Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202116S
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00:34 [film reel clicking] 00:42 >> Hello and welcome to It Is 00:44 Written Canada. 00:46 Thank you for joining us. 00:47 Last week you will remember 00:49 that we met with Nwamiko 00:51 Madden and his story was 00:54 unusual; a young man who, 00:58 before he was born, his mother 01:00 had dedicated him to the Lord. 01:02 Now he didn't know anything 01:03 about this, but when he went 01:05 to school, he said to himself, 01:08 "I wanna make a name for God." 01:10 And so in his own heart he had 01:12 a desire to serve the Lord, he 01:15 wanted to glorify God, but no 01:17 one knew about his faith and 01:19 so he wanted to share that 01:21 with his classmates, he wanted 01:23 to share it with the world. 01:24 And so he thought to himself, 01:25 "If I can become a well-known" 01:27 "actor, if I could become" 01:28 "famous then I can bring" 01:31 "glory to God." 01:33 And sure enough, God opened 01:35 door after door for him and he 01:36 shared that with us last week 01:38 and he was climbing higher and 01:40 higher in the acting world. 01:42 And then he got to a place 01:44 where he went to a prayer 01:46 meeting and he had to make 01:47 a decision. 01:49 God was speaking to him and 01:50 saying to him, "You're not" 01:52 "gonna go on to the next set," 01:54 "you're not going to go to" 01:55 "the next level, you're not" 01:56 "going to go to L.A.," and he 01:58 felt this conviction of the 02:00 Holy Spirit and he was 02:03 wrestling with this in 02:04 his heart. 02:06 And then he began to tell us a 02:07 story about how he had decided 02:09 not to go to L.A. and then a 02:12 friend called him and then I 02:15 rudely interrupted his story. 02:18 And so, Nwamiko, you're here 02:20 with us today. 02:21 I want you to go back and 02:22 kinda retell that story and 02:24 then continue it past the 02:26 cliff-hanger where I 02:28 cut you off. 02:29 >> Sure thing. 02:30 Yeah, so that was perfect 02:32 timing, by the way. 02:33 What happened at that point 02:35 was I had gotten back in 02:37 contact with my friend and he 02:39 basically said he was in a 02:41 crisis of his life and he 02:42 basically came to see me. 02:44 He was extremely nervous, came 02:46 to my house, put me downstairs 02:48 in my basement and made sure 02:49 no one was in the house and he 02:51 says, "Listen, I'm gonna tell" 02:52 "you something I have not" 02:53 "told a single sole." 02:54 "Are you ready?" 02:55 And I'm like, "Yes," 02:56 "what happened?" 02:57 And he's like, "Listen," 02:59 "it was me and my girlfriend" 03:01 "and my son in the city and I" 03:03 "was working construction" 03:04 "and then I got offered" 03:05 "to do something. 03:06 "I got offered $50,000 to" 03:09 "participate in a grow op." 03:11 So this is when marijuana was 03:13 illegal, right. 03:15 So he was gonna go up in the 03:16 northern woods of Quebec and 03:18 grow this marijuana for some, 03:20 you know, some mob boss and he 03:21 was gonna make all this money 03:23 and everything was gonna be 03:24 great, right. 03:24 So he says, "Everything was" 03:25 "going amazing, about three" 03:26 "months in, they're about" 03:28 "like five to ten days from" 03:29 "the harvest, the plants were" 03:30 "taller than you, Nwamiko," 03:31 he said, and he's like, 03:32 "Everything was going great." 03:34 And then he's like, "One day" 03:34 "I got up at 6:00 in the" 03:36 "morning, not a cloud in the" 03:37 "sky, I look around and look," 03:38 "it's a beautiful day, all" 03:39 "this stuff is growing, like," 03:41 "life is good." 03:42 And then all of a sudden as 03:43 he's looking at everything, he 03:45 looks outside and he sees this 03:47 one cloud and this one cloud 03:51 is perfectly shaped 03:52 like an angel. 03:54 And he said you could see the 03:55 chest, the abdominals, the 03:56 arms outstretched, the wings, 03:57 and it had a sword in its hand 03:59 and it was slowly turning 04:01 towards the ground where he 04:02 was standing. 04:03 And he said literally he felt 04:05 the hair on the back of his 04:06 neck stand up so he runs 04:08 inside and he wakes up the two 04:09 other guys who are inside. 