Juanita Sweeney - Challenges of Faith - 26:1:2025 1

hi

everyone I am freshly back it feels very

very strange that this is the first

church and I'm in the front so if we can

just all like have some chaos together

that' be great um I'm very blessed to be

very comfortable in this space even if

I'm not comfortable in this space so um

yeah let's just pray first

hey Jesus I just thank you for this

really beautiful day that we can all

gather we can all share in our love for

you together um I personally thank you

Lord that I can be open and honest and

vulnerable with you um and who you are

to me and that carries to this space um

so as I yeah say what you've asked me

led me to say today I just pray that um

it glorifies you and it leads people to

your heart um yeah a little bit more

than before um in your name I pray

amen all

righty I actually do have a little bit

to share about my my

trip because it's Youth and

kids we're going to stick with our few

themes that we had throughout last year

hands up if you're a part of kids church

who's here I've been a little bit

distracted Harry's here Asher I have to

move this way to see Asha hi Asha hi

Abby hello come this side Maddie's here

I didn't forget her she was on my right

side and Joel who is a big part of

helping us in kids chur church as he's

transitioning to youth um with us is

here as well so hi Joel I think that's

all I'm going to give a special shout

out later on the video though because

Toby and CLA couldn't be here today um

but I had a little cool little

connection with Toby so we're g to say

that later I have it has started guys

this is my

holiday this is why I did some pictures

cuz when I come back from no kids church

there's a few particular ones who what

photos your phone can you show us a

photo where did you go let's see a photo

and we're looking on the little screen

you know trying to share so I thought

put them up here so if you're not from

kids church and you don't care about my

photos you can just you can just close

your eyes that's okay I won't be

offended if I'm in your way sorry anyway

it's not a great big album or anything

guys this is my brother sha do I have

the little oh I could use the little

thing oh I'm pointing at things this is

my littlest brother sha are the youngest

of all five of us and that's his wife

Chloe um they had a beautiful day um

they did a great job of just yeah

including everyone that they love in an

awesome wedding we had a great time this

is uh it's not a good photo of me I must

have been a bit tired when I added this

one uh this is just uh some of my nieces

and nephews and my cousins um my older

sister and her youngest that's us at the

wedding so that's all the wedding guys

great day we got rained on it's

Queensland in January but you know very

fun rest of the holiday we went down a

cave you know that's there's my parents

walking down the cave you know um we've

done that over over and over I think my

family just really likes walking caves

um it's very it's very incredible uh but

that's then some your Lego you know got

to have a a family Lego day uh if you're

in my family you do uh we all love Legos

that's some nieces and nephews this is a

hike um if you have done a youth retreat

uh you would know the answer to this

does wiita like

hiking no she does not wiita does love

her nieces and nephews though and this

particular niece her name name is pton

some of you might remember her when she

was little she's very growing up now

this is Payton um and on this side

obviously Oh wrong clicker I'm just

going to stop with clicker um she really

wanted to hike to this Lookout and she

really wanted to do it early in the

morning before it was hot which I agreed

with it was going to be 37 all four days

coming up so this is about 6:50 in the

morning at the top of I don't know how

many meters I don't read The Meters at

the start of hikes otherwise I don't

keep going so

we did it pretty quickly though and I

can still walk on my bit of a bung knee

so um it was very fun it was very nice

and it was incredible as creation is

when you get to a Viewpoint that you

have not been at before and stop and see

what God just yeah created is incredible

so that was very fun this is I think

yeah that's the beach at the bottom of

the

lookout um which

is you know I'm not a photographer but

it looked really pretty anyway um I

think this oh this is where Toby is okay

Toby if you're watching hi hi to Claire

as well this is a connection point

because I made another friend also named

Toby on my

holiday this if Toby was here I would

have said he has more hair than you but

he's really friendly still um this is

Toby the chocolate lab which also were

much clearer on my phone the projector

on here but he loves two things I know

two of favorite Toby's from Adelaide's

favorite things uh Lego and donuts I'm

pretty sure I've got those right he will

correct me if I'm wrong because he's

watching this as I understand um this

Toby's favorite things are sleeping and

eating which is not very original for a

dog but fun all the same now I think

that is the end of our

photos and faith is very small on that

