This was past along to me via email and I thought it was worth sharing.
God Bless
mj
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"Probably Gideon could have "preached" against Baal worship a long
time with only slight opposition, but it was when he decided to
TAKE DECISIIVE ACTION and demolish false religion that his
opposition arose becoming violent. The same will be true for the
Gideon's of today when directed by God to take a stand against
man-made traditions, unbiblical religious practices or any other
idolatrous form of religion that substitutes for a personal
communion with God. People who are involved in false religion
will usually tolerate us holding a private position (conviction) of
not bowing to man-made tradition and empty Baal-like rituals.
"Even some will allow a few of us to teach against religiosity without
a major backlash. However, woe to the one who decides to
ACTUALLY APPLY the clear teaching of the Bible found in
Gideon's story and begin to dismantle and remove the idols that
have flooded the church. THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BREAKS
LOOSE! We desperately need some Gideons who will understand
that we don't have a choice in whether or not to pull down idolatry
in the church. True Gideon's recognize that they either destroy
idols or the idols will come upon them. It's that simple. It's not optional.
"May God raise up a Gideon band of spiritual warriors annointed
with boldness to live out the charge given to people like Gideon as
well as Jeremiah who was appointed by God to "uproot and tear
down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jer 1:10).
"Many today are attempting to build a proper kind of altar to the Lord
without removing the old Baal altar first, which doesn't work. The
BUILDING AND PLANTING comes after the tearing down."
-Tony Langton
