Introduction:
We Christians talk a lot about saving souls. But today I want us to think about saving churches.
The Archbishop of London this month made a statement that rocked Britain. He claimed that Christianity is vanquished in Great Britain.
Let me ask you a question which may shock to you: Is Christianity worth saving?
Of course there will be those who claim we are enjoying the greatest revival of all time, and they will disagree with the Archbishop.
My remarks today will make no impact on either the optimists or the pessimists. I want to speak to the rest of us.
Fact:  “Christianity” is in trouble.
Question: Can we save it?

Of course, I do not mean “the Church!”  And I do not mean nominal Christianity – the religion that masquerades as the Church. Every religion is at best man-made, and at worst demon-inspired.
Religion is man making his own way of salvation.
Real Christianity, the message of Christ, is a revelation from heaven, and has nothing to do with religion. Religion is often the cause of war.

Now the Church is not a collection of Christians. The Church is the drawing together of a body by Christ’s Spirit. Of course, the Church will never die. Jesus gave us that assurance.

But local churches do get in trouble, and from time to time cease to exist. In this series of messages I want to give some advice for dying churches.

Key Points:
In the Book of Revelation, John is told to write to each of the churches in Asia. In those letters, Christ gives us some pointers in how to save the churches.

You will notice these city names mean something. We can learn from their meanings!
(Do you know what your name means? I was once encouraging a group of believers to live up to the meaning of their names. To help them know the meaning of their particular name I had brought with me a list of name meanings. There was one surly lady in church that day, and I was amused when I read out the meaning of her name: it was “battle-axe”! She certainly had lived up to her name).

Lesson # 1: Be Beautiful!
Now the first church we shall look at in this series of messages is Ephesus.
But she had let herself go. The church at Ephesus had lost her first love.

Ephesus – meaning: “Desirable.”

When we get the beauty back in the churches, then we will see the sparkle come back!
Revelation 2:5  “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

But how does the Church keep beautiful?
Look at these verses for some answers:-

1. The Church is made beautiful by God’s Word.
1 Chronicles 16:29  “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

Listen to me: the Church is made beautiful by the washing of the Word. The written and the living Word of God.
She does not need makeup to hide the flaws, she needs a makeover.
When writing to the Ephesians Paul uses the allegory of the Church as a bride.
Ephesians 5:25-28  “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”
Holiness is the beauty of the Church! “..It should be HOLY and without blemish!”

2. The Church is made beautiful by God’s presence.
Psalms 26:8  “LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.”

Is your Church that kind of place?
His honour is a two-edged sword. He should be honoured, He is worthy of honour.
Do you love this House of God because of its architecture? Its stained glass windows? Because it is historic?
Or do you love your it here because it is the place where God’s honour dwells?  Where God is honoured.
Where we are honoured to have the blessing of His presence?

I am trying to get a moment of cool in the Spanish desert, sitting underneath this Tamarisk tree that I planted more than 40 years ago. This tree reminds me of our Father Abraham. Abraham had been called to pilgrimage… a traveller, but one day he stopped travelling, and planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. After that he resided as an alien many days in the land of the Philistines.
The problem with planting trees is we will stay around to watch them grow! The text implies this was the case with Abraham. He planted a grove, or tamarisk tree, and stayed in the land of the Philistines for many days.
People put great value on permanence. The old proverb insists that a rolling stone gathers no moss. But we Christians are not called to gather moss. And we are not called to sojourn. The faithful, like Abraham are called to travel. We are pilgrims. But sometimes we put our roots too deep in a passing world!
Of course I am talking figuratively.
I wonder if like that tree Abraham planted, our own roots in this passing world are too deep.
Is it time to move on?

Pilgrims quite simply do not stay in one place. There are places to go, things to see, and most of all promises to obtain. As Abraham sat by his tree, faraway places beckoned to him. They were not exotic locations offered by travel agencies. They were places of appointment with the plans and purposes of Almighty God.
Moriah beckoned! This was the place of sacrifice.
We like to hear about God leading into blessings. But sometimes He may lead us into sacrifice. In the next two verses God called Abraham to travel to the land of Moriah. The purpose: to offer a sacrifice – and that sacrifice was his only son Isaac.
We know the outcome of the story. But Abraham didn’t. The birth of his child, Isaac, was a miracle. And now he was being asked to go to the land of Moriah and offer his only son – his miracle – on the altar!
Sometimes we must leave the comfort of the groves, and face the horror of sacrifice in the land of Moriah.
Hebron beckoned him! This was the place of suffering.
We like to hear testimonies of God’s leading into joy, but sometimes He may lead into sorrow. In the next chapter there is a funeral in Canaan. Abraham’s beloved wife, Sarah, dies and is buried in Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. As I read the story of Abraham the other day, I cried. I was so sad for this man of God. Sometimes we must lose a loved one here on earth to keep our focus on Heaven.
Have you lost a loved one? A godly and beloved partner? Don’t allow it to defeat you. Make it a milestone – and let it mark your progress towards the promises. He ran with you. She ran with you. Do not fail them now. Stay in the race!

Christians are not called to sit in the shade of a tree. Like faithful Father Abraham, God’s People today are called to be mobile. We must even carry our trees with us. Am I saying that we should have a bonsai in our suitcase? No, of course not. What I am saying is this:
Jesus carried his cross. It was a tree trunk. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” — Galatians 3:13. And now we must carry a tree – a cross – and follow:
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” — Matthew 16:24
That is the call Christ offers. No more – no less. Let’s pack up our bags and follow!
It is time we began to move.

We are in Murcia – at the epicentre of last year´s earthquake. What a blessing to be here again with this congregation comprised totally of immigrants. (The pastor is the only Spaniard!) A warm greeting from my dear old friend, Pastor Pedro. He told the congregation that in those early days I was his “spiritual father!” And he learned “the life of faith” in those early days. On the right, the congregation is gathering. When the service began, the place was full. Yes, those are Christmas decorations – and it is February 5th! Some Spaniards keep their decorations up until the end of January, but here in the Christian Center they keep them up all year. They say that every day is a day of celebration for them! This Romanian mother has come to Spain to work in the tomato fields. She will earn very little for her hard work here in recession-hit Spain.But things are better here than they are in Romania. Here´s a couple of photos of the earthquake damage. The Christian Centre was only damaged a little. But the Baptist church nearby was very badly damaged. Pastor Pedro is still working alongside the Baptist pastor and congregation rebuilding the church.