screen but that was deliberate usually I

just muck up my slideshow but

we can know what faith is yeah we can

all look up a dictionary description of

it and it can make sense in our mind um

but the weeks leading up to my time away

and lots of it all through it actually

um I was really challenged and God just

really spoke to me about what it means

to I was thinking about everyone here

like Bono said it's whole heart of

January and what is it to know faith in

your head and what is it to live Faith

wholeheartedly

and I had some pretty

um what are we going to say what comes

to that after just yeah it was really a

reminder and a challenge

to yeah have that um for this time with

the people that I was

with um like I said some rhythms of what

we had last year wouldn't be wiita in

the front if we didn't have a

story so I know there's not many of the

kids here but summer so we'll read from

this story which I think is um or I

think God showed me is a a big thing

like an important thing to learn from

the word of God and it connects to what

I feel like he showed me while was away

so we're going to read this is really

cool book it's the biggest Bible story

book um if you haven't seen it before

borrow it it has some really cool

um word of God in it but written in a

really cool way for your littlest people

to um enter into but big people can too

so this is a hard life and a good God we

can find this in job this is job one

kind of re

retold let me have a

drink the biggest story is about a God

who never gives up on his sinful people

even when we deserve judgment God has a

plan to save his chosen ones

he is our maker Defender Redeemer and

friend but that doesn't mean things

always go well for God's people even

when we obey life is still full of

troubles and trials in fact challenges

are a part of God's plan for his

children life is kind of like School

recess is fun but we learn the most when

our classes are

hard in the whole Old Testament there

was no one with a harder life than

job job was a Godly Man fearing the Lord

and doing what was

right he was also a rich man he had 10

children and more than 10,000

animals job was more faithful and more

famous than anyone else in all the

land one day the Lord said to Satan that

ancient snake that we've heard about

before have you seen my servant job

there is no one like him Satan said well

of course job is a righteous man he's

rich and famous he won't praise you once

things start

happening that are

bad so the Lord allowed Satan to put job

to the

test and what a test it was Satan did

all sort of nasty things to job in a

single day day job heard from four

Messengers one more Dreadful after the

other the first messenger told job that

the saines should have practiced words

had stolen his oxen his donkeys and

killed some of his

servants the second messenger told job

that fire had burned up his sheep and

killed more of his

servants the third messenger told job

that the childing had stolen his camels

and killed still more of his

servants if that wasn't bad enough the

fourth messenger was even worse he told

job that his children were enjoying a

feast together when a great wind blew

the house down and all the children had

died it would be hard to think of a sad

day and job was very sad he tore his

robe and shaved his head which was a way

of saying I couldn't be any

sadder but do you know what he did

next he

woried he didn't sin and he didn't give

up on God he came into the world with

nothing he said to God I came into the

world with nothing and I will leave the

world with

nothing the lord gave and the Lord has

taken away blessed be the name of the

Lord job loved God when he had

everything and he loved God when he had

nothing job still had questions and job

still was hurting but he knew God was

still in charge and God was still worthy

to be

praised I think that's pretty cool

little spot in that story pretty cool

spot in what God teaches us in the

Bible all

right oh gosh really anyway there is

another

picture that I took while I was in

Queensland we are further north in

Queensland

now and the cane Fields here are an

everpresent sight if you've ever gone to

North Queensland put your hands you'll

see cane Fields everywhere sugar cane I

took this picture on this side and it's

a nice picture of the sky but what

actually is present if you zoom in which

I can't do here is this field is on fire

like this one and there's all little

smoldering you know piles of soil cuz

they have burned the field

off now this I saw all the time as a kid

and I was we were driving along bit

about 100ks that's why it's a bit of a

blow photo I couldn't zoom in more we're

going fast um I wasn't driving I was in

the back I was in the back

guys um and I thought oh I haven't seen

that in a while and I looked back at it

and I thought oh I'll just take a

picture of that I didn't really

understand why I looked at the I looked

down at the picture I was like you can't

even see anything we need what is that

for and a couple of days later it just

came back to my mind and God has kind of

used the imagery of this um to yeah to

