Is a Faith Ministry Biblical?

Is a Faith Ministry Biblical?
By Peter Sarkis


"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,
Says the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).​

     For my blog article this month, I will be addressing the following topic: “Is a Faith Ministry Biblical?” My answer is absolutely yes! I will be explaining first what a Faith Ministry is. Second, I will be giving reasons why a Faith Ministry is biblical. Third, I will be giving examples from history from great men of God who “lived by faith” and who trusted in God “for great and mighty things” (Jer. 33:3). And finally, I will be giving personal applications.

     So what is a Faith Ministry? A Faith Ministry is a church or a Christian ministry that seeks to “live by faith” and trusts God to provide for all its needs solely by going to God in prayer. A Faith Ministry is completely dependent upon God to provide and does not solicit funds from people. It is completely non-profit and does not charge for Bibles, Christian books or Christian literature. Its primary aim is to glorify God and to see souls saved. It does not trust in the “arm of the flesh” and does not use human techniques or gimmicks to accomplish its goals.
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I will be giving several reasons why a Faith Ministry is biblical:
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1. A Faith Ministry is biblical because it glorifies God. A Faith Ministry brings the most glory to God because it is completely dependent upon Him. When a church or ministry is completely looking to God to provide for all its needs and is not constantly talking about money and soliciting donations, then God gets the most glory. Our ultimate aim is to glorify God. When we bring our needs to God in prayer and God answers, God gets the most glory! Jesus said, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). God is most glorified in man’s dependence.
2. A Faith Ministry is biblical because God is able to provide. God is our Heavenly Father. He “knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8). He “shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). God is not only able to supply all our needs but He is able to bless us even more abundantly so that we can be a channel of blessing to help others and to have abundance to do His work. God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).
3. A Faith Ministry is biblical because the gospel ought to be free. Salvation is completely free. It is pure grace. Grace is the unmerited and undeserved favor of God toward man. Salvation is not by works but by grace through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8). We ought to give the gospel message free. It grieves me very much when I find churches and ministries that charge for CD’s, books, literature, and Bibles. Many churches nowadays even have a book store inside its church. The church has become like a business – buying and selling. If Jesus was on earth now, He would “cleanse” His church like He cleansed the temple when “He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business” (John 2:14) and “He would say, Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (John 2:16) and “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves’” (Luke 19:46). God meant that the gospel should be free and given free. In Isaiah 55:1 we read, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8). The Apostle Paul said, “What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:18).
4. A Faith Ministry is biblical because faith pleases God. The Bible says that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). The principle of living by faith is found throughout the Bible. In Habakkuk 2:4 we read, “But the just shall live by his faith.” In Hebrews 10:38 we read, “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” Paul said that “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Abraham was a great example of faith. “So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” (Gal. 3:9). It says of Abraham that “not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Rom. 4:19-20) and “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20). God wants us to exercise our faith and to trust Him for “great and mighty things” (Jer. 33:3).
5. A Faith Ministry is biblical because God answers prayer. God is a prayer-answering and a prayer-hearing God. The Psalmist said, “O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come” (Psalm 65:2). Jesus said, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matt. 21:22) and “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). When we bring our needs to prayer and God answers, God is greatly praised and glorified. Jesus said, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:3).

     There are two great examples of men who “lived by faith” in history. They are George Muller and Hudson Taylor. George Muller (1805-1898) is one of the greatest examples of men who took God at His word and who trusted God with child-like faith. God used him to build orphanages and care for more than ten thousand orphans all without making known his needs to man and without asking anyone for penny. George Muller never went into debt and believed it was unscriptural. George Muller not only founded orphanages but also founded the Scriptural Knowledge Institution to circulate freely the Holy Scriptures; to aid in supplying the needs of missionaries and to assist Day-schools, Sunday-schools and Adult-schools to give instruction based upon Scriptural principles. George Muller is a great inspiration to me and I have devoted the whole web site:  www.georgemuller.org to encourage men and women and boys and girls to trust God for “great and mighty things” (Jer. 33:3). George Muller did everything for the glory of God. His chief reason for establishing the orphan houses is to have a living proof that God does and still hears prayer and to strengthen the faith of the church and of the children of God. I encourage you to visit www.georgemuller.org to read many books, articles, quotes and even to listen to the whole autobiography of George Muller on audio. It has proven to be a great strength and encouragement to me as I listened recently to “The Life of George Muller” on Sermonaudio.com. The link is found on the George muller web site at: http://www.georgemuller.org/audio.html. George Muller said:

