church—the “remnant”—not just for Israel. (1:01:55)
  • “He was talking about this temple, not that temple. This one.” (1:08:40)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Knowing the Goal:
  • “Father, help me. How can we attain what we cannot define? How will we arrive at a goal that we don’t know what it looks like?” (07:30)
• On Human Limitation:
  • “We just can’t take it… If God showed out, we’d be the bug and He’d be the zapper.” (19:50)
• On Worldliness in Worship:
  • “We’ve made praise and worship a rock deal… where did we get all these ideas? Not the Word, not the Word, not the Word. We got them from the world.” (36:30)
• On Personal Responsibility:
  • “What is preventing [the manifestation of the glory]? All that junk, really… Whatever’s blocking the spout, where the glory comes out… mine it out of my mind, my character, my actions…” (55:40)
• On the Coming Glory:
  • “On the other side of a shaking… God is going to fill His house with glory. He said, ‘the silver is mine and the gold is mine… the glory of this latter house shall be greater…’” (1:06:00)

Important Timestamps

• 00:08 – Message begins, Colossians and Haggai as core passages.
• 07:30 – The challenge of defining ‘glory’ and why it matters.
• 15:00 – Old Testament word “kabod” (heavy/loaded with good).
• 19:00 – Manifested presence of God; degrees of experiencing glory.
• 25:10 – Why God withholds greater manifestation: “It’s an act of His mercy.”
• 28:00 – Lessons from Ananias and Sapphira, environment of glory.
• 38:00-40:00 – Biblical promises about the earth filled with glory.
• 46:30 – David mishandling the Ark; learning from mistakes.
• 52:00 – Why church should aim for the glory, not just ‘numbers.’
• 54:35 – Detailed definition of glory (bolded terms above).
• 58:00 – God’s pattern: when the work is finished, the glory fills the house.
• 1:01:55 – Haggai’s prophecies, the importance of the “remnant.”
• 1:06:00 – End-time shaking and the promise of greater glory.
• 1:08:40 – The prophecy is for today’s church—the temple is us.

Conclusion & Call to Action

Pastor Cody ends with a challenge for fresh dedication:

“You’re now responsible with the message that you’ve heard. The glory is coming… and you and I have a part, individually and corporately, to play.” (1:10:00)

Final Prayer:
A call to live separated, holy, uncompromising lives, to “get the world out of our worship” and become people God’s glory can rest upon and flow through.

Takeaway

The manifestation of God’s glory is the true goal for every believer and the Church. It is not automatic, nor can it be achieved by copying the world’s ways. It comes by intentional preparation, holiness, unity, and aligning with God’s divine order. When the Church focuses on preparing a place for Him—spiritually and practically—the resulting glory will exceed anything seen in previous generations.