The Jesus Map

The Jesus Map

If your Christianity is not walking this road, following this map, stop right now and repent. You are walking the powerful delusion sent by God.

For a discussion on How Jesus Walked this map click here.

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Destination 1 Water Baptism

To one degree or another all who follow Jesus will walk His narrow road.

This map is the salvation road – well – at least a quick road map of it.

The repentance gospel of Jesus has been mapped out by God through His Son for each who genuinely call on His name to see.

This is but a brief overview and the best way to understand the map is to walk the walk of Jesus.

If you, or someone else you know, is not on this road they are not an honest disciple of Jesus. Now would be a suitable time for such to fully repent.

The first destination is to be water baptized for the reasons God states and how He has instructed it to be done. Starting out on the narrow road ignoring God is not the best way to begin. The narrow road is difficult enough without adding the necessity for Jesus to discipline you because you ignored the Father. Walking as Jesus walks means obeying God in all things for the reasons of His Truth.

If Jesus was water baptized to fulfill or obey all righteousness, how much more, you poor sinner, have need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

If you refuse this simple, easy to understand sound doctrine that Jesus not only lived, but taught, then for your own well-being I recommend not going to any other destination. See Even The Demons Believe or other posts for a deeper study of this required command. After all water baptism, if done according to the righteousness of Jesus, saves by the power of His resurrection. It is highly recommended you follow this map only by the power of the resurrection beginning its work in you. Baptism:  this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also–not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 3:21)

Who would start out with a message, a word of wisdom, with the proverbs of God and follow Jesus without having his, or her, legs healed first? I am not saying the road could not be traversed, but there is a greater danger of failure and hindering others. In short, ignore the fundamental meaning and spiritual power in this starting point and you could wind up beaten up by demons. Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. (Acts 19:14-18)

Do not think you will be given God’s grace to “share Jesus” with any great power in the Holy Spirit if you yourself are stubborn towards God’s clear first footsteps of following Jesus. Indeed, most of what is shared is just one denomination sharing their personal belief in Jesus, not the Living Word of God.

Destination 2 Desert Temptations & Desert Deserters

After you have counted the cost, been water baptized for the forgiveness of sins, just as Jesus set the example, you will immediately be led by the Holy Spirit to confront your temptations. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

The Holy Spirit will begin to separate you from your little world and weaken you by placing you in the desert.

You may also experience persecution, questioning, and testing by those around you.

This is where many an enemy of Jesus are created. They joyfully accept the good news but when the time of this first testing comes they quit, become resentful and some turn to vehemently persecute Jesus. Their vary lives are enemies of the cross they had once picked up to carry and follow Jesus into the desert.

This group of desert deserters does drive one to tears.

Tears for them, tears for the others they will cause to stumble and tears that Jesus Christ and the glorious message of the cross that can truly save men from sin is slandered.

These are the false brothers and sisters that will often slander, twist and pervert your good life in Christ. As Paul warned, be on guard against such false brothers.

If you are not weeping like this over the message of the offensive cross of Christ you must have somehow skipped your time of being sent into the desert by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Best to back up, wake up and let God shake up your religious walk.

Destination 3 Calling To Repentance 

You will begin a life of repentance as you follow the Holy Spirit’s convictions, purifications, and enlightenment.

You, like Jesus, will come to understand that Jesus only has one goal, to call others to repentance.

Your life is short, your things are meaningless, your relationships are temporary, and your goals in life are null and void.

You will learn there is no such thing as a Christian artist, Christian scholar, Christian policeman, Christian lawyer, Christian prosecutor, or Christian welder. This will become more and more important a distinction if you continue to surrender to God’s will. If you fail to surrender and fail to continue on the narrow road this will make no sense. There is only a Christian that is a disciple of Jesus consumed with the goal Jesus was on fire about. It took the 12 Apostles some time to catch on to this. Learn from their mistake and gain the heart of Jesus so that even what you eat, when you eat and concern about eating disappear and are meaningless because like Jesus: But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” (John 4:32)

It requires great resolve to keep in step with the Holy Spirit so that a disciple of Jesus is not pulled off into any concern other than preaching repentance. A person might be a plumber but their life proclaims, repent and believe the Good News of repentance.

