The Book of Acts | God's Not Done

Devotional

Day 1: The Cross-Bearer’s Unfinished Story

When Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry Jesus’ cross, he thought it was a shameful footnote. But God rewrote his story into a legacy of leadership. Simon’s brief encounter with Jesus transformed him from a bystander into Simeon Niger, a prophet who helped launch the gospel to the world. His life proves that moments we label as interruptions or failures often become the very places God plants seeds for future fruit. What looks like an ending may be the first line of a new chapter. [12:54]

"Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross." (Mark 15:21, ESV)

Reflection: When has a moment you initially resented or felt trapped in later revealed God’s purpose? How might Jesus be rewriting your story through what feels like an interruption?

Day 2: Far From Home, Close to Purpose

Lucius of Cyrene left his homeland only to find his calling in a foreign city. His displacement became a divine appointment. God often uses geographical or emotional distance to position us where our unique gifts can ignite transformation. Wherever you are—whether by choice or circumstance—is fertile ground for God’s work. Your roots matter, but your fruit grows where you’re planted. [16:20]

"Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen..." (Acts 13:1, ESV)

Reflection: What aspects of your background or current location might God be using to reach someone unlike you? How can you lean into your “here” instead of longing for “there”?

Day 3: Brought Up With, Not Bound To

Manaen grew up alongside Herod—a tyrant—yet chose allegiance to Christ over palace power. Our upbringing shapes us but doesn’t sentence us. God redeems even toxic environments, turning survivors into servants. Your past associations need not dictate your future trajectory. The same hands that once clenched worldly influence can lay palms open in surrender. [19:33]

"Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch..." (Acts 13:1, ESV)

Reflection: What relational patterns or expectations from your past still feel like chains? How might God be calling you to repurpose—not reject—those experiences for His kingdom?

Day 4: The Generous View That Changes Everything

Barnabas risked his reputation to vouch for Saul, the church’s persecutor. He saw beyond Saul’s violent past to God’s redemptive future. Taking a generous view of others isn’t naivety—it’s faith that God’s grace outshines human brokenness. When we choose to see people as God does, we become collaborators in their transformation. [24:13]

"When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him... But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles." (Acts 9:26-27, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life feels “unvouchable”? How might extending Barnabas-like generosity alter their story—and yours?

Day 5: Fasting, Praying, Then Going

The Antioch church didn’t strategize their way to impact—they fasted, prayed, and listened. In a culture obsessed with hustle, their “pause” became the catalyst for global mission. Slowing down to seek God isn’t passive; it’s the soil where obedience grows. Before we can be sent, we must be still. [29:41]

"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul...' Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off." (Acts 13:2-3, ESV)

Reflection: What practical step could you take this week to prioritize listening over doing? How might silence amplify God’s voice in your decisions?

Sermon Summary

Acts insists that God is not done. Luke’s two-volume story moves from what Jesus began to do to what Jesus keeps doing by the Spirit, and Acts 13 shows the hinge where the promise of Acts 1 turns into movement. Jesus promises witnesses from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, and persecution drives the witness outward, not into hiding. The Antioch church sits right on that line where the gospel breaks a massive barrier, moving from the Jewish world into the Gentile world, because God loves a good story and his stories do not end in despair.

The Antioch roll call reads like a snapshot of the kingdom Jesus is building. The text names Barnabas and Saul, and then slows down over Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen. The ink itself says they mattered. Simeon’s very name signals a Black African Jewish believer teaching and prophesying in a minority among a minority, because racial status never blocks the Spirit’s call. And if Simeon called Niger is Simon of Cyrene, the cross-bearer whose shameful, forced moment became the seed of a lifetime of carrying Jesus’ cross, then God is not done explains everything about that turn. Lucius’s origin in Cyrene testifies that where someone is from does not cap what God can do where someone is. God loves to use people far from home so his kingdom looks like the world he made.

Manaen, brought up with “that fox” Herod Antipas, proves that upbringing is not destiny. The word syntrophos means nursed together, but proximity to power did not define him. God did. The Spirit rewrites scripts, calling a foster-brother of a tyrant to serve the true King. Barnabas, the son of encouragement, models another kind of generosity. He lays fields at the apostles’ feet, then lays his reputation at Saul’s feet, looking at an enemy with God’s clear eyes, not fear’s murky ones, so the “breather of murderous threats” can walk into an upside-down kingdom.

The Spirit moves this diverse church through ordinary, unglamorous obedience. The work is worship, prayer, and fasting. They pray with purpose, they fast in community, and God speaks. “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul.” Hands are laid, the sent ones go, and the ends-of-the-earth piece ignites from Antioch. Acts says the mission is still running. Israel wrestles with God, not blindfolded, and Jesus still crosses paths unexpectedly. The Spirit keeps building a barrier-breaking, multiethnic, multilingual, multigenerational people. God is not done with that room in Antioch, and God is not done with this room either.

