Applying the Word of God is what turns a prayer of salvation into a changed life. In this message, the pastor teaches that Christianity is a relationship with a living God who has handed His children a gift, His Word, and that the Word only lights your path when you read it, speak it and act on it. Feelings are real, he says, but faith in what God has said must lead.
Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps for putting the Word of God to work this week.
Sermon at a Glance
This message from NTC Ministries was posted on October 21, 2025. The speaker is a pastor at the church who leads worship, teaches kindergarten during the week and quotes Dr. Hohman, the senior pastor, several times. He says he could preach a series for more than a year on the Word of God, so he asked the Lord how to narrow it down. The answer was three truths: the Word of God is true, it is powerful, and it is alive.
He builds the message on a handful of familiar verses, Psalm 119:105 and 2 Timothy 3:16–17 among them, then tells the story of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail and closes with Jesus’ parable of the sower. Throughout, his concern is not what we know about the Bible but whether we apply it.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | A pastor at NTC Ministries (not named in the recording) |
| Series | Stand-alone message |
| Main text | Psalm 119:105, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 and Acts 16:16–34 |
| Key theme | The Word of God changes us only when we apply it by faith, not by feelings |
| Length | About 55 minutes |
A Relationship, Not a Religion
The pastor opens by calling Christianity the greatest religion on the planet, then correcting himself: it is not really a religion but a relationship with a God in heaven who loves us. Our God is the only God who is alive, he says, and to this day we still see signs, miracles and wonders. All of it comes by design from a Father who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16).
Feelings are real, he admits. Life slaps you in the face sometimes. But that does not change how much God loves you or how He wants to bless you. When you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, God takes every mistake, bad attitude and unwise decision and, as he puts it, throws them into a sea of forgetfulness. You may remember them; your Father does not.
Still, the flesh wars with the spirit. He does not always feel like getting up, smiling, playing guitar or worshiping, but he builds habits that set him up for success. If we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). Yet if you pray a prayer and refuse to live any differently, can you expect different results? He repeats a saying of Dr. Hohman: “Change isn’t change unless there’s change.”
He also quotes a radio Bible teacher, Joanne Ramsay: we cannot speak and act the way the world does and expect God things. That is not a list of rules, he insists. God did not even want to give the Law; our flesh demanded it. He sent His Son instead. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), and thousands of promises must be activated by that faith.
A Lamp to My Feet and a Light to My Path
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The pastor jokes that this does not mean carrying a glowing Bible around in the dark. It means that in a fallen world full of darkness, the Word of God shows us how to walk. Every day he does not know what the day holds, but he can stand on the promises and know it is going to be good.
His own example is his weekday job teaching kindergarten. He needs patience, so he prays for patience every day and finds verses about it. When testing times come and frustrated feelings rise up inside him, he declares that he has the patience of eternity and prays that patience would have its perfect work in him, lacking nothing (James 1:4). He focuses his thoughts on Scripture rather than on the frustration.
Everyone has been there, he says, whether in relationships, at work or with ourselves. When the thought comes that you are a no-good-for-nothing, the Word answers that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). You are not a mistake; you are a son or daughter of the living God, created for such a time as this.
He also warns that when you accept Christ, Satan takes notice. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), and he has no need to attack something that poses no threat. So it is not all lollipops and roses. You can sit in the same pew your whole life and never miss a service, yet keep the same problems if you never let the Word of God transform you.
The Word of God Is True, Powerful and Alive
From 2 Timothy 3:16–17, the pastor teaches that all Scripture is God-breathed and is given for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. When someone told him the Scriptures are just stories from men, he answered that they are stories, but true stories and living ones.
Because the Word is God-breathed, he says, it is still creating. In Genesis 1 God spoke and the worlds were framed, and when He said “light be,” He never said stop. Jesus Himself is called the Word: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Jesus is not just the messenger of God’s Word; He is its very essence.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 describes believers who received the message not as the word of men but as it truly is, the word of God, which effectively works in you who believe. We were created in God’s image not only to look like Him, he says, but to act like Him. In John 17:13–17, Jesus prayed that the Father would sanctify us by the truth, because His Word is truth.
