From Faith to Faith, Strength to Strength, Glory to Glory Part 3

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Discover how God transforms believers progressively from faith to faith, strength to strength, and into His eternal glory through surrender and resurrection power.

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Faith Strength Glory Overview

In this powerful Easter message, Part 3 of his series ‘From Faith to Faith, Strength to Strength, Glory to Glory,’ the Pastor brings the entire series to its culmination in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, Matthew 16:24-27, Romans 1:16-18, Psalm 84:4-7, and 2 Corinthians 3:18, he unpacks the progressive journey God invites every believer into — from trusting His Word completely, to finding strength through the assembly of saints, to ultimately being transformed from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord. Through vivid illustrations — including Moses seeking God’s face on Sinai, Israel passing through the Red Sea, and a moving account of God’s weighty glory pinning him to the floor in prayer — the Pastor shows that this transformation is not achieved by human effort or religious performance, but by surrendering fully to God’s presence. He challenges listeners to build their lives as a house that can bear the weight of God’s glory, and to run this race with endurance, knowing that every trial works an eternal weight of glory far beyond what we could ask or imagine.

Faith Strength Glory Outline

  • 00:00 – Easter Opening: The God Who Invests Himself in Time: The Pastor opens by celebrating the resurrection, declaring that the eternal God stepped into corrupted time to redeem humanity and restore access to eternity. He introduces the three-part series and prays for revelation and holiness over every listener.
  • 07:30 – Running for the Prize: 1 Corinthians 9:24-25: Using the image of a race, the Pastor distinguishes between prizes that fade and the eternal prize found in a deepening relationship with God. He contrasts Israel knowing the acts of God with Moses knowing the ways of God, drawing from Psalm 104.
  • 15:00 – Praise vs. Worship: Knowing What God Does vs. Who He Is: The Pastor explains the difference between praise — celebrating what God has done — and worship — encountering who God truly is. He uses the crossing of the Red Sea and Miriam’s song as the biblical picture of praise flowing from witnessed miracle.
  • 24:00 – From Faith to Faith: Romans 1:16-18 and Romans 10:17: The Pastor recaps the first movement of the series, anchoring it in Paul’s declaration that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. He stresses the daily discipline of reading Scripture as the fuel of faith and the weapon against the thief who steals the Word.
  • 34:00 – From Strength to Strength: Psalm 84 and the Community of Saints: Strength to strength is given in the gathered assembly. The Pastor explains that church is not merely about receiving a message but building relationships that sustain believers through the valley of Baka — the valley of weeping — and turn it into a well. James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:6-8 are opened to show trials producing endurance and glory.
  • 44:00 – Building a House That Can Hold His Glory: 2 Corinthians 3:18: Through the striking illustration of an overweight apostle who could not sit in a chair not built for him, the Pastor teaches that many desire God’s presence but are not willing to be built for the weight of His glory. Transformation from glory to glory requires yielding to the olive press of Gethsemane.
  • 53:00 – John 17: Jesus Prays That We Share His Glory: The Pastor walks through Christ’s high priestly prayer, showing that Jesus explicitly prayed the same glory given to Him by the Father would be given to all believers. This glory cannot be given to another — it comes only through becoming one with Him in Christ Jesus.
  • 01:01:00 – The Resurrection: Eternal Weight of Glory — 2 Corinthians 4:17: The message reaches its apex at the cross and empty tomb. The Pastor declares that every light and momentary affliction works an eternal, exceeding weight of glory. First Peter 5:10 seals the series: God Himself will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish those who endure.

Scripture References

1 Corinthians 9:24-25, Matthew 16:24-27, Romans 1:16-18, Romans 10:17, Psalm 84:4-7, Psalm 104, 2 Corinthians 3:18, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-8, John 17, Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 48:9-11, Romans 8:2-4, Colossians 3:1, Philippians 4, Ephesians 3, 2 Corinthians 4:17, 1 Peter 5:10, John 10:10

Key Takeaways

  • The Christian life is a progressive race moving from faith to faith, strength to strength, and glory to glory — each stage building upon the last through surrender and obedience.
  • Israel knew the acts of God, but Moses knew the ways of God — worship is not celebrating what God does but encountering who He truly is, and that encounter transforms you into His likeness.
  • Faith grows by consistently hearing and meditating on the Word of God, and must be actively protected because the enemy’s sole purpose is to steal the Word sown in your heart.
  • The gathered community of believers is not optional — it is the God-ordained place where strength is renewed, testimonies are shared, and saints are equipped to endure the trials of the week.
  • God will not give His glory to another, but He has covenanted to share it with those who become one with Him in Christ — this is the promise of 2 Corinthians 3:18 and John 17:22.
  • Every trial, when embraced in faith rather than escaped prematurely, works an eternal weight of glory that far exceeds and outlasts the momentary affliction — 2 Corinthians 4:17.
  • Gethsemane — the place where our own will, desires, and self-constructed futures are pressed and surrendered — is the very place where the oil of the Spirit and the light of God’s glory are released in our lives.

