The Power of a Fearless Life

Jonathan Lafferty

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..." This verse from

Acts spurred our discussion on living “Fearless,” the theme of this year’s Spiritual

Emphasis Week (SEW).

SEW (September 7-9) provided a space to worship God with other believers and to recapture what it means to follow Jesus. It was a time to relax and reflect, as well as a welcome break from homework. James Grout, a former youth leader of the C&MA, came down from Colorado Springs (United States) to share with the Dalat community the first few chapters from Acts, along with several chapters from his own life. The worship team, led by Joshua Allen, came together for long hours to prepare and practice for this week. They led songs related to the theme, such as "No Longer Slaves” and "You Make Me Brave.”

Lydia Kim (10), a vocalist on the worship team, said, "It was a very memorable experience to sing on stage and lead worship. Looking at all the people who got together to praise God and worship his name was moving!"

With dry humor and humility throughout the six sessions, Grout entertained the crowd with stories from his youth, including his slip-up on the basketball court, a stolen golf cart, and his miraculous healing in Mexico. His humorous stories wrapped around the idea of fear, providing good illustrations of how fear can appear in lives. He also spent time getting to know Dalat students.

Noah Graves (12) and a couple of other seniors took him out to eat on the first day, and this is what Noah had to say: "It was great getting to know Mr. Grout! He asked us about our lives and where we came from. It was a great lunch, but I don't think he could figure out our Penang food..."

When Grout wasn’t igniting everyone with laughter, he was sharing thought-provoking messages. The power of Grout's messages came from the first few chapters in Acts. He reintroduced the rag tag team of disciples who turned fearless by the power of the Holy Spirit, even amongst persecution.

 Amber Victoria (9), a new student at Dalat, said she learned this week that "it's always good to forgive—to turn the other cheek when someone does you wrong."

This lesson came from the shocking story of the stoning of Stephen in Acts 4. A group of Jewish leaders quickly turned on this disciple when he started proclaiming Jesus as the risen Son of God. They went from merely insulting him to throwing large stones at his head. As they crushed him, Stephen looked up to heaven, and he blessed his persecutors. Stephen didn’t fear his own death; instead he spent his last few moments on earth praising God and praying for his murderers. Fear is something all people deal with in one form or another. As taught throughout this week, the power of the Holy Spirit is the only way believers in Jesus can live fearlessly.