Time is short.

The days are evil and being awake in the Lord’s will to make the most of every opportunity requires a hating of one’s own life.

Jesus had only one reason, one cause, and one work while on earth.

Everything Jesus did, His waiting on God for the proper time, His work as a carpenter, and His prayer life concerned one thing and one thing only.

His life’s calling, message, all He labored for concerned repentance.

Destination 4 Persecution by the Religious

If you take Jesus at His word and begin to obey Living Scripture, the religious will come out of the woodwork to oppose.

From religious grandma to religious discernment groups, you will be shocked to discover that not only do they persecute you, but they hotly oppose the Word of God.

Prepare to be labeled part of a “cult,” “deceived,” or just plain old “stupid.”

Since such have zero interest in the Truth they will seek to constantly discuss, trap you, and, you guessed it, discuss some more. If they can, just like the Pharisees and Sadducees of old, they will seek to enlist worldly governments to bring pressure on you to recant. Do not be afraid of them.

Their attempts to trap you will serve God’s purpose to refine you. For if there be any fault, any error, or any breakdown in spiritual understanding they will readily, eagerly, and with great speed point it out.

If you humble yourself before God such Pharisees and Sadducees will help accelerate the holiness of Jesus in your life.

Destination 5 Force To Be King

Every disciple of Jesus following the map of righteousness will be confronted to conform.

With great force people on many different fronts will seek to create their idol called “Christian.”

While this idolization of what is acceptable Christian behavior and the demand that their personal expectations of what God should do is experienced by all followers of Jesus it is most often witnessed by the failure of preachers, pastors and Elders to let God make them into the image of His Son. In short, be fully aware of those who forcefully intend to shape you into their idol they have labeled as Christianity. Whether that be forceful grandma or the forceful church committee.

Every preacher, teacher, or author, really any leader of any kind, will face this pressure. The pressure to be what the followers of Jesus want God to be. It a takes a spiritually strong pastor to hear and obey only God’s will amongst the demand of a congregation to conform to their idea of what a pastor should be. All the more when one considers that preaching involves declaring the Truth no sinful nature desires and will tolerate hearing. This is why a bad congregation can cause much trouble to the godliest of leaders. As it is written: By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord , and trouble came to Moses because of them (Psalm 106:32)

This form of idolatry must be thoroughly opposed, and the only safety is to withdraw from time to time and be alone with God. Or if you cannot get alone with God to walk alone with God.

Those who know me, that is know me without taint of slander, know that I never preached, acted, or conformed to the wants, wishes, and desires of man. I did not even conform to my idea of what a Christian man should, or should not be. I hotly and with full hate in Jesus hated my own life in this manner. I would not be king and I would not let others make me king.

Indeed much of the lies and slander about myself have arisen precisely because I would not let them make me king of their spiritual walk.

Of course, this is exactly one reason there is so much slander. Sinful human nature of man desires an idol labeled “Jesus” and those preachers who only preach the Truth, in the way God desires that Truth to be proclaimed, are by nature offensive to the sinful nature.

The subtle temptation to keep one’s position and the money that comes with it is a powerful motivating factor in causing many a person to abandon the real Jesus and fashion an idol called “Jesus”. Therefore, Paul writes: No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3)

From the basic church member towards the preacher this is where flattery does its worst work while the grumblers can wear the pastor out. These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. (Jude 1:16) Just ask Moses. By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord , and trouble came to Moses because of them; (Psalm 106:32)

Flattery or even honest compliments of being the “spiritual Christian” or the “good Christian” will, without alone time in prayer with God, cause many to gravitate away from the offense of the cross. Be careful.