That truth is what matures us. Paul wrote that when he was a child he spoke, thought and reasoned as a child, but when he became a man he put away childish things (1 Corinthians 13:11). The pastor applies it to spiritual growth: read, study and memorize the Word of God even when you do not understand it. You cannot make disciples of all nations if you have not first made yourself a disciple.
He tells his worship team that he has church before he comes to church. He cannot lead anyone into God’s presence if he has not been there himself. So he worships, studies and asks God what He wants that day, humbling himself under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt him (1 Peter 5:6).
The pastor then reads a string of promises about how lasting the Word is:
| Scripture | What it shows about the Word of God |
|---|---|
| Isaiah 40:8 | It stands forever when grass and flowers fade |
| Matthew 24:35 | Heaven and earth pass away; His words do not |
| Luke 11:28 | Blessing belongs to those who hear it and keep it |
| Hebrews 4:12 | It is living, powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword |
| Isaiah 55:8–12 | It will not return void but will accomplish what God pleases |
Applying the Word of God as a Sword
Ephesians 6:17 calls the Word the sword of the Spirit. How many days, the pastor asks, do we head out for battle without arming ourselves? Do not just try to make it through the day; thrive in it. Read the Word of God and meditate on it again and again until it gets inside you, so that when things slap you in the face you can answer with it.
He also recalls Dr. Hohman’s challenge to the church to dwell every day for the rest of the month on the goodness of God. We may not see it or feel it all the time, but God is always working and always looking to bless. We are to study to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Hebrews 4:12 says the Word pierces even to the division of soul and spirit. The pastor is clear that this is not a weapon for hurting people. It cuts away what has tried to attach itself to you. He declares from Isaiah 53:5 that by Jesus’ stripes we are healed, receiving that as a gift by faith, and he tells of countries where believers kiss the Bibles they are given because they know its worth.
The same sword cuts the soul ties and cares of this world, and the excuses of “I was just born this way” or “I grew up on this side of the tracks.” God wants to change you, but the decision is yours. He urges listeners to personalize the Word, quoting Joanne Ramsay again: He is talking to you. So say that God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
Fill your mind with the Word of God instead of meditating on bad thoughts. By my God I can leap over a wall (Psalm 18:29), and if God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)? At the school, students declare a daily confession that begins, “I am good in God’s sight.” He says they speak it not as vain repetition but because they choose to speak what the Word says.
Paul and Silas at Midnight
To show the Word of God at work, the pastor tells the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16–34. A slave girl with a spirit of divination followed them for days, crying out that they were servants of the Most High God. Paul, annoyed, cast the spirit out, and it left that very hour. Her owners, who had made money from her fortune-telling, dragged the two men to the authorities.
They were beaten with rods and thrown into the inner prison, with no windows and no light, their feet fastened in stocks. Imagine their state of mind, he says. The day started well, and in the blink of an eye everything turned. Yet at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening.
He imagines what they prayed: not whining, but recalling what God had done. You helped Moses lead Israel out of Egypt, gave Noah courage to build the ark, provided for Abraham, and strengthened David against Goliath. You can do it for us. They sang the Word, and God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). They refused to let their emotions run wild.
Suddenly a great earthquake shook the prison, every door opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. The pastor calls it more than an earthquake, a strategic spiritual event. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17), and in His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). That is why he urges people to come to church expecting, starting with worship.
The jailer woke, saw the doors open and was about to take his own life. Paul cried out with a loud voice, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” The jailer fell trembling and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They told him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they spoke the word of the Lord to him and his household. That same night he washed their stripes, and his whole family was baptized and rejoiced.
The Sower Sows the Word
The last passage is the parable of the sower in Luke 8:4–15. Seed fell on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns and on good soil, which produced a crop a hundred times what was sown. The disciples had no idea why their teacher was talking about farming, so Jesus explained: the seed is the word of God.