just remind me um reinvigorate made this

Faith

idea so it's empty it's bare it's on

fire let's start with this idea I'm

really happy and I actually don't like

showing myself in photos so I'm really

glad to have shared them with you guys

and that there's people here not just

little people that were wishing me so

well to go and have a holiday and yeah

everyone's his

friends but as it is for all of us life

isn't only joy and fun

right those pictures were the joy and

the fun the prettiness the

scenery while I was away life wasn't

really joyful and fun for a few people

that I really love and in the leadup the

weeks before me going away

they were and still are facing things

that they didn't think they ever would

in

life that I didn't think they ever

would I don't have photos of these not

so fun and messy

bits we aren't so good are we at holding

or sharing these parts of

life it's not what we want a picture of

it's not what we want to tell people

about the devastation the hurt the grief

but while I was

away I was sitting in that space of

these people are

hurting and I want to them to not hurt I

want to do something I was reminded of

an important part of caring for the

people that I love and for us caring for

anyone around

us what does it look like to stand with

them holding an unwavering Faith a

wholehearted faith

and what part this part I had to play in

their tough situations is an action but

it's not the kind where I get to make a

plan satisfyingly in a list do X Y and Z

steps and then stand

back and say ah look at that everyone's

happy there's no more hurt

here I'm a person that likes to do that

there's a mess let me clean it

up someone's thirsty let me get the

water I wasn't in control of taking away

the pain but I could trust with them and

for them in the faith that God is in

control when we or the people we love

are facing what it looks like in this

photo we apply that to the

situation I think sometimes we spend a

whole lot of time wishing it wasn't like

that we waste how much energy going we

don't want this to look like this let's

just zoom out a bit oh the sky is

pretty but it's still

there our faith is there and present I

don't believe we should feel guilty it

doesn't stop or go

away but it can be a head Faith like we

know what we are supposed to do is beli

in God's greatness so we tick the

Box we know it we've read it the stories

are really

great but maybe we want to stand back a

bit from all the

hardness and if our reaction is the want

to avoid or run from the

fire then let's be hon that's actually

very

natural we are not

God it's in our humanness we can forget

that God's plan and purpose is never

lost not in any situation or

circumstance and his plan is never a

routine ticked box it's not one size

fits all it's relational and personal

care for each individual he has created

in His image

so I was

reminded I had been being reminded by

God and challenged by him before we took

before I was at this photo but it kind

of just clicked and made sense living

with a wholehearted faith I think means

trusting despite the

fire it's having patience in God even

when we can't see the miracle where

leaving for what Miracle can come from

this even when we just want the mess to

not be there

anymore has everyone here seen I think

maybe some people have because I

remember Hees did share something about

it but I wasn't in the service has

everyone seen those photos from after

this is a controlled field fire but over

the big fires where it's all black and

burned out cuz it was so

uncontrollable but after that you've

seen those photos where this one fresh

bright little bit of green Sprouts out

from

nowhere and this hope and joy and the

brightness that that little one little

Sprout

has what if we could not forget in the

tough times in the burned times that

something new is in God's

plan even when we don't know we need

it or don't think we want

it not just remember it but believe

it

wholeheartedly because the thing is I

thought I was prepped and

ready I knew these situations I was

praying for these situations I was ready

let's go there and be practical let's be

helpful and I was

believing I thing I

really wanted and thought I was faithful

for was for God's Works in these

situations that my family are

facing to be

done I'll see

it I really wanted the Miracles to come

about but God challenged me as I've said

over and over again these past few weeks

because I wanted it my

way the mundane everyday tiring bits of

life especially in really tough times

they take energy and they take time and

like I've said they can be

messy and it can be

overwhelming and I was sitting in a

space where I'm going to believe really

hard for it because it's tiring me

out how do I keep being this for someone

how do I help them fix

it and I didn't think I was believing

for the wrong thing and I Knew What God

Says

but it was my head solving the

problem

it's hard when we're in the middle of

them and it's human to feel the urge to

avoid them or try and lessen the

impact that bow us down to try and

control it

right but in them in these situations in

the mess in the energy in the time that

