Tag: Michael Williams

The “Jesus Focus” in the Book of Numbers

Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Numbers

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Numbers Title

Numbers: Theme

Numbers 14:18

 “Promised Rest”

 God chastens His disobedient people but reaffirms His intent to bring them into the Promised Land.

 “The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation.” 

Christ-Focus in Numbers

Implications from Numbers

Hooks from Numbers

Because Christ bore the penalty for our sin, we may enter into God’s promised rest.

“For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, ‘As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.” – Hebrews 4:3

We must let God’s discipline guide us to the peace and rest he intends for us.

“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” – Hebrews 12:5-11

In what ways have you already begun to know God’s rest?

How would you explain this rest to someone else?

Can others see in you a peace, security, and fulfillment in life that they don’t have?

Do you see these things in other believers?

What is keeping you from knowing God’s rest more fully?

What are the biggest challenges in your life that threaten to cause you to forget how great God is?

Where have you turned for rest and fulfillment in life instead of to God?

Are you satisfied with the results of doing that?

The “Jesus Focus” in The Book of Exodus

Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Exodus

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Exodus Title

Exodus: Theme

Exodus 29:46

 “Deliverance into Presence”

 God delivers His people from slavery into His presence.

 “And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.” 

Christ-Focus in Exodus

Implications from Exodus

Hooks from Exodus

In Christ, God delivers His people from slavery to sin into fellowship with Him.

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” – Romans 7:21-25

We can trust in God’s saving power to deliver us from sin’s grip and into His saving presence.

“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” – Romans 5:9-10

Does the fact that you are a Christian feel like a burden (something to be delivered from) or deliverance?

 Are your eyes open to the wonders of the presence of God into which you have been brought, or are you still focused on the features of your life in captivity?

 What could you do to change your perspective? What could you do to help others to change their perspective?

 Do you feel like you’re in the grip of God, or of sin?

 On whose strength are you relying to free yourself from sin’s power?

 What can you do to make others aware of the freedom from their captivity to sin and its horrible effects that is available to them in Christ? Can they see evidence of that freedom in you?

 What can you do to make others aware of the rich life of fellowship with God himself that is available to them in Christ?

 Can they see evidence of that rich life of fellowship with God in you?

The “Jesus Focus” in the Book of Genesis

Reading The Bible Through The Jesus Lens in Genesis

“From Biblical Book to Biblical Hook”

Charts adapted from Dr. Michael Williams Book

Genesis Title

Genesis: Theme

Genesis 12:2-3

 “Separation from Blessing”

 God separates out one through whom He would bless all nations

 (2) And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 

Christ-Focus in Genesis

Implications from Genesis

Hooks from Genesis

Christ is the one through whom God would bless the nations.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

– Acts 4:12

As Christ’s ambassadors, we are “separated out” with the task of blessing others with the good news of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors fof Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

– 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

In what ways has God equipped you to be a blessing to other people?

 What can you do to make yourself a clearer message of Jesus Christ to those around you?

 Do people avoid you, or do they find in you some evidence of Christ’s life, which has a character and quality they desire for themselves?

 Are you able to tell them about the source of this life in a clear way?

 Do your words and life communicate something good and attractive to unbelievers, or something no one would want?

 Are you aware how you come across to others?

 Can you identify areas in your life that hinder your service as Christ’s ambassador?

 Are you willing to tackle these areas with the strength God provides you?

Book Review: “How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens” by Michael Williams

How All The Books of The Bible Point to Jesus

I have been waiting for a book like this to be written for a long time. In 1999 in a Doctor of Ministry course at Westminster Theological Seminary I was convicted and convinced that all Bible study, teaching, counseling, discipleship, and preaching must be done with Christ at the center of it all, if it’s to be deemed “Christian.” Jesus Himself said, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them the things concerning himself” in Luke 24:27 on the road to Emmaus. Ever since that time I have sought to read resources that would help me understand and interpret the Scriptures in light of the fact that all of the Scriptures – according to Jesus – are about Him. Yet, the mind-blowing thing to me is how few preachers and Bible teachers ever even get to Christ – unless he is a “tag on” at the end of a lesson or sermon (if that).

I am really excited about this book. Michael Williams has written an easy to read guide that is focused on how to read the Scriptures with a focus on Jesus. In 62 short chapters (about 4-6 pages per chapter) Williams covers the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. In each chapter there is an introduction to all the Scriptures showing the historical redemptive development that leads us to Jesus. He then gives a short theme for each book. Each chapter has a Scripture memory passage, followed by “the Jesus lens” section, and then contemporary implications from the book discussed, and “hook questions.”

The back of the book has a helpful series of charts containing five sections of each book of the Bible with a title for each book, the theme, the Christ-focus of the book, the implications, and the key questions that “hook” you. I am going to make it one of my goals to memorize the charts, along with the memory verses for each book of the Bible by putting them on flash cards. I will be consulting this book regularly and can already say with almost absolute certainty that this will be in my top ten for 2012 (of the 150 books I will read and review this year).

Thank you Michael Williams for your gift to everyone who has been waiting for a book like this: a book that answers what the key theme of each book of the Bible is; a book that shows how all of the Scriptures point to Jesus; and a book that gives us the practical implications of Jesus at the center of the Bible and our very lives. I hope that this book will launch a plethora of books in this genre that help lovers of Christ see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, and passionately worship and declare Him so much more from the Scriptures than is currently practiced.

*Michael James Williams in his own words: “After my conversion in the U. S. Navy (in a submarine beneath the North Atlantic!), I entered Columbia Bible College, where I received a B.A. (1985). This was followed by an M.A. in Religion at Westminster Theological Seminary (1987) and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania (1999). In 2000, I was ordained in the Christian Reformed Church, and since 1995 have been teaching at Calvin Theological Seminary. I have also taught courses at Westminster Theological Seminary, the University of Pennsylvania, and brief stints in Limuru, Kenya; Donetsk, Ukraine; and Warsaw, Poland. In addition to articles on Old Testament topics in various reference works and academic journals, and contributing to and editing “Mishneh Todah: Studies in Deuteronomy and Its Cultural Environment in Honor of Jeffrey H. Tigay” (2009); I have authored “Deception in Genesis: A Comprehensive Analysis of a Unique Biblical Phenomenon” (2001); “The Prophet and His Message: Reading Old Testament Prophecy Today” (2003); and, most recently, “How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture” (2012). My amazing wife, Dawn, and I enjoy hiking and all things outdoors.”