Don’t Just Read the Bible — Build Your Life on It
Do As I Do, Part 8
Open Arms Community Church – Bradford, PA
We live in a world full of shifting opinions, unstable foundations, and fragile faith. We scroll, listen, read, and react—but often we build on sand without realizing it.
In this week’s message, Don’t Just Read the Bible — Build Your Life on It, Pastor Zoe reminds us that the strength of our faith doesn’t depend on how much we know—it depends on what we’re standing on.
Because when life gets dark, when the winds pick up, when everything you trusted starts shaking… only one foundation will hold: the Word of God, hidden in your heart and lived out in your life.
🎥 Watch the full message on YouTube: The Secret Foundation to Unshakeable Faith | Do As I Do Pt. 8
📖 Hiding God’s Word in Your Heart
We often treat Scripture like a book to read, not a life to build. But Psalm 119 says something deeper:
Psalm 119:9–16 (NIV)
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
Pastor Zoe shared that the word “hidden” doesn’t mean concealed—it means stored, treasured, kept safe.
You don’t wait for the storm to start building the foundation. You lay it now.
💡 When the Lights Go Out
A little girl once got scared when the power went out at home. Her parents told her to grab the lantern from the closet. She didn’t panic—she walked straight to it.
Why? Because she already knew where it was before it got dark.
That’s what it means to hide God’s Word in your heart. When life goes dark, you don’t have to fumble for faith—you already know where to find the light.
“Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.”
— Psalm 119:105 (NIV)
🧱 Building on the Rock
Jesus told a story that gets right to the point:
Matthew 7:24–27 (NIV)
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
The difference between the wise builder and the foolish one wasn’t knowledge—it was obedience. Both heard the Word. Only one did something with it.
When we hear without doing, our lives lean like the Tower of Pisa—tilted by time, weakened by shifting ground. But when we hear and do, when we build on the Word, we stand firm no matter what hits.
📚 The Word That Breathes
Paul wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:14–17 (NIV)
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Word of God isn’t just ink on paper—it’s breath. Every verse carries the breath of God Himself.
When you read it, it reads you. When you apply it, it forms you. When you obey it, it builds you.
“Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”
— Jeremiah 23:29 (NIV)
💭 Renewing Your Mind
Faith that lasts begins with a renewed mind:
Romans 12:1–2 (NIV)
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Transformation happens when we stop conforming to the noise of culture and start conforming to the voice of Scripture.
The Word doesn’t just inform your life—it forms it.
🔨 Putting It into Practice
The Bible is clear: it’s not enough to read or even memorize Scripture if we never live it out.
Start small.
- Open your Bible every day, even for five minutes.
- Pick one verse and ask, “What will I do with this?”
- Write it down. Pray it back.
- Practice it this week until it sticks.
As Pastor Zoe said:
“The goal of reading Scripture isn’t to finish it—it’s to let it finish you.”
✨ A Life That Doesn’t Fall
When your foundation is Scripture, you don’t just survive storms—you grow stronger through them. The winds may shake your house, but they’ll never move the Rock beneath it.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
— Matthew 24:35 (NIV)
Don’t just read the Bible.
Build your life on it.
🎥 Watch the full message: The Secret Foundation to Unshakeable Faith | Do As I Do Pt. 8
📍 Join us this Sunday at 9:00 & 11:00 AM – 71 Congress Street, Bradford, PA
💛 Plan your visit: openarmscommunitychurch.org/visit
