Preaching the Word
Bob Yandian
The preaching of the Word of God is essential to your life as a believer. Not just helpful—essential. It’s more than encouragement or information. It’s your spiritual nourishment. Just like your natural body can’t survive without food, your spiritual life can’t thrive without the Word. And that’s why church is so important. Church isn’t just a place for community—it’s where you come to receive the Word, where your faith is strengthened, and where your thinking is corrected and aligned with God’s truth.
God designed the local church to be a spiritual haven in an unstable world. In Isaiah 33:6, the Bible says, “Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is His treasure.” The Word of God brings stability. When you hear it taught and preached under the anointing, it anchors you. It builds you up. The world is constantly shifting, but God’s Word never changes. And when it becomes real in you—when it moves from head knowledge to heart revelation—it produces wisdom, and wisdom becomes the steady foundation beneath your feet.
Let’s begin with Isaiah 33:5–6:
“The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.”
Zion is a picture of heaven, and by extension, the local church. Not every church is perfect—none are—but the local church, when aligned with God’s purposes, is the closest place on earth to heaven. The presence of God is there. Praise and worship lift your soul, but it’s the Word that grounds you. That’s why verse 6 says wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times.
Let me break this down: knowledge is the intake of the Word. You sit under teaching, you study, you meditate, and you fill yourself with the truth of God's Word. Wisdom is what comes out of that—it’s the right application of knowledge. Not every use of the Word is wisdom. Sometimes we misapply it. But when you meditate on the Word until it becomes real inside you, that’s when it becomes wisdom. And wisdom stabilizes your life.
Jesus is called the Word. He became flesh and lived among us. He’s our mediator, fully God and fully man. He stands between a perfect God and a fallen humanity. He alone bridges the gap. So when you treasure the Word, you’re really treasuring Jesus.
Let me say it again: wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of your times. That means no matter what comes—emotional storms, political chaos, family difficulties, you stay anchored because of what’s inside of you. Not because you’re strong, but because the Word of God is strong in you.
Jesus told a parable in Matthew 7:
“Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came, the floods rose, and the wind beat against that house, but it did not fall, because it was founded on the rock.”
That’s what a stable Christian life looks like. You’re going to face storms—this world is fallen. Storms are normal. But if your life is built on the Word, you will not fall. God will bring you through.
Now, there are believers who don’t apply the Word. They build on sand—fragments of truth taken out of context, traditions, or opinions. The storm comes and their life falls apart. It’s not because they weren’t saved. They just didn’t build wisely. That’s why we go to church—to sit under the Word, to gain knowledge and wisdom, and to build a solid spiritual house.
I remember back in high school, a man came to speak to us with a demonstration. He had a spinning bicycle wheel mounted on handles. Once the wheel was spinning, he put it into a suitcase. He then asked a student to try turning the suitcase while the wheel was spinning. The student couldn’t do it—the momentum kept the case on a steady course. That’s a picture of the Word of God in your life. It’s like a gyro on a ship. Once you’re set on course, storms may come from every side, but the Word keeps you upright and moving forward.
You might ask, “How do I know I’m really saved?” That’s a good question. So many Christians get born again and then months later begin to doubt it. They say, “I don’t feel saved.” But salvation is not about feelings, it’s about faith. It’s about the Word.
1 John 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life.”
Not feel it. Know it. The Word gives you assurance. The strength of your salvation is not in your emotions—it’s in wisdom and knowledge. When you build on the Word, you know that you know that you know. One day, that light bulb goes off, and you realize, “I am a child of God—and I always will be.”
But if you drift from the Word, you can become blind and forgetful. 2 Peter 1:9 says that the believer who lacks the foundational truths becomes nearsighted and blind, forgetting he was cleansed from his old sins. That doesn’t mean he lost his salvation. It just means he lost his assurance. He’s still saved—just dumb. A dumb Christian! The church is full of them. They were saved but never grew. Salvation is not the finish line; it’s the starting line.
The Word lifts you above your feelings and confirms your salvation. And when you’ve got that assurance, no one can talk you out of it. You’re rooted. You’re anchored. That’s what the local church is meant to reinforce.
Psalm 34:11 says, “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”
Proverbs 1:29 adds, “They hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.”
You can be a Christian and still choose not to grow. But when you truly reverence the Lord—when you place Him at the highest seat in your life—it keeps you from sin. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.”
Proverbs 16:6 says, “By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.”
Reverence for God isn’t just spiritual—it brings natural benefits too. Proverbs 22:4 says, “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and long life.”
Your life gets better. Your calling becomes clearer. God begins to open doors for you. Even in old age, you’re strong and mentally sharp because you’ve been built up by the Word of God.
The goal is not just to be a convert, but a disciple. In John 8:31–32, Jesus said, “If you continue in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
It’s not just the truth that makes you free—it’s knowing it. You can own a Bible, carry a Bible, sleep next to a Bible, and still be in bondage. But when that Word becomes revelation, when it’s alive in you, then you walk in freedom.
Sanctify them through Your truth—Your Word is truth.
So what is the pastor’s responsibility? 2 Timothy 4:2 says: “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all patience and doctrine.”
That’s my calling—and the calling of every minister. Not to entertain. Not to impress. But to preach the Word. Doctrine matters. Truth matters. Church is not just about fellowship or music—it’s about being grounded in the truth.
Now you might say, “Pastor Bob, I live in a small town. There are no good churches.” Then pray. Pick the best one you can, but don’t go to change it—go to serve. Ask God to use you in that place. And He will. You might not agree with everything, but that’s okay. You’re not there to control; you’re there to contribute. And as you grow, others around you will grow too.
I pray you’ve been strengthened and grounded in your personal walk with God—and in the life of the local church. And if this ministry has been a blessing to you, I invite you to become a partner. Let’s take the message of the Word of God to the world together.
Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times and the strength of your salvation.
Let’s keep growing together in the Word, keep going to church, keep hearing the Word, and keep building a stable, unshakable life.