The devil takes the word from those along the path. Those on rocky ground receive it with joy but have no root and fall away in testing. The thorns are life’s worries, riches and pleasures, which choke the word so people do not mature. But the good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart who hear the word, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
The pastor says he is sowing the word right now, and it is up to each listener to go over it. All his life he has taken church notes and written down the verses so he can return to them during the week. If you do not know how to read the Bible, come to church and study what your pastor is teaching. He mentions Dr. Hohman’s series on the fatherhood of God at the time.
He compares neglecting the Word of God to a child on Christmas morning ignoring every gift a parent bought. Why aren’t you using these gifts? God is no respecter of persons; what He did for Paul and Silas He can do for you. Do not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). Do not grow weary while doing good, for in due season you will reap if you do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9).
Applying the Word of God This Week
The pastor closes by inviting everyone to lift their hands in surrender and cast their care on the Lord, because He cares for them (1 Peter 5:7). Here are the practical steps from this message on applying the Word of God:
- Find verses for your struggle. Like his patience verses for the classroom, look up Scriptures that speak to what you are facing and declare them daily.
- Personalize what you read. Say “I have a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind,” not just that the Bible says so.
- Arm yourself before you leave. Take the sword of the Spirit into each day instead of hoping to survive it.
- Have church before church. Worship and study at home so you come to services expecting God to move.
- Take notes and review them. Write down verses from sermons and go over them through the week.
- Worship at midnight. When a good day turns on a dime, pray and sing like Paul and Silas rather than letting emotions lead.
Timestamped Outline
- 0:00 Christianity is a relationship with a living God
- 2:04 Forgiven and thrown into the sea of forgetfulness
- 4:09 Change isn’t change unless there’s change
- 6:16 Faith versus feelings
- 8:27 Three truths about the Word of God
- 9:15 Psalm 119:105: a lamp and a light
- 10:06 Patience in the kindergarten classroom
- 12:24 The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy
- 15:14 2 Timothy 3:16–17: God-breathed Scripture
- 16:33 The Word is still creating; Jesus is the Word
- 17:40 1 Thessalonians 2:13: the Word at work in you
- 19:58 John 17: sanctified by the truth
- 21:02 Putting away childish things
- 23:03 Church before church
- 23:57 The Word endures forever
- 25:14 The sword of the Spirit
- 27:12 Hebrews 4:12: living and powerful
- 30:15 Isaiah 55: the Word will not return void
- 31:22 Personalize the Word of God
- 33:19 Paul, Silas and the slave girl
- 36:26 Praying and singing at midnight
- 39:50 The earthquake and the open doors
- 43:03 What must I do to be saved?
- 46:09 The parable of the sower
- 52:20 Galatians 6:9 and the closing prayer
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I read the Bible and do not understand it?
The pastor’s answer is to keep reading anyway. Understanding grows as you keep speaking the Word of God into your life and looking up passages for what you are going through. He also suggests coming to church, taking notes on what your pastor teaches, and studying those passages through the week. Over time, he says, the Word matures you the way Paul described putting away childish things.
Is declaring Scripture just vain repetition?
No, according to this message. The pastor says the students at the church school speak a daily confession not out of vain repetition but because they choose to speak what the Word of God says about them. Since the Word is God-breathed and still creating, he teaches that speaking it out loud is how believers activate their faith, the same way God spoke and the worlds were framed.
Why did the jailer ask how to be saved?
The pastor reads it as the jailer recognizing that Paul and Silas had something he needed. He was ready to end his life, while they had been singing in chains and their God had set them free. A hunger rose up in him. Paul and Silas told him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and then spoke the word of the Lord to him and his whole household, who were baptized that night.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- Psalm 119:105 — a lamp to my feet
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17 — all Scripture is inspired by God
- 1 Thessalonians 2:13 — the Word effectively works in believers
- John 17:13–17 — sanctify them by Your truth
- Hebrews 4:12 — living and powerful
- Ephesians 6:17 — the sword of the Spirit
- Isaiah 55:8–12 — My word shall not return void
- Acts 16:16–34 — Paul and Silas in prison
- Luke 8:4–15 — the parable of the sower
How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.
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