Key Takeaways

1. God is not done working Acts traces God’s habit of turning dead ends into launchpads. The Antioch moment shows the promise of Jesus pushing past old borders right on schedule, even through persecution. Cynicism shrinks, not because pain is denied, but because the story keeps moving when God speaks. [08:39]
2. Upbringing shapes, not defines Manaen stood close to Herod, then stood with Jesus. Family systems and past patterns carry weight, but they do not carry authority over identity. God names, God redirects, and allegiance can change kingdoms. [19:58]
3. Prayer and fasting birth mission Antioch does not whiteboard its future, it kneels into it. Purposeful, communal seeking clears the noise so the Spirit’s assignment can be heard and obeyed. The sending of Barnabas and Saul begins where empty stomachs and full hearts meet. [29:41]
4. See people with generous eyes Barnabas risks on Saul because he reads grace more deeply than he reads history. That generous vision refuses to let someone’s last chapter be their title page. Kingdom growth often begins where reputations are placed on the altar. [23:13]
5. Far from home is fertile ground Lucius shows that displacement can become calling. God uses the outsider vantage to widen the table, refine the witness, and mirror heaven’s diversity. The place that feels provisional can be the very place God plants. [16:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[03:34] - Cynicism and God is not done
[04:45] - Skeptics invited to wrestle
[06:05] - Acts 13 read at Antioch
[07:54] - Scattered witness beyond Jerusalem
[08:21] - Gentiles included, barrier breaks
[10:38] - Simeon called Niger, cross-carrier
[15:35] - Lucius used far from home
[17:37] - Manaen and Herod, new allegiance
[21:24] - Barnabas the encourager, generous
[23:13] - Barnabas risks on Saul
[24:47] - The work of prayer and fasting
[29:41] - Spirit sets apart the sent ones
[30:47] - Ends of the earth and the block
[33:46] - God is not done, take a step

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 13:1-3 (ESV)
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Observation questions

The Antioch church included people from diverse racial, ethnic, and social backgrounds (e.g., Simeon called Niger, Manaen). What specific details does Acts 13:1 highlight about their identities?
What two spiritual practices did the Antioch church prioritize before receiving direction from the Holy Spirit? [29:41]
How does the sermon connect Simeon called Niger to Simon of Cyrene (the man who carried Jesus’ cross)? What evidence supports this connection? [10:38]
What risky act of generosity did Barnabas demonstrate toward Saul, and why was it significant? [23:13]

Interpretation questions

Why might God intentionally choose a group as diverse as the Antioch church (including former enemies of the faith like Saul) to launch a global mission?
The sermon suggests that Simeon’s “shameful” moment of carrying Jesus’ cross became a seed for his later leadership. How does this redefine how we view our own past failures or painful experiences? [12:54]
Manaen grew up alongside Herod, a tyrant, yet became a church leader. What does this reveal about God’s power to rewrite relational or familial patterns? [19:58]
The Antioch church’s prayer and fasting led to a communal decision. Why might corporate spiritual disciplines matter more than individual ones for discerning God’s mission? [25:14]

Application questions

Barnabas saw Saul’s potential through “God’s eyes” rather than his past. Who in your life might God be calling you to view with that same generous vision? What practical step could you take to encourage them this week? [23:13]
The sermon says, “Where you’re from doesn’t cap what God can do where you are.” Are there parts of your background (culture, family, past mistakes) that you’ve let define your sense of purpose? How could you surrender those to God’s redirection? [16:58]
Fasting and prayer “cleared the noise” for the Antioch church to hear God. What distractions or habits might you need to temporarily set aside to create space for God’s voice in a specific area of your life?
Simeon’s story shows God uses even forced, painful moments for His purposes. Is there a situation you’re resisting or resentful about that God might be repurposing for His mission? How could you shift your perspective? [12:54]
The Antioch church’s diversity strengthened their witness. How could you intentionally build relationships or serve alongside people different from you to reflect God’s kingdom more fully?
The sermon challenges, “God is not done with this room.” What “next step” (e.g., serving, forgiving, sharing faith) have you hesitated to take because you doubted God’s ongoing work in or through you?

Sermon Clips

46s

#GodUsesYou

“I hope that encourages us. And I hope that the life of one of these early believers speaks to you, that you resonate with one of their stories. At different stages in each of their journeys, they must have thought that God was done with them. And yet he showed up and he told them they're wrong. He was not done. God brought these imperfect people together and through their faithful devotion, he used them to take the good news out of Jerusalem, out of Judea, out of Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. He showed them that their upbringing, their shame, their mistakes, their failures, their fears were not the end of the story. It's not the end of yours either.”

54s

#MissionSent

“This is the moment that Barnabas and Saul are sent out on their first missionary journey. This is a hinge, it's a turning point in the early church for the extraordinary spread of Christianity throughout the world. Jesus had promised his believers that the good news would go out from Jerusalem, out of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. And that ends of the earth piece starts right here with this crew praying and fasting and worshiping in Antioch. So Barnabas and Saul leave and they proceed to plant churches all over the known world. Because of the faithfulness of this group of believers in Antioch, that final part of Jesus' prophetic word begins to be fulfilled. And the crazy part is that 2,000 old story is not over. God is not done reaching the ends of the earth. There have been countless missionary journeys since that first one, and there are countless more to come.”

47s

#KingdomWithoutBorders

“Yet in spite of all the reasons that the world might have separated them into different groups, God decided this was the exact group of people that he needed. A people whose diversity did not weaken, but in fact strengthened the group. Now the same is true for Freedom Church. Our diversity is uncommon. And it might mean sometimes difficult conversations arise or there's some unexpected tensions. It's also one of our greatest strengths. Since the first days of the church, God has been showing us what his kingdom looks like. His kingdom is a barrier breaking kingdom. It's multi ethnic, multi racial, multi lingual, multi generational, international, and it looks a lot like this room.”

52s

#NotDoneYet

“``God was not done with Jesus' death on the cross. He wasn't done with Jesus' resurrection. He wasn't done with the day of Pentecost, nor was he done when the gospel spread throughout the Roman Empire. He's not done yet, and he will not be done until his gospel is proclaimed to the whole of creation. God is still at work, and he is going to give you opportunities to join his story. But he will also give you the choice about whether or not you want to step into it. We know the names of these people, Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Menei, and Saul, not just because God gave them assignment, but because they chose to accept it. They chose to obey God's voice in their lives. And you have the choice to do the same too.”

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The Book of Acts | God's Not Done | Speaker Erik Nelson