04:10 He's like, "Guys, guys, guys," 04:11 "you gotta come see this!" 04:12 "Come see this!" 04:13 And they're like, "What?" 04:14 He like, "Wake up," and 04:15 they're like, "Is it the cops?" 04:15 "No, no, no!" 04:16 "Come, come, come, come, come!" 04:17 Run outside, he literally 04:18 says, he runs outside and he 04:19 goes, "Look! Behold!" 04:21 And they're like, 04:22 "What, what, what?" 04:23 And he's like, "You guys" 04:25 "don't see it?" 04:25 They're like, "See what?" 04:27 He's like, "You guys don't" 04:27 "see the angel?" 04:28 They're like, "Dude, stop" 04:29 "using the boss's stuff, man," 04:30 and they, you know, turn 04:31 around and walk away and he's 04:32 like, "No, I'm not high!" 04:34 He's like, "You guys don't" 04:35 "see the angel?" 04:36 And they're like, 04:37 "Whatever, man." 04:38 And so he kinda just was just 04:40 like what a weird moment that 04:41 was, but a couple days later 04:43 instead of my friend waking 04:44 them up, it was the sound 04:45 of a [propeller sound]. 04:47 It was an RCMP helicopter. 04:49 So an RCMP helicopter swoops 04:51 down early in the morning and 04:53 they literally get up like 04:54 headless chicken, just start 04:55 grabbing their stuff trying to 04:56 put it in their pockets and 04:57 then they hide from the 04:59 windows to pretend like 05:00 they're not there and the 05:01 helicopter goes to land and 05:02 they're like, "Now we gotta" 05:03 "make a break for it." 05:04 And so they literally grab 05:06 their stuff and sprint, burst 05:07 out the doors and as soon as 05:08 they burst out the doors the 05:09 helicopter wasn't actually 05:10 fully landed and it saw them 05:11 and so it came straight 05:12 towards them. 05:13 And so they're like, 05:14 "Into the woods!" 05:15 So they start running, those 05:16 three guys, running into the 05:17 woods, trying to get reception 05:18 from a friend to come pick 05:19 them up, but they can't get 05:20 reception 'cause they're in 05:22 the middle of nowhere and so 05:23 they literally split and then 05:24 the helicopter is chasing them 05:24 over the trees. 05:26 My friend splits away, 05:27 helicopter chases the other 05:28 guys and he makes it out. 05:30 He walks like two or three 05:31 days to get back to the city. 05:32 And he's like, "Nwamiko," 05:34 "I walked three days to get" 05:36 "back to the city." 05:37 "I have no job, I have no" 05:39 "prospects and I just have" 05:40 "one question for you." 05:41 He's like, "You were the" 05:42 "really religious kid in" 05:43 "elementary school," 05:45 "why did God do this to me?" 05:48 >> So, Nwamiko, what-- tell us 05:50 what happened to your friend. 05:52 >> Yeah I'm-- yeah, I'm sure 05:53 you wanna know and so for me, 05:55 when I heard that, I was just 05:56 like, "Why in the world would" 05:57 "you ask me why did God do" 05:58 "this to you?" 06:00 I mean, 'cause this could have 06:01 been the Devil, too, right? 06:02 But I was-- I didn't say that 06:03 to him, but I was like, "OK," 06:05 "this is a pastoral moment," 06:07 "let me try to be invitational" 06:09 "to him," and I said, "Buddy," 06:12 "do you know where you are in" 06:13 "your life, do you know where" 06:15 "your life is, do you know" 06:16 "what life is about?" 06:17 And he's like, "I don't," you 06:19 know, and I was like, 06:20 "Do you wanna know?" 06:21 And he's like, "Well, I guess" 06:22 "I got no better choice." 06:23 I was like, "So why don't we" 06:24 "study the Bible?" 06:26 He's like, "Study the Bible?" 06:27 And I was like, "Yeah!" 06:28 "'Cause I can tell you what" 06:29 "God wants to do with your" 06:30 "life that way." 06:31 And he's like, "Yeah, I guess" 06:32 "we can do that." 06:33 So we start studying 06:34 the Bible. 06:35 [MIKE] Were you a good Bible 06:36 study giver? 06:37 >> I've never given Bible 06:39 studies in my life, but I felt 06:40 like Mark Finley in that 06:42 moment, I just felt like the 06:42 door was opened, like... 06:44 >> It was your first time. 06:45 >> Yeah, the first 06:45 opportunity. 06:46 I'm like, "You should take" 06:47 "Bible studies," and I'm like, 06:48 "Did I just say that?" you 06:49 know, "Who just said that," 06:51 right. 06:51 And so I'm like, "Yeah," 06:52 "I gotta give this guy" 06:53 "Bible studies." 