About Spiritual Mapping

SPIRITUAL MAPPING: DISCOVERING GOD'S REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE FOR YOUR CITY

What is Spiritual Mapping? Spiritual Mapping is a term used to describe a combination of 

Historical research

an understanding and application of Redemptive Gifts, and 

informed (eyes open to our surroundings) Intercession. 

Is There Scriptural Precedence for Spiritual Mapping? Numbers 13: The Reconnaissance of the Promised Land God's directions to Moses: • • • • • • •

Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan. See what the land is like. People - are they strong or weak, few or many? Land - is it good or bad, fat or lean? Cities - are they open or fortified? Trees - yes or no? Fruit - bring back some fruit of the land.

The Report That Came Back After 40 Days of Spying: • • • •

The land does flow with milk and honey. Here is a sample of the fruit we found in abundance. There are strong and fortified cities. They are the descendants of Anak.

"As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, 'Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.' So, the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town,

in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh." Joshua 18: 8-9 "Spying Out The Land" In Hebrew (tur): to meander about, especially for trade or reconnoitering; man sent to search (out), seek, spy. Numbers 13:1617 In Greek (kataskopeo): to be a sentinel, to inspect insidiously; spy out. Galatians 2:4 God did not need a report from His people to know what Canaan looked like. He was not looking for information; He was engaging His people in the process of claiming and stewarding the land, deepening their commitment to receive their inheritance. We find in Judges 18: 2-10 the Danites were able to discern a plan of attack only after spying out the territory and seeking the mind of God. A type of spiritual mapping can be seen in God's instructions to Ezekiel in Chapter 4:1-3. God told Ezekiel to prepare a physical tablet (map) for a spiritual event: • • • • • • • • •

Get yourself a clay tablet. Inscribe a city on it, Jerusalem. Lay siege against it. Build a siege wall. Raise a ramp. Pitch a camp. Place a battering ram against it. Place an iron wall between you and the city. Lay siege against it.

Numbers 13 1. 2. 3. 4.

Command of God - verse 2 Authority of the spies - verse 3 Clear instructions - verses 17-20 Lines of investigation - verses 18-23 1. Geographical/topographical studies 2. Sociological and statistical studies

3. Cultural studies 5. Information reported - verses 26-29 6. Negative decision produced - verses 31-33

Joshua 2 1. Spies sent - verses 1-2 2. Precise instructions 3. Lines of investigation - verse 2 a. General observation b. Reading of the situation in Jericho 4. God gives information through Rahab - verses 9-13 5. Report made - verses 23-24 Joshua 18 (Dividing up the rest of the land) 1. 2. 3. 4.

Make a survey of the land - verse 4 The men went to map out the land . . . and returned - verse 8 They wrote a description of the land It was distributed - verse 9

According to Galatians 2: 4-5, even the enemies of God know the principle of spiritual mapping. In Acts 17 Paul traveled through Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens studying the cities carefully: 1. Paul beheld the city full of idols. 2. He talked with the Epicureans and Stoics (philosophers) of the region, giving him a good understanding of those cities. 3. He observed their religions and objects of worship. a. Verse 22: "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, "to an unknown god". What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you." Paul extended the Gospel to the Athenians only after he understood the mindset of the people and what God was pursuing in the city.