God’s Prescription for a Long Life

1 January 2023 AM – Deuteronomy 17:18-20 – Bible – Scott Childs

Introduction: God wanted to be Israel’s King forever, but he knew that their sinful hearts would long for a human king. Therefore, God had Moses lay down three requirements for that future king. Read Deuteronomy 17:14-20. First, he was not to multiply his number of horses. That would turn his heart toward worldly Egypt. Second, he was not to multiply his wives. That would turn his heart to lust and idolatry. Third, he was to have his own copy of God’s Word and daily read it.

You may be wondering, “What do requirements for a king have to do with us?” Did you know that God calls Christians kings? (Revelation 1:6) “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” If you are a true Christian, you are a king and priest unto God. That is a great honour, but also a great responsibility.

Transition: This morning, I want us to focus on the last of these requirements, the one about reading Bible. As we work our way through these verses, we will see that they form progressive steps.

The first step addresses …

Your Need to Read the Bible (v.18-19)

a. Have your own copy of the Bible.

1) In Moses’ day, owning a personal copy of the books of the Law was probably unheard of. To have such a copy would require countless hours of intense labour, writing every word by hand on crude paper.

2) Today we do not have that problem. Most of us own our own copy of the Bible. In this age of technology, most of us (including me) have the Bible on our computer or phone.

a) How many of you have a Bible app on your phone? ___

b) How many of you can say, “My Bible app allows me to highlight words, and attach notes, and I often do that?” __

3) Carefully studying the Bible requires that you are able to highlight and attach notes about things you learn.

4) Though I daily use my computer Bible and my Bible app, this is why I am a strong believer in owning and using a printed copy of God’s Word.

5) This is also why I dislike Bible apps that will not allow you to highlight words and add notes. If that describes your app, I strongly encourage you to get a better Bible app.

b. Keep it always handy.

1) The king was to keep his Bible with him. That was a challenge when the scrolls were large, bulky, and heavy.

2) Today it is very easy. Even a large print Bible like mine is reasonably small and light.

3) One advantage of a Bible app on your phone is that it is always handy.

c. Read it all the days of your life.

1) God required that the king read his Bible all the days of his life. That means, every day! Interestingly, the Hebrew word translated “read” in this verse actually means to read aloud. Once again, we are blessed with ready access to audio Bible reading.

2) The key here is to read God’s Word every day. Your attitude toward Bible reading will make all the difference. If you read a chapter a day to keep the devil away, you may not gain much from it. However, if you approach it as Paul instructed Timothy, you will grow spiritually. (2 Timothy 2:15) “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.“

3) Bible reading is not really about how much you read, as it is about how carefully and thoughtfully you read it. Here are five tips that will improve your Bible reading.

a) Follow a schedule.

b) Establish a daily Bible reading routine. ^{Time, place}

c) Focus on what you read.

d) Ask questions about what you read.

e) Each day, write down one helpful nugget you found in your reading.

4) If you need help with reading tips, please ask me.

The second step addresses …

2. Response to the Bible (v.19)

These responses will be lacking in the lives of those who do not daily read God’s Word.

a. Daily Bible reading will help you fear God.

1) Carefully reading God’s Word will increase your awe of Him. You will see his might, power, mercy, and love.

2) It will heighten your respect and fear of Him. You will encounter His judgments of sin and His warnings.

3) The more you fear God, the less you will want to be like the ungodly world.

b. Daily Bible reading will help you obey God.

1) Bible reading reveals God’s expectations. It reveals how God dealt with those who disobeyed Him.

2) Bible reading also motivates obedience to all that God expects from us.

The third step addresses …

3. Results of fearing and obeying God (v.20)

a. They promote humility before God.

1) A king that feared and obeyed God because he spent quality time in God’s Word every day will not yield to the temptation to lift up his heart above his brethren. He will rule with humility and tenderness over his people.

2) When we truly fear God and obey Him, we will humbly submit Him and give Him the rightful position of Sovereign in our lives.

3) We will also humbly see ourselves no better than others under us, though we may have a leadership position over them. We will treat others empathetically.

4) The more we esteem our God, the less we will esteem ourselves.

b. They promote faithfulness to God.

1) The king who daily spends time in God’s word will fear and obey God, resulting in the promoting of his faithfulness to God’s commands. He will not be led astray to the right or to the left, but will stay on God’s highway.

2) Faithfulness is a virtue that God wants to cultivate in your life this coming year. God does not want you to be a yo-yo Christian, spiritually up one day and spiritually down the next. He does not want you to be easily deceived by false teachers. What gives spiritual stability? Learning to fear and obey God through spending daily time in Bible study.

The fourth step addresses …

4. Benefits of humility and faithfulness (v.20)

a. They will prolong your days.

1) God promised that if the king would ready the Bible all the days of his life > he would learn to fear and obey God explicitly > this would make him humble and faithful to God > then God would prolong his days.

2) Sometimes God prematurely takes the life of a person because he does wrong. God can also add to our days if He is pleased to do so. (Proverbs 10:27) “The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.“

3) This is a wonderful promise that God gives to those who will give Him and His Word priority in their lives.

b. They will prolong the days of your children.

