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 13:16-
17

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. Command of God - verse 2

2. Authority of the spies - verse 3
3. Clear instructions - verses 17-20
4. 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. Make a survey of the land - verse 4

2. The men went to map out the land . . . and returned - verse 8
3. They wrote a description of the land
4. 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.