My Dwelling Place #3: Changes Me — How Dwelling With God Transforms You

My Dwelling Place 3 Changes Me is Pastor Paul Hohman’s message on a simple truth: we become like whatever we devote ourselves to. When we make God our dwelling place through daily prayer and His Word, we start to think, see, talk and act like Him. Real change, he teaches, does not start with our family, our workplace or our circumstances. It starts with me. This third message continues from My Dwelling Place #2: The First Habit of the Secret Place.

Below are the full video, a structured summary, the Scriptures linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway, a timestamped outline and practical steps.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was preached at NTC Ministries and posted on October 1, 2024. It runs about 56 minutes. Pastor Paul Hohman explains that God has been speaking to him about his own habits and about what he gives his life to, because whatever we devote ourselves to is usually what we become.

He frames the message around Psalm 91, the dwelling place of the series title, and closes with the story of Naaman.

We Become What We Devote Ourselves To

Pastor Paul begins with God’s character. The Bible says there is none good but God, so if we do not know what good is, we need to spend time with Him. He wants believers to see through God’s eyes, with compassion, love, grace and mercy, “not like I’m going to be God but I’m going to be like God.” When we know who our God is, we want to be like Him.

God’s Word is living and powerful, so he does not read it like a novel just to say he finished it. He asks God to talk to him through the stories, Proverbs and Psalms and to change him. His Word, he prays, is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).

He teaches kindergarten, and he hears what parents say through what the children repeat in class. Teenagers do the same with social media and classmates. Whatever we devote ourselves to, we start to talk about all the time, so God’s Word needs to be the habit and the dwelling place that shapes us.

His own routine is simple: the first thing he does every day is pray and read his Bible. Sometimes he reads the same chapter for a week or two, asking God how it applies to his life. It is up to us, he says, to make the time.

God wants to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), but His love is not giving us whatever we want. Whom the Lord loves He corrects (Proverbs 3:12), and sometimes He says not yet, so let patience have its perfect work (James 1:4). The more devoted we are, the more we live by faith, because with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Change Starts With Me

Pastor Paul warns that devotion has to be genuine. You can lift your hands and say amen on Sunday, then live another way, but the only one you fool is yourself. In this world we will have tribulation, but Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33), so we build our lives on Him and on our most holy faith (Jude 20).

Habits change the way we think, see, act and even talk. As a boy, he once answered the phone and his father mistook him for a friend he spent too much time with. If you are not having an impact on your sphere of influence, he says, it is having an impact on you.

The answer is not to quit the job but to be more committed, getting into prayer and the Word before work so you are ready for the fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16). When people see it does not affect you, you start affecting them. “I don’t need to have a 40 pound Bible beating it over their head,” he says; God is a God of grace, mercy, love and truth.

The series text, Psalm 91:1, speaks of the one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, not the one who walks by. Coming to church, he says, is not a check mark but devotion to the dwelling place that brings growth.

Many people want God to change their relationships, family or work. “The first thing that God needs to change is right here,” he says, and the church declares, “It starts with me.” Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), so get to know Him and watch what He can do.

Knowing God answers our needs. He is Jehovah Rapha who heals and Jehovah Jireh who supplies all our need (Philippians 4:19); perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), and He never leaves nor forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5).

Pastor Paul includes himself: even behind the pulpit he still prays, “God, change me.” God’s plans for us are good (Jeremiah 29:11), but the devil works through whatever we give our lives to.

A Living and Holy Gift: Romans 12

The central passage is Romans 12:1–2, which the church’s students memorize in the New Living version as part of their monthly Scripture memory. Paul asks believers from his heart to give their bodies to God because of His loving kindness, as a living and holy gift that pleases Him, and calls this true worship.

Some think “give my body” means the church only wants workers. Not at all, Pastor Paul says. We are servants who build God’s kingdom, many hands make quick work, and the hand cannot say to the foot that it has no need of it (1 Corinthians 12:21).

Not acting like the sinful people of the world does not mean holding our heads high, he explains. It means being kind, considerate and strong for the weak: holding doors, saying “God bless you,” reaching something off a top shelf for someone. The world’s way is to pretend you did not see.

He is not there to condemn anyone, he says; he is a work in progress too. But each time he goes into his dwelling place, he comes out more like God and less like himself.