Destination 6 Little Children

The wise and learned just will not get what you are living and learning.

From the pagan wise and learned to the “Christian” expert the wise and learned are just not going to be able to grasp what you are doing. If you are not rejoicing in this message of the cross something is seriously wrong. How much more is wrong with those who prosecute and persecute the power of Jesus. As Paul understood: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Jesus was clear. Only little children in Him will be given knowledge to understand the message of the cross. It is God’s joy to hide the message of Truth and God’s pleasure to reveal the Truth to those who humbly seek to obey.

Why do you think so many in powerful positions cannot understand, or accept basic truths? It is because Truth is a Spirit and God only gives that Spirit of Truth to those who honestly love Him.

The reason Seattle’s “Christian” King County Prosecutors would not tolerate hearing the most obvious of truths is because in their arrogance they silenced the Spirit of Truth a long time ago. For you see the Truth is a person – the Holy Spirit. And those who walk in the deceptions of sin cannot accept, see or know this person. And where the Holy Spirit is not, unclean spirits will fill the void. For mankind was not created to be as God, knowing good and evil, but to be filled with God’s Truth as God works and wills the Truth through them. Like little children we were to be teachable and eager to hear what our parent, God, told us was true. Whether that be truth about the universe He created or the truth as to what is moral and righteous. This is why the world is descending into backward truths. It cannot, will not and never will accept the person called the Spirit of Truth.

To your surprise you will discover that no one understands basic reasoning, logic, and spiritual concepts. Things like humility, repentance, water baptism, holiness, despising wealth, leadership roles, working out one’s salvation, and all such very clearly spelled out matters in Scripture cannot be fully grasped by so many. You will learn that unless God opens their hearts, they will not be able to understand the offensive message of the cross.

You will witness God’s power opening people’s hearts to respond to the message of the cross. No longer will your winning of souls to Jesus be mere church doctrinal proclamations but the Living God giving you the words to say with the Living God opening the hearts of others to respond to His grace. Gone is the work of religious man and present is the power of God.

The little children is the saying fulfilled: so that, ” ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ “ (Mark 4:12)

Destination 7 Good Deeds

As God cleans you up, good deeds will begin to increase to the point you will be doing so many that your left hand will not know what your right had is doing. The workers, the real workers are few and far between so there is just too much good that needs to get done. Thus you will discover you just do not have time to discern all the faults in others because you are far too busy seeking the good deeds God has prepared in advance for you to do.

If you persevere to produce a good crop of holiness in the Lord, your life will begin to overflow with so many honorable deeds that you will not be able to keep track of what God is doing.

A healthy spiritual church, where everyone is hating their lives and picking up their crosses, will be an immense help in understanding the virtuous deeds that should be done in Jesus. (Be careful here that all are hearing and testing what might or might not be the good deed that should be done in the Lord.)

Because you are letting God teach you how to hate yourself, denying yourself while carrying your cross as you fall to the ground and die you will be given the power of God’s love to selflessly love others.

As you give yourself up to God the power of the love that is in heaven in manifested among men. Thus your good deeds are too numerous to count, too pure to contemplate and too holy to be dwelt upon for long. Your life is in all respects a fragrant offering, a sacrifice to God that drives men and women to seek God or hate Jesus. It is a love that leaves few being able to stand on the middle ground of indifference.

Did not Jesus say that by a true Christians love and obedience to Truth all men would know such belong to Him? By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35) and If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:10)

Get busy, very busy doing the good deeds of Jesus and you will not have much energy left for sinning.

Get busy, very busy and you just will not have time to associate with the un-associable.

Get busy, very busy silencing the wicked religious in the land and you will not have time to waste being unguarded. Obey Psalm 101 by silencing all the wicked in the land today and you will find out just how true everything is I am writing here. Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord . (Psalm 101:8) Don’t know what God’s will is today? Well, here you go. Silence all the wicked in the land by your good life. When you are doing this, then come and whine to me about the demands of the church and that you are too busy.

