Tear Down That Wall

President Regan at the Brandenburg Gate
From National Archives (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75855517)

I'm beginning this series of song videos/blogs with a song I was reminded of by two sermons we heard at Butler Church in the past two weeks. This last Sunday's message was based on Matthew 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Back in 2006, I was part of the missions team at our church. At the time we were trying to encourage the church to think beyond the walls. In the Bible, the church is never a building or place to go to, rather, it is a group of people. Yet often our outreach efforts are focused on getting people to "come to church." Jesus tells us to, "Go...and make disciples," not to sit around and wait for people to show up. How can we be a "light" to our neighbors if the light is blocked by the walls of our houses and church buildings? So, our missions team encouraged people to find ways to get to know their neighbors so that we might be a blessing to them in some way.

That was the background for the song. I also borrowed a line from a speech by Ronald Regan at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987:

“Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” (emphasis mine)

Tear Down That Wall
© Edd Russell, Fresno 11/2006



D
  You are a God without borders,
          Em
  You stepped out from heaven for us,
           C
  You reached in the dark, lonely places;
     D                                    Asus-A
  Illuminated us with Your love.
D
  You tore down all of the fences
           Em
  That kept us from coming to You.
          C
  You opened the doorway to heaven
             D
  When Jesus stepped into our lives.


C/G
  But we’ve erected some fences
D
  To keep all Your love to ourselves.
C/G
  We hide Your light under a basket
D
  So everyone stays in the dark.


                    C/G                                             D
We want to tear down that wall. We want to tear down that wall. (2x)
                      C/G                                                        D
Jesus help us tear down that wall. Cuz we’ve got to tear down that wall.
                          C/G                                              D
Yes, we need to tear down that wall. We want to tear down that wall.