feels like we can't draw on anything or

we're reminded to draw on God is where

living with a true Faith a wholehearted

faith in God's love comes

in there were multiple

times that literally there was no words

to offer

support in my heart just worshiped

him and a lot in me told me that this is

not helpful to this situation you're

just standing here

silent me

off just like those tiny shoots of green

we saw we imagined we see after big

uncontrol fires sugarcane Fields have

more stages than just this

one and this is the thought around this

imagery that God has kept unfolding and

teaching me since I saw that field

burning

and I know from my childhood talking to

people that do this farmers don't have

to do the burning

part they can just

replant but this steps this step the

burning the field releases nutrients

that are hard to replicate any other

way and then what's

planted well we know how it works right

we know what God's created it grows and

it grows and it

grows until they are standing so

tall these fields again i' grew up in

Far North Queens they're standing a few

feet over

me now I personally don't think that

these are the prettiest plants for an

illustration you don't walk in these CU

there's a lot of

snakes and spiders which I'm not all

about

but about three days ago I wrote in my

journal and the thing I remembered about

these is they're

strong and a bit more of this made sense

to me as it does when you're waiting on

God they have

purpose and sugar cane is well rooted

and like I I said really strong I've

seen them right after Category 5 Cyclone

that is the highest rating of cyclone

that you can

have and they were bent they were

leaning whichever way the wind they'd

caught whichever side of the Cyclone it

was but they were not

uprooted I think that's kind of exactly

what we learn from job's

story his Faith was rooted in

Christ so much so that there was no

decision to be

wholehearted his actions in the

trial show us that he came before God he

acknowledged who God is in his life and

he praised him regardless of what was

happening

and I think the beautiful

and you don't say exciting when you see

this right but the beautiful and

exciting reality for all of us and the

reality for those we love and care about

is that God's miracle is happening

already through the

trial we just sometimes forget or get

caught up and lose

focus we want to see the tall growth

like this

before we've

stood in this and relied on

God this is just much nicer for

us so the question I've reflected on is

where did I get stuck and could only see

the burnt hurt seemingly dark and

unyielding

field either in the lives of the people

that I love and was having an

opportunity to be just so close to

physically or in my

own and it was not an easy question but

it was

rewarding to reflect

on I really feel like God gave

me just a few examples of this it's not

limited to this list but where might be

where

why where might we all be getting a bit

stuck

on where are we getting stuck that it's

unyielding it's the stage before

this in the stress of our job or the

security of

it in the navigating school and

friendships and growing up and finding

our

space and the grief of

loss and the stress of finances or

money the overwhelming and again seems

to be the catch word messy bits of Life

whatever their cause may

be I believe

that we know the we know what the fields

are for

us and it's okay to acknowledge that

they're

there if I was to say I have no fields

that look like this

I would be lying because I'm I'm Not

Jesus I'm not Christ I

can't like you

know so as I close I encourage that you

do reflect and ask God to

reveal this to

you and then knowing his plan for you is

full of love and never ends maybe the

perspective you walk that field with can

shift a bit as minded as he helped me

too I don't need to have the strength to

control the outcome or be overwhelmed

that I can't take away the

hurt or overwhelmed that I'm sitting in

it

myself but I can rely on the kind of

faith that job

did a faith that worshiped Gods

here through the trials

a faith that new God's heart is always

present and that he is greater than the

circumstance and I can know that me

walking in that faith is affecting me

the people I love and the community

around me in their own

trials

steadfast in the knowledge and the

promise that this is

coming and

I think that's pretty

exciting and I'm really excited to

have I'm a little bit tired but I'm

really excited to have had a

space with the people I love and in this

reflection realizing I come back to

aive that God has helped

me have spaces where this

is I can what I can stand on

I don't have to get all the other

things right or even understand them I

can just believe in him and his

promise so I think I

close God we

We Just Praise You I praise you

God wherever each of us may be today

whatever we're

facing it is full of your

blessing your plan hasn't

ended even the blessings we can't see we

worship and praise you

for with the acknowledgement that we

don't need to see them to trust you

in Jesus name

amen thanks for listening guys