INTRODUCTION

As we enter this season of Advent, our nation is still rocked by the terrorist attacks of September 11th. It was, of course, a devastating tragedy, but we make it even more devastating if we continue to refuse to see and live in God’s intention. We see it in 2 Chronicles 7: 14—“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” But instead of humility and repentance, we are seeing a great push for pride—even within the church!

Almost 400 years ago, Jacques Benigne Bossuet, the great preacher wrote, "The honor of the world makes us attribute to ourselves all that we do, and ends by setting us upon pedestals like little gods. Well, proud and complacent soul, thus deified by the honor of the world, see how the eternal, the living God abases Himself in order to confound you! Man makes himself God through pride, God makes Himself man through humility! Man falsely attributes to himself what belongs to God; and God, in order to teach him to humble himself, takes what belongs to man. This is the remedy for insolence. This alone can confound the honor of the world—that Hill of Calvary, that Cross of Shame, Jesus Christ the Incarnate God, our Pattern, our Master, our King." And it all began to be manifested at the Manger—the God of the universe humbled Himself and became man in order to humble him and make him His own.

You see, pride is never a good thing. Not once in the Scriptures is it referred to as an admirable characteristic. The world, of course, is going to admire it, and in fact, demand it, but the true Christian has his eyes on the Lord alone, and not himself. When Paul refers to “boasting,” it is in the Lord—not in himself. Even when it comes to having confidence in being able to accomplish something, the Christian’s focus will be on the Lord’s ability to do it through him. Without humility and the forsaking of pride, we don’t even see our need for the Lord and His salvation in the first place. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Humility is to make a right estimate of one’s self. The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem.” Understand this, as well—putting yourself down is not the call, either. That is self-centered, as well. The “nobody’s” focus is Jesus alone, the eternal “Somebody!” Throughout this booklet, you will be looking at many people of the Bible—many very well-known and many not. Today, people like to believe that those in the Bible were somehow “superhuman,” and therefore, our lives can be far less than theirs. But this is not true—by their own admission, they were “nobodies.” Without exception, the Lord was not looking for people who had long lists of fantastic abilities in order to accomplish His plan. No, He was looking for those who were simply available—available to be shaped by Him for His greater purposes. And it is no different today. Join us as we look at the "nobodies of Christmas," beginning in even the Old Testament—for each one graphically and powerfully points to the Lord of Christmas. Have a very blessed Christmas season!

~Rev. Roy D. Warren, Jr., Pastor