When we speak of moving with the Lord, of being one of God's chariots that move at the whisper of God's command, we are not indicating a light, frivolous believer who cannot be depended on to bring any fruit to perfection. Rather, we are emphasizing the absolute need to follow the Lord closely, not assuming that God is commanding today the same thing He commanded yesterday.

One sign that we are not watching the Lord closely enough is that we find it necessary to plead for money. The individual who is performing the Lord's will does not have to beg for money. God pays for what He orders. It is the person who is working in his own wisdom and strength who must beg for money to help him do what he believes to be God's will.

It is difficult for an organization, particularly a denomination, to keep moving with the movings of the Lord, to be God's chariot. A denomination organizes for the same reason the builders of the Tower of Babel organized—to build a city and a tower whose top may reach to the heavens, and to make a name, so the people will not be scattered abroad over the face of the earth.

At the beginning, a denomination is formed in order to organize and coordinate the efforts of a group of people in order to accomplish what they believe to be God's work, and so they may all teach the same doctrine. It is not long, however, before the organization exists for its own sake; and its efforts thereafter are directed at strengthening and enlarging itself.

Perhaps it was God's will for a particular group to organize in the first place, but once the denomination has been formed, it is impossible to dismantle it. The assumption of the members is that it is God's will for the denomination to continue forever in the same work, holding to the same doctrine.

It is not unlikely that soon after the denomination has been formed, God desires that it either cease to exist (because its work has been completed) or that it accept new doctrines and experiences that the Holy Spirit is bringing forth, as He moves the Church toward the restoration of all that was given in the first century.

The denomination begins with one gifted person or a small band of holy radicals. Soon there is considerable financial involvement. People are hired who were not part of the original vision. Costly edifices are constructed. Seminaries are established.

The office of president of the denomination becomes attractive because of the prestige and salary. Ambitious men with administrative skill make their way to the top and then proceed to move the denomination as one would a business, using the latest techniques of advertising and merchandising. The original emphases on prayer and holiness fall by the way.

The idea of dismantling the organization appears ridiculous. Many people would lose their jobs. Yet, the Lord had removed Himself from the organization many years previously. Ornate structures remain that actually are receptacles for sacred relics. It appears that there is no exception to this.

To be continued.