Living a life of faith is one that is encompassed by a life of supernatural action.  These are actions that take place and cannot be explained by any other way than to say that God had to do it.  One man in particular exemplified this life of faith, and that is George Muller.

George Muller lived in England during the 1800’s as a Christian Evangelist, but it was his faith that has made him a name worth knowing today.  There are several books and articles that you can read to better understand who George Muller was, besides the numerous quotes of his that paint a clear picture of his beliefs.  However, I only wish to share about the four rules of living by faith that Muller lived by as these are rules that we too should be considering.  Today is rule #1.

As George Muller was a full-time minister, his first rule of living by faith is also intended for those called into full-time ministry.  This rule is pretty simple; never receive a fixed salary.

This rule Muller lived under is of great importance in not receiving a fixed salary from the church you are called to serve.  Ironically, before I found this rule of Muller, God was already speaking to me this same point.  If I as a minister of God to a local body take a fixed salary then where does my faith in my dependency upon God come in?  Where then is there room for God to do a supernatural action if I have already placed my trust of income into the hands of men within the body I serve?  Essentially, receiving a fixed salary from the church is turning the call of God into a job, having a similar vocation to those who are working in the secular world. 

As God was teaching me about this topic, He sent me to the Old Testament church.  When a parishioner brought their sacrifice to the temple, the priest would take the offering and complete the sacrifice as described in the law.  Specific portions of the sacrifice were to go to different places.  Of these portions, there was a section that was to go to the priests and their families to consume as this was what they were to live on.  The same is to be true today; there is a percentage that is to go to the shepherds of the house and their families.

Taking a fixed salary typically means that either too much or too little of the offering is going to provide for the shepherds of the church.  The result of this will either maim or kill the church or it will maim or kill the shepherd.  We wonder why statistics say over 7,000 churches close their doors each year and over 1,700 ministers abandon the call per month in the USA?  I know it is not all based around a fixed salary, but I will venture to say it is based around faith, the lack of supernatural action of God.

I guess what bothers me the most on this topic is that many of our universities are instructing young men and women who are called to a life of ministry to have a strong minor so they can be bi-vocational ministers.  They are saying that the church cannot support a full-time minister, so they must support themselves outside of the church.  Essentially they are saying that God cannot meet the needs they will have in life.  To use plain and clear words, these ministers are being trained to not live by faith.  So if we are training our ministers to not operate in faith, then how can we expect our churches to operate in faith? 

For us ministers, are we taking a fixed salary now?  Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you about faith, and let Him guide you into how to go about changing your church.  For those who are not called to a life of full-time ministry, are you currently doing your part in tithing into the church?  Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you about faith, and let Him guide you into your role in supporting your Shepherd and encouraging the rest of the body to also live in faith.

I desire to live a Faith-Full life, for His glory alone.