Verse 2 says to let God change your life by giving you a new mind. When we prayed the sinner’s prayer, we repented, which he defines as choosing to change the way we think, act and talk. God has given each of us the measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Then we will know what God wants, and what we do will be good, pleasing and perfect. “People don’t need to see Paul being Paul,” he says; they need to see God in him. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), drawing people to Him.

Bad Company Corrupts Good Habits

Pastor Paul reads 1 Corinthians 15:33 in several versions. The New King James says, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.” The Easy-to-Read version warns that bad friends will ruin good habits, the Living Bible says that if you listen to them you will start acting like them, and the NIV says bad company corrupts good character.

It is still fine to have friends who are not saved, he says, but you cannot have a steady diet of that. Married people, likewise, should not have a steady diet of hanging out with single people, because marriage is a covenant with God that puts the other person’s needs first. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17), and the Father who gave His Son (John 3:16) teaches us to live sacrificially.

Then he tells his skating story. Growing up near Normal Park in town, he skated every day after school and every evening at the warming house until it closed at nine, playing hockey and games with his friends. At fourteen, his father suddenly told him to be home by eight.

He was furious, asking the whole walk to the rink why his dad would take away an hour. It was innocent fun. But he says most of those friends later got caught up in alcohol and drugs. “My dad heard from God,” he says; God told his father to protect his son from the habits he was building.

That is the value of people who can speak into your life. Habits can become addictive, like smoking, and we can form habits contrary to God’s Word without meaning to. The answer is to keep returning to our dwelling place in His presence until the wall comes down, because the mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord (Psalm 97:5).

The table gathers the contrast he draws between habits.

My Dwelling Place 3 Changes Me: A New Creation

The more time he spends with the Father, Pastor Paul says, the more he finds God’s goodness and love, and the more he wants to be like Him. If God is holy, he wants to be holy. If God is righteous, compassionate, considerate and kind, he needs to be as well. That is what Matthew 6:33 means: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added. Trying to get them in our own strength pales in comparison.

He wants to know not just the God who wrote a book, but the God who created the heavens and raised the dead, as Dr. Hohman says. Reading Psalm 91:1–2 in the Amplified, he describes the one in the dwelling place as stable and fixed, leaning on God as refuge and fortress.

Another saying of Dr. Hohman’s sums it up: change isn’t change unless there’s change. Jesus said we will know people by their fruits (Matthew 7:16–20). If we are not bearing good fruit, we have not found our dwelling place, our habits are off and our priorities are not right.

2 Corinthians 5:17 in the Amplified says anyone in Christ is a new creature, reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit; the old has passed away and new things have come. Pastor Paul repeats one phrase: “the spiritual awakening brings new life.” So we read, pray and seek God’s face again and again, building the habit until awakening comes. Then opportunities appear: instead of rushing in and out of a store, you start asking God who you can bless today.

When devotion becomes habit, it flows out naturally. People tell him he prays well; it is because Scripture is his dwelling place. Asked to pray at town council meetings or golf outings, he needs no week to prepare; prayer flows like rivers of living water (John 7:38).

God is not asking for perfection, he reminds the church. When Satan says you are not good enough, brag on God: by my God I can run against a troop and leap over a wall (Psalm 18:29), and greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

When the enemy reminds you of past failures, answer with Isaiah 43:18: do not remember the former things. Do not let your past dictate your future. “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalm 119:165). Things that used to rub you the wrong way stop bothering you, because they are no longer your dwelling place.

David learned who his God was when he went after the lion and the bear that took his lambs. His prayer is ours: “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11). In Psalm 25:4–7 he asks God to show, teach and lead him, and not to remember the sins of his youth. Satan tries to remind us; God remembers us according to His mercy.

Naaman and the Simple Way of God

Pastor Paul closes with 2 Kings 5:1–14. Naaman, commander of the army of Syria, was a great and honorable man and a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. A young captive girl from Israel told his wife that the prophet in Samaria could heal him. The king of Syria sent him with a letter, ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothing. Naaman thought he was going to buy his miracle.

The king of Israel tore his clothes, asking whether he was God to kill and make alive. Elisha sent for Naaman, then did not even come out; a messenger told him to wash in the Jordan seven times.