06:54 So I go find some Bible study 06:56 guides, like, itiswritten.com, 06:57 or amazing-- like, just, you 06:58 know, some other ministry or 07:00 something like that and then I 07:01 got the study guides and then 07:03 we started studying the Bible 07:04 together and wow! 07:05 I mean, it was a complete 07:07 transformation. 07:08 His life changed, he saw the 07:10 truth for the first time, his 07:12 mind was blown, I could tell 07:13 you all these different 07:14 miracles, I mean, on one night 07:15 we studied about family 07:18 relations and, like, he was 07:19 like, "So you're saying I--" 07:21 the marriage plan, he's like, 07:22 "So you're saying I shouldn't" 07:23 "be sleeping with my" 07:25 "girlfriend right now until" 07:26 "you get married?" 07:27 And I was like, "Is that what" 07:28 "the Bible is saying?" 07:29 And he's like, "Hmm." 07:31 So he drops me off one night, 07:32 just to give you an example of 07:33 how the Lord is working in 07:34 this man's life, and then I 07:35 remember he dropped me off at 07:36 my house after the Bible study 07:37 and he stayed in the car for a 07:38 couple minutes then drove off. 07:39 And for-- you do that for 07:41 men-- for ladies, but you 07:42 don't usually do that for 07:43 guys, but he had said a prayer 07:44 in the car. 07:45 He said, "Lord, give me a" 07:46 "sign so that when I get home" 07:48 "I know that it's not--" 07:49 "I'm not supposed to sleep" 07:50 "with my wife." 07:51 He gets home, opens the door, 07:52 she's like, "Honey, you'll" 07:53 "never guess what happened!" 07:55 He's like, "What?" 07:56 He's like, "Look at what" 07:56 "the cat did!" 07:58 The cat pooped right on his 07:59 side of the bed right where he 08:00 would sleep that night. 08:01 [laughs] And so God is telling 08:02 him, "Don't sleep in the bed" 08:03 "tonight," you know. 08:05 So it was just like, I mean, 08:06 mind-blowingly obvious what 08:08 God was trying to do, you 08:09 know, and so, but that was, 08:11 like, the beginning of the 08:13 conversion experience and then 08:15 we started working together to 08:16 study the Bible with 08:17 other people. 08:19 So he got baptized, his wife 08:21 got baptized, they got married 08:23 and then we started sharing 08:24 our faith with other people 08:26 and bringing them into 08:27 the faith. 08:28 So that was God saying to me, 08:30 He's like, "Nwamiko, all this" 08:32 "would not have happened if" 08:33 "you went to Los Angeles." 08:36 This was not-- this was before 08:37 cell phones were really 08:38 popular and stuff like that 08:39 and so I wouldn't have-- I 08:41 would have been in L.A. and 08:42 not gotten that phone call 08:43 when he was needing me the 08:45 most and so God is like, 08:46 "That's why I called you at" 08:48 "this time for this purpose." 08:50 >> So what happened next in 08:51 your journey? 08:52 >> Right, so at this point I'm 08:54 like, "Wow," just reeling from 08:55 seeing what God is doing with 08:56 my friend's life and other 08:58 people's lives as a result of 08:59 this and at this time I'm 09:01 trying to get closer to God 09:02 and saying, "OK, Lord, you" 09:03 "don't want me to go to" 09:05 "Hollywood, but I'll just" 09:06 "stay here and be an actor." 09:07 But I started reading, you 09:09 know, the Bible and other 09:11 inspired writings and that 09:13 information started to, for 09:14 the first time, to come clear 09:16 to me that God was actually 09:17 saying, "You know, this career" 09:19 "is something I might want you" 09:20 "to be stepping away from." 09:21 And then I came to that 09:23 conclusion base on the things 09:25 I was reading and I was like, 09:26 "Wow, OK," and it just was 09:28 really clear, right. 09:29 That summer I was like, there 09:31 was the possibility there was 09:32 gonna be a third season for 09:34 the show that I was working on 09:35 'cause it was doing really 09:36 well and it's an international 09:38 show, it was airing in Europe, 09:39 all over Europe, all over 09:40 Australia, and Canada, and the 09:42 States, so I was like, "Man, 09:44 "Lord, please don't let there" 09:45 "be a third season," because I 09:46 don't wanna say no to these 09:47 people, I wanna just go off 09:48 into the sunset because these 09:49 people had changed the diet on 09:51 set when I became vegetarian, 09:52 they changed the entire 09:54 shooting schedule for me so 09:55 that I didn't have to shoot on 09:57 Saturdays and I was like, 09:58 "I don't wanna say no to them," 09:59 right. 