Good morning. This sermon is for all the toms in the world, and all of us with a name other than Tom, because God speaks to each and every one of us. Dear friends in Christ, this weekend we conclude the theme of our four-week series entitled Living Freely, Discovering True Wealth in Christ. And that word wealth is what we refer to regarding our financial terms, obviously. And even in that area of life, we know that we're only managers. We're only what you could say our stewards of the resources that God, who is the owner, has given to us in this life. And he's also made us to be consecrated. It's probably not a word you text often or even send in emails, but consecrated means set apart for God's purposes. We do that because we're his holy people. And in addition to being stewards today, I want to talk to you about a special relationship that we have with him. And that is that we are children of God. There were some children who were playing out on a school playground one day, and they're teasing each other like the kids often do. And they began to pick on a boy who was adopted. And they said to him, You don't have any real parents. In fact, you don't even know who your real parents are. You're just adopted. And to that, the boy responded, Well, yeah, you know what? When you were born, your parents didn't have a choice. They had to keep you. My parents didn't just have me, they wanted me. And we are adopted children too. And as adopted children of God, we are special. Why? Because God wanted us. And from eternity, his plan was that he was going to choose us. Even before we were born, or even before we got the chance to prove we're sinners, he is the one who said, I want you. He made our place and his family possible. And he did that by carrying out a plan of salvation. One you see there behind. It was on the cross of Jesus Christ. And then God made his choice and his adoption of reality by sending his Holy Spirit into our hearts and making us his own. He put his name upon us in our baptism. And that work which began with our baptism, God has continued in our heart to this day. We know Jesus lives in us. Our body is a whole temple of the Holy Spirit. God's in us. What do we do with that? Well, we know that we can say with confidence, I am a child of God. That's what John says in our text for this message today. God has called us to be his children, and we can say, You and I are a child of God. That's what we are. Believe it. Well, John, he wasn't a young man when he wrote these words. He was probably in his 90s about this time. And you would think that by this time he would take his place in the family of God for granted. But not John. Now look at the enthusiasm of the words that he shares with us. He says, How great is the love the Father has lavished on us. That we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. It is. We know that. Do you remember the musical Annie? You know, there were the children who were in the orphanage there, and they were always hoping that some family would come and take them and to have them for their very own at their homes in their families. And Annie, she just couldn't comprehend that this wealthy and wonderful Daddy Warbucks, that he would want to choose Annie to be with him and to come and live with him. And why would someone like that, she thought, choose such a plain and ordinary person like herself? Well, Annie, you know, she said, this is a pinch me and tell me it's real experience when that happens. And so it is with being a child of God. But in a much, much more dramatic way because we don't have to hope that. We know that it's real for us. You know, without Jesus, it'd be the opposite. We'd say, you know, there's really no reason for me to hold on to this hope in my heart that God would want to choose me and to make me his child. You know, I've got no right of birth in that matter. Well, we know too that the human race lost that right in the fall of humanity with Adam and Eve back in that Garden of Eden. And so it is with us here. We know we haven't earned that right. Have we always really used God's name with respect? Have we always obeyed his word and used it diligently? Have we always obeyed our own parents? Have we never lost our temper and then regretted later of something we said before? We know that we haven't kept God's commandments perfectly. We don't deserve to be God's child. And yet, without a doubt, John is the one who says, How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. And that's what we are. So how can John be so confident about this? How can we be so sure? It's because God would not have sent his son Jesus to die for us if he didn't love us. And he wouldn't have put his name on us if we if he didn't want us to be his children and choose us for himself. John goes on to say, this is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ has laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. And if anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need, but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and truth. Look at those two last big words there. What are those actions and truth that John's speaking about? Well, the truth is we know that Jesus himself is the truth. And the Bible, that's God's word of truth. And as children obey their parents, we follow what God has for us as he directs our lives. And those actions? It's our time and talents that he gives us. And imagine trying to calculate over your lifetime how many hours and days, weeks, months over the years that you have actually served God. It's gonna be hard to count, isn't it? Well, we know too that we are the ones who can manage our time and our abilities for his purposes. And it's a joy that we have because he's given us that opportunity. And so, lastly, our treasures, they are also a blessing from God, too. He continues to give to us, and our response is to be thank you, Lord. Thank you for giving me a portion of those blessings so that I could use them for you, again, for your purposes. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 9, each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. Not reluctantly or under compulsion, but we know that God loves a cheerful giver. There's one misconception that people can believe that they have to have all their finances in order before they can give. Well, the first step in generosity is to give. And that sounds odd because when you think you don't have anything to give, we know that even the first dollar that we give is a step in our faith and trust in God. Here at Trinity, we know that people they are moved in different ways and at different times in their lives in giving. And there's an initial decision of giving a generous response to God and what he's doing through Trinity, and following all the way to an open-handed, over-the-top type of response of giving. And that's described in Acts 2 as Luke shares. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. This is what I call the generosity ladder. The question is, where are you on this ladder? Visitors who come to Trinity are certainly our guests. And there may come a time where a newer attender comes to feel and think, yeah, I'm family here. And if you are a guest, is God calling you to take the first step? The first step in joining our family and God's mission here to make a difference in our community and the lives of those who call Trinity their spiritual home. The first step can lead you to more instances of generosity as you continue to feel the nudge of God, really what He gives you. Even if that nudge is going to be something that affects your financial accounts. You begin to hold your change and your money bills with an open hand instead of a clenched fist. Yeah, you may be keeping it, but you can't be receiving anymore either with a closed fist. We know that God's next step for you is to be intentional and not just to offer something that's handy, but a bit of your surplus. Not like that either. But to plan to give. And when you recognize that all of what we have is God's, then we know that our budget's going to have an identifiable, consistent pattern of giving. It's Paul who told the Corinthians, on the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up. Now we know that taking this step, it can be scary because we don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, or the resources that are going to be needed about tomorrow. And we don't know what tomorrow is going to bring, those needs. Well, the ups and downs of our economy, yeah, we're still in that even today. And that can really make us think twice about doing certain things or giving certain things out away from what we own. You know, we might say, do I really need one more thing that's going to squeeze into my tight budget already? Well, what God is asking you to do is in this step is to trust Him. He's the one who does know about tomorrow. And intentional giving, it raises questions like, how much and how often? Those are good questions. God is really shifting our thinking about our stuff. And your giving should be directly and proportionally tied to the amount of income that you get. The how much is what your generosity is compared to the generosity that God gives to you. What's important about this is consistency, and that's a mark of your trust in God. So set a regular amount, whatever it is, and a regular rhythm, too. Proverbs 3.9 reminds us: honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Here at Trinity, we have offering envelopes for the people to be able to give. One way. It's a tool to help you grow in that giving. And in late November, many of our families will get a box of envelopes for the giving of the next year. And it could be for regular funds that we have and also for special ways in which we can connect with the community outside of us, even. Another tool is through electronic or online giving. And uh right now that program is called Amplify. That's a good word, that's a new word for us. Tinley Park, our village, the theme is life amplified. And so amplify, you know what an amplifier does, it makes things grow. And so more and more training members are using this secure method for their giving. And when you set aside an amount, you can designate it for one time, but hopefully you can set up for weekly, bi-weekly, twice a month, or even monthly giving. We know that being intentional, that brings honor to God. We give off the top, not scraping the bottom of our resources, our finances, and so we can reflect the goodness of God that He gives to us so much. So when you're in well into the habit of intentional giving, God's going to keep nudging you with the how much question. And the traditional mark for God's people is the tithe or 10% of your income. Initially that may sound huge, but God is working on your heart and giving you an open hand. And tithing is one great way to keep loosening your grip on your finances, their stuff. Giving 10% back to God, that's a small commission to him, because he's the true owner of 100% that we have. Has your intentional and consistent giving been leading you to a tithe? Put the tithe back in God's hands and be amazed at how he'll stretch out that other 90%. When people get to the top of the ladder, we see that God has truly given them an abundant life. And that's not only resources enough for themselves and their families, but also for the ways that our church and school together that we can be able to provide in even in our larger community. These are people who start to see that God's hand is all around them. And knowing that they're not keeping their wealth, their comfort, you know, that the world knows about. Instead, they're growing God's kingdom. And as we can see there, money shows where our heart is. The funny thing about tithing is that you learn that you can live on that 90%, and maybe even 80%, and even less. We see that with God nothing is impossible. And wherever you are on that generosity ladder, I encourage you to pray about that, to take a step up to the next level. Commit for just a specific period of time, maybe six, eight, ten weeks. Do that and see how God provides for you. Can you live off of that and still do everything that you want to do, especially for His purpose? Whatever your next step is, know that God has begun this good work in you to see you through this and to know that you can have an open hand for all the goodness that God gives to each of us. You each are a personal testimony of God's goodness as you reflect, especially on how the Lord's blessed you in various ways, and perhaps you may one day share that blessing with others. Our Lord's given us the ability to live freely as his brothers and sisters in Christ. And we do that with our time, the talents, and the treasures all together. Why do we do that? Because our Heavenly Father has made you his child. You'll become not only generous because you're going to realize that all that you have comes from God, but you're going to know that he gave all his life for you in Jesus. What a joy it is to live freely as God's children. And that means giving back to the God who gives over and over again to us. That's how we can discover true wealth in Christ. Let's pray. Gracious God, we thank you as you call us to be children. There's no grandchildren, great-grandchildren in your family. We're all the same, and we can each call you our Father. And so we ask for your direction, Lord, in our lives. Be with us, and may we be wise stewards, managers of all the things that you give us, of the time that we can spend, the gifts that you give us, and also our resources. So, Lord, uh, take that, and as uh we have our open hand, that hand is extended to be the one that you reach out to, and you walk hand in hand with us each and every day. So all the glory goes to you, Jesus, and uh may we just be reflections of that today and always. In your name we pray. Amen.