Hey friends, thanks for tuning in to this LIFE ON MISSION with Tanner Klein podcast. In the last podcast-post, I shared A Glimpse into The Real Reality of our LIVES ON MISSION in PARIS 🇫🇷 4 mo. here in a 10x10 Studio✨.
But that’s not the whole story. I briefly mentioned the huge need for discipleship here, the Good News of Jesus taking root, powerful weekly home gatherings, and some amazing opportunities God’s given us to invest both in people’s lives and in the Body of Christ here. There are some exceedingly good things God is doing here that surpass the struggles we’ve come up against.
MY CONVICTION TO GO
First, I want to share a conviction I have from the Lord.
I am convinced that the Lord has called me to live as an ambassador of Christ and His Kingdom to the nations, to let His light shine wherever the Good Shepherd leads me to go.
I’ve been convinced that God was inviting me to go to other nations as an ambassador of Christ and His Kingdom since I was about 12 years old. It was then, for the first time, I heard about missions and reaching the unreached and unengaged. These are people groups across the world who have limited or no access to the Bible or at least a Bible in their mother tongue, or to churches, or to followers of Christ. Or, people groups who have been reached to one extent or another, but are not currently being engaged by anyone who follows Jesus.
That blew my mind.
There are people who have never heard the Good News of Jesus. No message of forgiveness of sins, repentance, renewal, new life, and life abundant. No one to share of God’s grace. No concept of God’s love made manifest through Jesus, including His sinless life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection—defeating sin, death, and the deceiver. No concept of salvation by grace through faith and eternity with the Lover of our souls, the LORD our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, our best Friend. No idea of the goodness and power of the one, true, living God.
Nothing.
Not only that…I found out we know exactly where essentially all these people groups live.
We even have clear ways to get to them.
But for whatever reason, real or imagined, thousands of these unreached and unengaged people groups exist to this day.
It’s been 2000 years since Jesus commanded His disciples to go and share the Good News of the Kingdom to all nations.
But for whatever reason, real or imagined, followers of Christ have counted the cost to go to other places, but not to these remaining strongholds of darkness.
This is not without reason. The unreached places that exist are not easy to reach—not at all.
Neverthless, I thought in my 12 year old mind: “Here I am, Lord, send me!”
“If it’s a matter of willingness, I’ve got that. Send me, Lord!”
God had a lot of heart, mind, and soul prep ahead of me in the years that followed.
But that real conviction and call persisted and deepened.
THE SPIRITUAL DESERT MASKED BY BEAUTY
I expected God to direct me to dark places where the Good News and light of Christ are not yet shining. I had a strong sense the Lord would lead me to a spiritual desert.
And He did…but outer appearances can be deceiving.
First it was Indonesia, then Singapore, then across SE Asia—Indonesia again, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam—and for whatever reason, while I was there, the Lord called me toward Europe, not just anywhere, but to “the city of love,” “the city of lights,” Paris.
How romantic.
Little did I know that a spiritual desert could be masked by beautifully designed architecture, parks, and fountains resembling a golden age of the past.
Paris is a beautiful city. There’s no doubt about it.
I much prefer created beauty over man-made beauty—oceans, mountains, rivers, & green over buildings, museums, statues, & concrete—nevertheless, there’s no denying Paris is a beautiful city.
Having said that, it’s good to remember God’s words to the prophet Samuel regarding Israel’s next king after Saul, David.
“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
Spiritually speaking, Paris is largely dark, dry, and in many ways, dead. But, not completely, not everywhere.
There are pockets of brilliant, bright light.
There are beacons, like moving lighthouses across the city—God’s people.
Christ followers are meeting in churches, in parks, in homes, in cafes, and beyond.
Not only that, the nations are gathered here. There are people from nearly every tribe, tongue, and nation living among the 10m+ souls here in the Paris region.
That is exciting. That is really good news for us disciples of Jesus.
Why? Because Jesus said to His disciples:
- Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus also spoke about the end times before His second coming. In particular, He speaks of this Good News of the Kingdom being proclaimed to the whole world, to all nations, before the end comes. His words are recorded in Matthew 24:14,
Feel free to read that again.
When will the end come? Well, according to the Son of God, the end will come after the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.
So, brothers and sisters, we’ve got some work to do with Jesus, don’t we? Here’s some unexpected news: You probably don’t need to go far.
GOD HAS BROUGHT THE NATIONS TO US
First, we serve a big God, the God who is Lord over all the nations. The King of kings, the Lord of lords.
