Tear Down This Wall! Ephesians 2:13-16

Do you remember? President Ronald Reagan, at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany, 1987 Soviet Premier Gorbachev was asked to tear down the Berlin wall which separated East and West Berlin / East and West Germany. In August, 1989 the wall came down and opened up all of Germany again.

Ephesians 2: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

1. Walls of Defense Walls can protect us from harm, invasion We want peace with others, but some will not allow us to live in peace. We need a wall to protect us from Unkind words Criticism Those who hate us / Christ The world and its influence

2. Walls prevent communication Listen – requires a cycle – Think, Express, Hear, Process, Feedback. If this cycle breaks down at any point – there is no communication Number one complaint to marriage counselors – lack of communication

3. Walls prevent sight Some things in our life we don't want to share with the world – hurts, pain, troubles Walls also keep others from seeing the sin in your life Are you building walls to keep others from seeing the sin in your life?

4. Walls compartmentalize us We are often guilty of trying shove everyone into some pre-set compartment Name calling – liberal, conservative, political party Race, education, wealth, position We try to push all ______ into a compartment But we resent when others do that to us

5. Two types of walls Load bearing Can't do without them They hold up the structure of our life Do not tear these out – your life will collapse Interior walls These walls can be removed, changed, added They can be opened, moved or transformed

Conclusion Are there load bearing walls that you need to support, strengthen or replace? Are there interior walls in your life that need to be removed or changed? PROBLEM: Most of the walls in our life have no doors in them. STOP BUILDING WALLS! START OPENING DOORS!