Get busy, very busying seeking God on what good deeds your are to perform and He will meet you there with peace and supply to give away both your life and your possessions.

Enjoy!

Destination 8 Fear & Trembling

Destination 8 is working out one’s salvation. Yes, working it out.

It is rich in obedience, but not safe and smooth religious obedience. It is an obedience born out of fear and trembling over the matter of salvation.

I will let you in on a secret. Any courage I have arises from alone time with God with fearing and trembling. As I follow Jesus He leds me where He has been: Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)

This is where most church doctrines get left in the dark. The lazy in church fall off from Jesus at this point because the work to petition, pray and workout salvation with fear and trembling is just too much labor for them. This includes most churches, even those who claim they do not really believe in once-saved-always-saved. That somehow, they got saved and that is all there is to it. Such are the most selfish Christians sitting in the pews. All they care about is their salvation. It is this selfishness that disqualifies them for the prize of eternal life because they are the least like Jesus.

If there was one person guaranteed to be saved it was Jesus, yet He had to “learn obedience” through “suffering.”

One aspect of that suffering was praying, alone, in lonely places with “loud cries and tears.” Guess what I do in my lonely place from time to time. There is much conviction of sins, much opposition to overcome, and very much perfecting holiness in me that needs to be accomplished. In short, all who follow the Jesus Road Map, walk as He walked and thus will pray and He prayed.

Please note that Jesus is only a “source of salvation” for those who “obey Him.”

Only those following the Holy Spirit to pray and petition with loud cries and tears, as the Holy Spirit leads, will be saved.

Every day, every hour of every day, this road map speaks of “reverent submission” to God’s will and the learning of obedience through what God would have you suffer through. From the ways of God, to the commands of God and finally the voice of God all require such aspects require suffering against our sins in the flesh. As Peter the Apostle wrote: Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. (1 Peter 4:1)

Destination 9 Sit While I Pray

The road map of following Jesus in this world only goes in one direction. To the cross.

The true Christian is headed in only one direction in all things. Toward the cross.

Toward the cross is not some parable discussion point but hard-cold-reality for which Jesus spoke so clearly that Peter attempted to rebuke the Son of God. So central is this goal that any who would attempt to direct, in the smallest way, from the offensive message of the cross, of heading toward the cross, will get a sound rebuke. A sound rebuke to the tune of being equated with Satan. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mark 8:33)

It is at the end of one’s Christian life, failure or success comes sharply into focus.

If all has gone well, the surrender will be complete as the full force of suffering against sin and this world come into focus.

Grace will be given by God because the true disciple had been crying out with loud cries and tears quite often.

The honest disciple had been increasing and learning to obey in all things and all the training by painful discipline will not reap its reward. The strength to endure the final death blows of being crucified with Christ. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

Precisely because the cross carrying disciple had been following Jesus with full surrender in the insignificant things, an angel will be sent to comfort because the greatest and final trial is about to unfold.

Toward the end, all others can do is just “sit” while you “pray.” This is when the most personal of conflicts take center stage. It is just God and you.

Death is the most God and I moment in this world that each person faces. For far too many are going to face an angry God.

For the lifelong disciple who has been following Jesus dying and death is the pinnacle overcoming moment.  However to many others it is their spiritual failures that drove them to become a Judas.

Blessed are those who overcome to this point on the map because their hunger and thirsting for righteousness will be filled. They will be able to fully, in selfless love, sacrifice themselves to God’s will on behalf of others and the Jesus they love with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. To God’s glory they have made themselves ready for heaven. Their robes are clean. The prize is just over the horizon.

Prepare yourself to be betrayed. At your weakest moment, at your most painful turmoil, just when you need a friend – Judas arrives with a kiss.

Take note. Soon there will be no middle ground and if you are not on this map you will hate those who are.

Far greater will be the number of haters than lovers of God.

So if you are looking for number of followers as a guidebook for who is right, you are most definitely reading the wrong map.

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