Now, just for a moment, or maybe a few, I want to invite you to drop whatever your views on immigration are, whether legal or illegal.
Consider this reality with me…we live in a time and age of unprecedented international connection, from social media and the internet, to real people moving from one nation to another: some for better opportunities for themselves, for their families, or for their children, others fleeing war, and many other reasons.
So what’s the point?
Well, some of us, like my wife and I, are called to go to the nations as representatives of Christ and His Kingdom of Light.
The rest of us can sit back, relax, and enjoy the one-way ticket to eternal life with Jesus and our buddies, right?
According to Jesus, no. That’s not His invitation for us. That’s not following His example.
Instead, all of us, every soul who claims that Jesus is his or her Savior and Lord, are invited to live as representatives of Christ and His Kingdom of Light wherever He places us on this earth. In our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, in our schools—wherever we are.
Jesus was and still is is committed to “This gospel of the kingdom [being] be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.”
So, if we are true disciples, true followers and apprentices of Jesus, then we all have a role to play.
That is some good news. For the sake of all those who are zooming down the wide and easy rode that leads to destruction, the way we live, love, speak, and act as witnesses and representatives of Jesus can help save lost souls from certain judgement.
You might have neighbors or colleges from other nations without access to the Bible in their language, or churches, or small groups, or even people who love Jesus.
You might know someone who has never had a conversation with a faith-filled follower of Jesus.
Our God can give us eyes to see them more like He does, and help us show them compassion like Jesus does.
With God’s Spirit working in us, we can simply plant Kingdom seeds and water them, trusting that God will bring the growth.
We can sow seeds of love, of grace, of truth.
We can be a friend and build meaningful relationships.
We can listen to people’s stories and share ours, including how Jesus changed our lives or even how He changed our day for the better.
We can choose to forgive, show mercy, and seek peace in our relationships.
We can speak words that bring life and not death.
We can let God empower us to drop bad habits and invite His love to realign our affections.
We can reach out to others in love, even when we don’t get anything back in return.
We can show grace to someone who doesn’t deserve it, like Jesus shows grace to us.
We can lovingly point others to Jesus, share the Good News of the Kingdom, and help disciple others toward Christlikeness, knowing it’s our awesome God who truly brings transformation.
We can know, it’s the Lord of the Harvest, who brings the harvest and raises up laborers to go and work the harvest.
Speaking of God bringing the harvest, I have some highlights to share.
GOOD NEWS FROM SUNDAY
Here’s something that God has used to really encourage my faith this week. The Lord provided some incredible opportunities to let His light shine on Sunday.
I got to pray for three women at different times, one from the Middle East, one from Africa, and one from South America.
Madison Rose and I even got to see God partially open the ear of one of these women who had not been hearing from that ear! Hallelujah!
I got to testify of Christ and the goodness of God to several people, two from the US, two from the UK, two from Nigeria, two from France, and one from Thailand.
I got to pray for a woman from Australia and share a Scripture the Lord brought to my mind to share with her. It turns out that was the confirmation she needed, as she read that same passage earlier that morning. That was the power of the Holy Spirit on display.
I even got to share the Gospel with someone who was visiting our local church for the 1st time. In response to hearing the Good News, this person told me: “I believe!” It was an awesome moment worth celebrating. All glory to God!
As I reflected on the power-packed day, thanking God for all these encounters, in prayer, the Lord posed two questions to me:
Have I not called you an ambassador to the nations, to let My light shine?
I wrote down my response in prayer, “You have, Lord. Hallelujah!”
Are not the nations gathered here, now?
“They are, Lord!” I responded.
It was a sweet, powerful moment, sensing the Lord’s confirmation that I am in the center of His will.
I know our God is faithful to lead and guide us into all truth, as He said His Spirit would.
So, despite all the challenges related to being here, now, in Paris. No amount of spiritual warfare, or intense heat, or mosquitos, or pollution, or eczema, or bad pain from a bad bed, or sickness, or bike issues, or tooth issues, or lack of space in our 10x10 studio, can thwart the beautiful plans and purpose of God.
It really is an honor to be here now.
It’s an honor to be an ambassador of our Lord and King Jesus, and His Kingdom of Light, in this city that so desperately needs real love, life, and light.
Please join us in praying for this city! If Paris can be redeemed, any place can be redeemed, no matter how seemingly dark, dry, or dead.
Jesus reigns!
It says in John 1:1-5,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
May God bless you today to walk in the light, love the light, and let Christ’s light shine as an ambassador of Jesus and His Kingdom of Light.
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