1) The Old Testament is full of examples of how parents influence their children for good and for bad.

2) Like it or not, no man lives to himself. Our lives influence those under us, particularly our children.

3) God promises us that if we daily read the Bible, let it build fear and obedience in our lives, which will produce humility and faithfulness to God, we will live longer and this will pass on to our children.

Conclusion: If you have trusted Christ to save you from hell, you are a king. As a king, God wants you to daily study the Bible. If you have not been doing this daily, will you commit to begin today? Give up at least a half hour of TV or leisure each day and pursue the promises we have found in this text. Jesus is coming soon. Let’s be ready for His coming.

Song: Have I Done My Best – 368 #2

God’s Prescription for a Long Life

1 January 2023 AM – Deuteronomy 17:18-20 – Bible – Scott Childs

Transition: This morning, I want us to focus on the last of these requirements, the one about reading Bible. As we work our way through these verses, we will see that they form progressive steps.

The first step addresses …

Your Need to Read the Bible (v.18-19)

a. Have your own copy of the Bible.

1) In Moses’ day, owning a personal copy of the books of the Law was probably unheard of. To have such a copy would require countless hours of intense labour, writing every word by hand on crude paper.

2) Today we do not have that problem. Most of us own our own copy of the Bible. In this age of technology, most of us (including me) have the Bible on our computer or phone.

a) How many of you have a Bible app on your phone? ___

b) How many of you can say, “My Bible app allows me to highlight words, and attach notes, and I often do that?” __

3) Carefully studying the Bible requires that you are able to highlight and attach notes about things you learn.

4) Though I daily use my computer Bible and my Bible app, this is why I am a strong believer in owning and using a printed copy of God’s Word.

5) This is also why I dislike Bible apps that will not allow you to highlight words and add notes. If that describes your app, I strongly encourage you to get a better Bible app.

b. Keep it always handy.

1) The king was to keep his Bible with him. That was a challenge when the scrolls were large, bulky, and heavy.

2) Today it is very easy. Even a large print Bible like mine is reasonably small and light.

3) One advantage of a Bible app on your phone is that it is always handy.

c. Read it all the days of your life.

1) God required that the king read his Bible all the days of his life. That means, every day! Interestingly, the Hebrew word translated “read” in this verse actually means to read aloud. Once again, we are blessed with ready access to audio Bible reading.

3) Bible reading is not really about how much you read, as it is about how carefully and thoughtfully you read it. Here are five tips that will improve your Bible reading.

a) Follow a schedule.

b) Establish a daily Bible reading routine. Time, place

c) Focus on what you read.

d) Ask questions about what you read.

e) Each day, write down one helpful nugget you found in your reading.

4) If you need help with reading tips, please ask me.

The second step addresses …

2. Response to the Bible (v.19)

These responses will be lacking in the lives of those who do not daily read God’s Word.

a. Daily Bible reading will help you fear God.

1) Carefully reading God’s Word will increase your awe of Him. You will see his might, power, mercy, and love.

2) It will heighten your respect and fear of Him. You will encounter His judgments of sin and His warnings.

3) The more you fear God, the less you will want to be like the ungodly world.

b. Daily Bible reading will help you obey God.

1) Bible reading reveals God’s expectations. It reveals how God dealt with those who disobeyed Him.

2) Bible reading also motivates obedience to all that God expects from us.

The third step addresses …

3. Results of fearing and obeying God (v.20)

a. They promote humility before God.

1) A king that feared and obeyed God because he spent quality time in God’s Word every day will not yield to the temptation to lift up his heart above his brethren. He will rule with humility and tenderness over his people.

2) When we truly fear God and obey Him, we will humbly submit Him and give Him the rightful position of Sovereign in our lives.

3) We will also humbly see ourselves no better than others under us, though we may have a leadership position over them. We will treat others empathetically.

4) The more we esteem our God, the less we will esteem ourselves.

b. They promote faithfulness to God.

1) The king who daily spends time in God’s word will fear and obey God, resulting in the promoting of his faithfulness to God’s commands. He will not be led astray to the right or to the left, but will stay on God’s highway.

The fourth step addresses …

4. Benefits of humility and faithfulness (v.20)

a. They will prolong your days.

1) God promised that if the king would ready the Bible all the days of his life > he would learn to fear and obey God explicitly > this would make him humble and faithful to God > then God would prolong his days.

2) Sometimes God prematurely takes the life of a person because he does wrong. God can also add to our days if He is pleased to do so. (Proverbs 10:27) “The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.“

3) This is a wonderful promise that God gives to those who will give Him and His Word priority in their lives.

b. They will prolong the days of your children.

1) The Old Testament is full of examples of how parents influence their children for good and for bad.

2) Like it or not, no man lives to himself. Our lives influence those under us, particularly our children.

3) God promises us that if we daily read the Bible, let it build fear and obedience in our lives, which will produce humility and faithfulness to God, we will live longer and this will pass on to our children.

Song: Have I Done My Best – 368 #2

b) Establish a daily Bible reading routine. ^{Time, place}