"God's plan is, there shall be none of self and all of Christ. The very people who are doing the most for God in saving souls, in mission work, in the care of orphans, are those who are working on short supplies of strength, of money, of talents, of advantages, and are kept in a position of living by faith and taking from God, day by day, both physical and spiritual supplies. This is the way God succeeds and gains conquests over His own people, and over the unbelief of those who look on His providences." – George Muller

     The second great example from history is Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) who was a missionary to China and was the founder of China Inland Mission. Hudson was greatly influenced by the principles of George Muller. Hudson Taylor was one of the missionaries that George Muller supported financially. Often times, Hudson was almost completely out of funds until he got an unexpected gift from George Muller or other Christians. Hudson said, "Many seem to think that I am very poor. This certainly is true enough in one sense, but I thank God it is ‘as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing all things." And my God shall supply all my need; to Him be all the glory. I would not, if I could, be otherwise than I am - entirely dependent myself upon the Lord, and used as a channel of help to others.’” He also said, "Depend on it. God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so." Visit www.firstlovepublications.org to read more quotes and articles by Hudson Taylor.

     In conclusion, a faith ministry ought to be normal thing and not abnormal in the Christian life and in the church. How can we apply this to our personal lives? Everyone ought to develop a life of complete and utter dependence on God and exercise his faith. We should seek the glory of God above all things. Of course, we need to make a living and work in this world as good stewards of God. The Bible says, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10) and “if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8). But God said, “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth” (Deut. 8:18). “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing” (Psalm 34:10). Ultimately, God is one who provides for us and gives us the strength and health to make a living and to put food on the table. And God not only wants us to use the resources He has given us to take care of our temporal needs but also to take care of spiritual needs to reach the world with the gospel.

     I encourage everyone to listen to Pastor Joe’s Jacowitz sermon titled “The Necessity of a Faith Ministry” found on http://www.georgemuller.org/audio.html. Part 1 and Part 2 to talk about the importance of living by faith. I will close with a quote by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) and Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758).

"Paul's God is our God and will supply all our need. Paul felt sure of this in reference to the Philippians, and we feel sure of it as to ourselves. God will do it, for it is like Him: He loves us, He delights to bless us, and it will glorify Him to do so. His pity, His power, His love, His faithfulness, all work together that we be not famished. What a measure doth the LORD go by: 'According to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.' The riches of His grace are large, but what shall we say of the riches of His glory? His 'riches of glory by Christ Jesus'-who shall form an estimate of this? According to this immeasurable measure will God fill up the immense abyss of our necessities. He makes the LORD Jesus the receptacle and the channel of His fullness, and then He imparts to us His wealth of love in its highest form. Hallelujah!" – Charles H. Spurgeon

"That the creature should have so absolute and universal a dependence on God, provision is made that God should have our whole souls, and should be the object of our undivided respect. If we had our dependence partly on God, and partly on something else, man's respect would be divided to those different things on which he had dependence. Thus it would be if we depended on God only for a part of our good, and on ourselves, or some other being, for another part: or if we had our good only from God, and through another that was not God, and in something else distinct from both, our hearts would be divided between the good itself, and him from whom, and him through whom, we received it. But now there is no occasion for this, God being not only he from or of whom we have all good, but also through whom, and is that good itself, that we have from him and through him. So that whatsoever there is to attract our respect, the tendency is still directly towards God; all unites in him as the centre." – Jonathan Edwards