In the name of Jesus, risen and alive. Amen.

I was on Highway 29 the other day, and I saw starting to sprout. Good plants stretching toward the sun. I also saw weeds along the road creeping in, trying to steal the show. That’s where we are today in our “Glimpses of Grace in the Grain” series, facing the weeds among the wheat. We’ve sown seeds, waited patiently, tended the soil, and now we’re dealing with the challenges that threaten our growth.

Spring is marching on, the air is warm, the fields are flourishing with life. If you’ve been reading the Bible with us, you recently read 2 Samuel 11, where David’s sin creeps in like a weed, threatening his faith. It’s a reminder that challenges come, even in the best fields.

Picture a farmer standing at the edge of his growing crop, scratching his head, wondering how to handle the weeds without losing the crop. That’s what we’re talking about today, how the weeds of sin and sorrow grow alongside our faith, but God’s grace prevails

Let’s turn to John 16:12-22. Jesus is speaking to His disciples just before His arrest, preparing them for what’s coming. He says:

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”

He knows they’re not ready for the full weight and sway of His departure.

Then in verse 20, He tells them:

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

He compares it to a woman in labor—pain now, but joy when the child is born.

This is the weeds among the wheat. Sorrow, sin, and struggles grow right alongside our faith. You can have a beautiful field of wheat, beans or corn, but it can also be full of weeds. You can’t just pull them. The roots get tangled and you’d end up pulling the good plants out with the bad.

Jesus knows our sorrows, loss, and grief, but He promises joy. Verse 22 says

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Have you felt those weeds of sorrow lately? Hold onto Jesus’ promise, “Joy is coming.”

Section 2: Grace Uproots Division

Now, let’s turn to Acts 11:1-18. Peter is explaining to the church in Jerusalem why he ate with Gentiles. That would have been something unheard of for a Jew. The early Church was wrestling with weeds of prejudice and division. God had given Peter a vision of unclean animals, the kind you can’t eat, lowered in a sheet, with a voice saying, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” Peter learns to realizes God’s grace is for all, and in verse 17, he says:

If God gave the same gift to them as He gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?

I remember a story I heard of two neighbors who had feuded over a fence line for years. The resentment grew like weeds. Then one day, they had to work together to save a calf stuck in the fence, and those weeds started to fade. God’s grace does that. It brings unity where division grows. Maybe there’s someone you’ve been divided from, a friend, a family member. Can you reach out this week, like Peter did, and let grace uproot those weeds?

Section 3: The Harvest Free of Weeds

Finally, Revelation 21:1-7. John sees “a new heaven and a new earth,” where “the dwelling place of God is with man.” Verse 4 says:

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

This is the ultimate harvest, free from the weeds of this world. You can’t always tell wheat from weeds at first. Sometimes we must trust God to sort out the harvest in His time. You see: Weeds won’t win when we wait for Christ’s wondrous work.

Law and Gospel: Weeds Meet Victory

I could guilt you into pulling some weed from your heart, but that doesn’t work for long. What matters is real life. Real life is we’ve all got weeds growing. The Law shows them to us and it stings. We are too often like a farmer who ignores the weeds. Sin creeps in, like David in 2 Samuel 11, choking our faith. Then comes the guilt, resentment, fear. That’s the Winter cold of sin, threatening to overtake the wheat of faith.

But here’s the Gospel, warm as a Summer sun. Jesus’ victory turns our sorrow to joy. Jesus’ death and resurrection uproot the power of sin, and in Revelation 21 we see the harvest, free of weeds, full of joy. In this church you are welcome here, even with your weeds. Jesus sees the wheat in you, and He’ll sort it out. Trust His grace.

Cliffhanger

How does the holy Spirit help the crop grow, even with weeds? Next week, we’ll see how we are watered by the Spirit, bringing life to our faith. You’ve all seen dry fields turn green after a good rain. We’ll learn how the Spirit does that for us and in us. You won’t want to miss that.

Conclusion

Let’s trust God to handle the weeds, resting in His promise of a new creation where joy reigns. As I tool around Colby, I invite folks to join us. I’ve heard people say things like, “I’d be too ashamed to come back to church.” They need to know they would be welcome here regardless of where they’ve been. You do the same. Let people know they’re welcome here. If you see a stranger in church, give them a smile, make them feel welcome.

I’ve said this before. There’s only one kind of people I don’t want here, perfect people. This field, this church, is for the rest of us, the messed-up people. If you’ve got weeds in your heart—and who doesn’t?—you’ll fit right in.

Amen.