Naaman became furious. He had pictured the prophet coming out, calling on the name of his God and waving his hand over the place. He asked whether the rivers of Damascus were not better than all the waters of Israel. Sometimes, Pastor Paul says, we think our way is better than God’s. God makes things simple; He is not putting on a show, He just wants to show how much He loves you.

He connects this to the church. Dr. Hohman received the vision of NTC Ministries, which reaches 37 nations with church plants, clinics, schools and orphanages, and the body needs to hold up the leader’s arms to fulfill it rather than ask why things are not done differently.

Naaman’s servants reasoned with him: if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? So he dipped seven times, his flesh was restored like a little child’s, and he declared there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Our step of faith may not look like what we expected, but the more we dwell with God, the less we question Him. God’s way is always the best way.

Living It Out This Week

His final verse is one he has memorized and meditated on: Proverbs 3:5–8, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Here are practical steps from this message:

• Start the day with God. Pray and read your Bible first thing, even if it is one chapter you stay in for a week or two.
• Read to be changed. Ask God for revelation as you read, not just to get through the pages.
• Check your steady diet. Look at who you spend the most time with and what you watch, and ask whether it is shaping you or you are shaping it.
• Pray “It starts with me.” Before asking God to change your spouse, children or boss, ask Him to change you.
• Do one act of kindness daily. Hold a door, help someone reach a shelf, or ask God who you can bless in the store.
• Answer the past with the Word. When old failures come up, speak 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Isaiah 43:18 aloud.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 We become what we devote ourselves to
• 1:54 Reading the Bible for revelation, and prayer
• 3:52 His daily habit of prayer and the Word
• 6:38 Genuine devotion, not fooling yourself
• 8:58 Your sphere of influence
• 9:56 Psalm 91: the one who dwells
• 12:15 It starts with me
• 14:24 Romans 12:1–2: a living and holy gift
• 18:26 Repentance and a new mind
• 19:31 1 Corinthians 15:33: evil company
• 23:22 The skating rink story
• 30:57 Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness
• 32:05 Psalm 91 in the Amplified
• 34:26 2 Corinthians 5:17 and spiritual awakening
• 36:54 When prayer flows out of habit
• 39:53 Answering the enemy’s lies
• 41:53 Psalm 86:11 and Psalm 25
• 43:56 2 Kings 5: Naaman
• 48:33 The vision of NTC Ministries
• 51:21 Proverbs 3:5–8
• 53:38 Closing prayer

My Dwelling Place Series

This message is part of Pastor Paul Hohman’s My Dwelling Place series. Start from the beginning or continue where this one leaves off:

• First message: My Dwelling Place, Part 1: The Secret Place Habit That Comes First (Pastor Paul Hohman)
• Previous: My Dwelling Place #2: The First Habit of the Secret Place
• You are here: My Dwelling Place #3: Changes Me — How Dwelling With God Transforms You
• Next: My Dwelling Place #4: Produces Fruit — Abiding in the Vine

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Pastor Paul say Christians should cut off friends who are not saved?

No. He says he has friends who are not saved and that it is still okay to be their friend. The warning of 1 Corinthians 15:33 is about a steady diet. The goal is that you influence them for Christ, built up in prayer and the Word before you step into that environment.

What does he mean by spiritual awakening?

He describes it as the new life that comes as we keep reading, praying and seeking God’s face. Your eyes open to what you did not notice before, such as someone in the store who needs prayer or a comforting word, and you respond with steps of faith.

What does the next message in the series cover?

At the end of this message Pastor Paul invites the church to come back the following week. This week, he says, showed that the dwelling place changes us; next week he planned to look at all the wonderful benefits of the dwelling place. You can find it in the series links above.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Psalm 91:1–2 — the secret place of the Most High
• Romans 12:1–2 — a living sacrifice and a renewed mind
• 1 Corinthians 15:33 — evil company corrupts good habits
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 — a new creation
• Matthew 6:33 — seek first the kingdom
• Isaiah 43:18 — do not remember the former things
• Psalm 86:11 — unite my heart
• 2 Kings 5:1–14 — Naaman washes in the Jordan
• Proverbs 3:5–8 — trust in the Lord

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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