10:00 But I'll never forget, it was 10:01 like yesterday, one day in the 10:03 summer, it was, like, in June, 10:05 I woke up in the morning and I 10:07 felt the strongest impression 10:08 today is the day. 10:10 And I was like, "Today is the" 10:11 "day for what, Lord?" 10:12 You know, I'm like, "What" 10:14 "does that mean," you know. 10:16 I'm like, "I've already gone" 10:17 "through enough roller coaster" 10:18 "ride of my life," but He's 10:19 like, "Today is the day," so 10:20 I'm like, "OK, fine," so I 10:21 started studying the Bible and 10:23 then the phone rings and then 10:24 God is like, "Pray before you" 10:25 "answer the phone," and I'm 10:26 like, "I don't even have" 10:27 "enough time to like get the" 10:29 "ringer before," you know what 10:30 I mean, "the prayer's over." 10:31 And then He's like, 10:32 "Pray every single time." 10:33 So I pick up the phone, 10:34 it's my mom. 10:36 She's like, "Hey, Nwamiko," 10:37 "I know you're a big actor" 10:38 "and everything, but did you" 10:38 "wash the dishes?" 10:40 And I was like, "Uhh, I'm" 10:41 "gonna wash the dishes after" 10:42 "my study." 10:42 She's like, "OK, just make" 10:43 "sure you wash the dishes and" 10:44 "the windows need some" 10:45 "cleaning, too, and--" and 10:46 it's like, "OK, Mom, alright" 10:48 "we'll do that, alright, love" 10:48 "you, K, bye." [click] 10:50 And then I'm like, "OK, back" 10:51 "to my study," and I'm deep 10:52 into the study and it's 10:53 really, really interesting and 10:55 then the phone rings four more 10:57 times and guess what, every 10:59 single time... 11:00 [MIKE] It's your mom. 11:01 >> It's my mom, but God tells 11:03 me to pray before. 11:05 And I'm like, "Lord, speak" 11:06 "through me when I answer" 11:08 "this phone call," every 11:10 single time, I don't know why. 11:11 And so I'm just like-- it's 11:12 just like, and then the sixth 11:13 time the phone rings I'm like, 11:15 "Oh my goodness, Mom," 'cause 11:16 I'm studying for three hours, 11:18 I was really-- and I grab the 11:19 phone, praying, "Lord, calm" 11:21 "me down, help me to speak to" 11:23 "my mom in the right way." 11:24 "In Jesus' name, amen." 11:26 "Hello?" 11:27 "Nomo! Guess what!" 11:30 "It's the producers!" 11:31 "We got a third season" 11:32 "of the show!" 11:34 And I was like, "Get out" 11:35 "of town." 11:37 It literally was the producers 11:38 of the show and they're like, 11:40 "Guess what, this show went" 11:41 "so amazing last season, we" 11:42 "want you to come back, we" 11:44 want you to sing on the show." 11:45 And I didn't mention this 11:46 earlier, but, like, I had 11:48 gotten a small-time recording 11:49 contract, you know, and so the 11:51 music career was starting to 11:53 build up, but they're like, 11:54 "We want you to sing on the" 11:55 "show," we did an episode last 11:56 year where I sang on the show, 11:57 "We want you to sing again on" 11:58 "the show, we have a whole" 11:59 "bunch of ideas for your" 12:00 "character, everything is" 12:02 "going amazing and the show" 12:03 "is gonna be syndicated now" 12:04 "so it's even more money," 12:06 and I'm just like, 12:07 "Lord, have mercy." 12:08 And in my head he's saying all 12:09 this good stuff, but in my 12:10 mind I know I have to say no 12:12 to this and so I'm like, 12:13 "Lord, what do you want me to" 12:14 "do, Lord, what do you want" 12:15 "me to do?" 12:15 And so I tell them, "No," 12:17 "I can't." 12:18 "Listen, you guys are" 12:19 "amazing people, amazing" 12:20 "people, amazing writers," 12:21 "you've been amazing to me," 12:22 "but my journey's different." 12:23 "This is what I'm supposed to" 12:24 "be doing right now, you know, 12:26 "you guys are amazing people," 12:27 "you're going to be fine." 12:28 "OK, take care, bye." 12:29 And I was like, "I knew it." 12:31 "I knew it, how did I know it? 12:32 I knew it, I knew this call 12:34 was gonna come and I thought 12:35 that was it. 12:38 But there was more. 12:41 And so what happened was I was 12:42 like, "OK, well," 12:44 I guess I'm out of my career." 