Faith Strength Glory Notes

The Progressive Path God Designed

This third and final message in the series makes the case that spiritual maturity is not a single event but a three-stage progression: faith to faith, strength to strength, and glory to glory. The Pastor grounds this progression in Romans 1:16-18, Psalm 84, and 2 Corinthians 3:18, demonstrating that each stage is necessary for the next. You cannot arrive at glory to glory without having first been tested in the furnace of affliction and found faithful. God’s design is intentional — He leads us through the valley precisely so we can arrive at the mountain.

Praise and Worship Are Not the Same

One of the most clarifying distinctions in this message is the difference between praise and worship. Praise, the Pastor explains, is our response to what God has done — like Miriam’s song after the Red Sea. Worship, however, is the deeper pursuit of who God is, modeled by Moses in the tent of meeting. Israel knew God’s acts because He fed them and parted the sea. Moses knew God’s ways because he sought His face. The Pastor calls every believer to move beyond celebrating miracles into the intimate territory of knowing God personally and deeply.

Building a House for His Weight

The illustration of the rotund apostle who could not visit his host’s home because the furniture was not built for him is one of the most memorable moments in this message. It crystallizes a profound truth: many believers desire the manifest presence of God but have not done the interior work of yielding, repentance, and surrender that prepares them to carry His glory. The Pastor makes clear this preparation is not achieved by striving but by allowing the Holy Spirit — who is a guest that must be invited — to have full access and full authority in one’s life.

Trials Are Not Detours — They Are the Path

Drawing from James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-8, and Waymouth’s translation, the Pastor argues that trials are not obstacles to God’s blessing but the very mechanism by which strength is built and glory is released. The valley of Baka — the valley of weeping — can become a well of refreshing when believers keep praising and pressing forward. He warns against trying to escape difficulties prematurely, calling instead for patient endurance that produces maturity, leaving the believer thoroughly furnished and lacking nothing.

The Prayer of John 17 Is for You

The Pastor devotes significant attention to John 17, Christ’s apostolic prayer, pointing out that Jesus explicitly prayed not only for His immediate disciples but for every person who would come to believe through their testimony — which includes every listener today. The stunning request Jesus makes is that the same glory the Father gave Him would be given to believers, so that the world might know the Father sent the Son. This means the glory of God is not a distant theological concept but a covenanted inheritance available to every believer who pursues oneness with Christ.

The Resurrection Seals Every Promise

The message climaxes at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Pastor shows that everything Jesus endured — Gethsemane, the cross, the forsaking — was willingly embraced because He trusted the Father’s promise of restored glory. His resurrection is not merely a historical event but the living proof that every path through suffering leads to an eternal weight of glory. First Peter 5:10 becomes the benediction of the entire series: the God of all grace will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish those who run the race to its finish.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ‘from faith to faith’ mean in Romans 1:17?

The phrase ‘from faith to faith’ in Romans 1:17 describes a continuous, growing trust in God and His Word. It means that the righteousness of God is revealed progressively as believers move from one level of faith to the next. Faith grows by consistently hearing and applying the Word of God, as Paul also states in Romans 10:17.

What is the difference between praise and worship in the Bible?

Praise is our celebratory response to what God has done in our lives — His miracles, provisions, and answered prayers. Worship goes deeper: it is the pursuit of who God is, not merely what He does. Moses exemplified worship by seeking God’s face in the tent of meeting, which is why Psalm 104 records that Israel knew God’s acts while Moses knew God’s ways.

How does God bring believers from strength to strength?

Psalm 84:5-7 teaches that strength to strength is given to those who dwell in God’s house — the gathered community of believers. The assembly provides encouragement, testimony, and accountability that sustains Christians through trials. James 1:2-4 adds that the testing of faith produces endurance, and endurance produces a believer who is perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

What does 2 Corinthians 3:18 mean about glory to glory?

Second Corinthians 3:18 declares that all believers, beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into that same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord. This is a process of continual transformation — not a one-time event — that happens as we seek God’s face, yield to His Spirit, and allow His Word to renew us.

Why did Jesus pray for believers to share in His glory in John 17?

In John 17:22, Jesus explicitly prayed that the glory the Father gave Him would be given to all who believe, so that they might be one as He and the Father are one, and so that the world would recognize the Father’s love. This prayer confirms that sharing in God’s glory is not presumptuous but is God’s own covenanted intention for every believer who pursues oneness with Christ.

What does the olive press of Gethsemane represent spiritually?

Gethsemane means ‘olive press,’ and spiritually it represents the place where our own will, desires, and self-constructed plans are surrendered to God’s purposes. Just as oil — representing the Holy Spirit and light — is extracted only when the olive is pressed, so God’s glory and anointing are released in our lives through seasons of yielding and surrender, modeled perfectly by Jesus in the garden.

What does 2 Corinthians 4:17 say about suffering and eternal glory?

Second Corinthians 4:17 declares that our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all. This means no trial experienced in faith is wasted — each one is actively working to produce a glory whose magnitude and duration are incomparable to the suffering that preceded it.

Why is regular Bible reading so important for spiritual growth?

Romans 10:17 states that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Regular Bible reading is the primary way a believer builds and sustains faith. Just as the body must be fed daily to remain healthy and strong, the human spirit — which is the core of who we are — must be nourished by Scripture to grow in faith, resist the enemy, and advance from glory to glory.