Are You Late to Faith? | Acts 19

Are You Late to Faith? | Acts 19

August 23, 2026 · 52 min

Have you ever shown up late — to a meeting, a moment, a whole season of life you feel like you missed? In this message, Dr. Abidan Shah looks at what happens when someone comes late to faith, using the believers Paul meets in Acts 19 who had never even heard of the Holy Spirit. Whether it happened through no fault of your own or through years spent far from church, this message is for anyone who feels like they're playing catch-up with God.Dr. Shah paints a vivid picture of first-century Ephesus — a melting pot of 250,000 people, the fourth-largest city in the world, home to a temple three times the size of the Parthenon that doubled as a bank and a museum. Into that noise and spiritual confusion, Paul comes not as a tourist admiring the sights, but as a missionary carrying the true gospel to people trapped in a shallow, incomplete faith. What follows is a citywide awakening — sorcerers burning half a million dollars in occult books, and a riot led by a silversmith whose business dried up because people stopped buying idols.But the message doesn't end in triumph. Turning to Revelation 2, Dr. Shah shows what Jesus later said to this same church — a church that worked hard, endured much, and still heard the words "you have left your first love." Whether you came to Christ late or have walked with Him for years, this message asks the same question: is your love for Jesus still what it once was, or has it quietly grown cold?Dr. Shah writes a personal letter every week — reflections on Scripture, faith, and living it out with clarity and purpose. Join the family: https://abidanshah.com/join~~~~GIVE: https://abidanshah.com/give/BOOKS: https://abidanshah.com/books/LISTEN LATER: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clearview-today-with-dr-abidan-shah/id1651006506~~~~0:00 – Have You Ever Showed Up Late?5:00 – Ephesus: A Melting Pot of 250,000 People13:00 – Paul Came as a Missionary, Not a Tourist20:00 – Unlearning a Faith Half-Understood27:00 – A Citywide Awakening and the Burning of the Books36:00 – Riot in the Streets: "Great Is Diana of the Ephesians"43:00 – Revelation 2: "You Have Left Your First Love"

Dr. Abidan Shah

Follow