12:46 But then the next day I got a 12:47 phone call and it was my agent 12:48 saying, "OK, they want you to" 12:50 "come on and do three" 12:51 "goodbye episodes." 12:52 And I was like, man, I wanna 12:54 go back, I wanna get the 12:56 money, but I'm like, if I'm 12:57 going back I wanna do the 12:58 whole season, I'm not doing 12:59 just three episodes, right? 13:01 And so I was like, "Yeah," 13:02 "guys, my agent said they" 13:03 "want you just to come back" 13:04 "and do those three goodbye" 13:05 "episodes," and I was like, 13:06 "That's-- it's OK," like, I 13:07 have to make a clean-- 13:08 you know. 13:10 And then the next day my agent 13:11 says, "Listen, they're gonna" 13:12 "give you your own trailer," 13:13 "your own space, you don't" 13:14 "have to talk to them, just" 13:15 "be by yourself and do these" 13:16 "three goodbye episodes." 13:18 And I was like, "No, it's not" 13:19 "about them, I love the" 13:21 "people, they're great" 13:22 "people, they're such loving," 13:23 "kind people, I just know" 13:25 "that this is not my journey" 13:26 "right now." 13:27 And then my agent hangs up the 13:29 phone and he's like, "OK." 13:30 And then he calls me back the 13:31 third day and he's like, 13:32 "Listen, Nwamiko." 13:33 "They said to me, 'we can" 13:35 "delete your character with" 13:36 "the flick of our pen, but" 13:39 "there's over a million fans" 13:41 "in Europe and we as producers" 13:43 "don't see too many black role" 13:45 "models and so we think you" 13:48 "owe it to the fans to play" 13:50 "this character for the last" 13:51 "time and not destroy all" 13:54 "those fans, these worldwide" 13:56 "fans that have confidence" 13:57 "in you.'" 13:59 And I was like, "Lord," 14:00 "have mercy!" 14:01 I was like, "Doug Bachelor," 14:02 "Mark Finley, anybody!" 14:03 "Somebody talk to me!" 14:05 And then at the end of it, you 14:06 know, my agent said, "You know," 14:08 "if I got a role with Denzel" 14:10 "Washington where you're" 14:11 "playing his brother and it" 14:12 "was on a Saturday, you know," 14:13 "you wouldn't take it?" 14:14 I was like, "That was like the" 14:15 "first thing I told you, man." 14:16 And he's like, "Ah, I don't" 14:18 "get you," and "click," that 14:19 was the end of that phone call. 14:20 And that was the last time I 14:21 spoke to my agent. 14:22 So basically I tell my mother 14:24 this and she's kinda like, 14:25 "Oh, so there's no more" 14:27 "acting happening?" 14:28 And I was paying the mortgage 14:30 at the time so that didn't go 14:31 over too well... 14:32 >> Much more pressure on you. 14:34 >> Exactly and so I was like, 14:35 "What's gonna happen?" 14:36 And so she's like, "Well, I'm" 14:37 "gonna find a way to get" 14:38 "money," and she says, 14:39 "I'm gonna bring in some" 14:40 "student exchange students" 14:42 "and then they're gonna come" 14:43 "here and we'll get money from" 14:45 "that extra means of income." 14:46 And so this guy comes over to 14:48 the house not too long after 14:50 and he's inspecting the house 14:52 and he's looking and picking 14:53 things up and he's like, you 14:55 know, and with the little 14:56 notepad and it felt so 14:57 demeaning 'cause I was 14:58 supporting my mom and now she 15:00 has to do this and it was such 15:02 a depressing moment and I 15:03 felt, like, a weird energy and 15:05 depression in the house and I 15:06 was just, I was starting to 15:08 get almost emotional, no tears 15:09 were coming out and then 15:11 literally at around 8:00 at 15:12 night it felt like there was, 15:14 like, something in my room and 15:16 I couldn't pray and I felt 15:17 really scared and like there 15:19 was an energy in the house and 15:20 I started to cry and I was 15:21 just crying and crying and 15:22 going through, like, a 15:24 depression and I went to bed 15:25 in that state and at around 15:28 3:00 in the morning the phone 15:29 rings and I can tell it's the 15:31 long-distance ring. 15:32 And I'm not up, I'm not 15:34 answering the phone 'cause in 15:35 the state that I'm in, I can't 15:36 talk to anybody, right. 15:37 But my younger brother plays 15:38 video games all night so he 15:40 answers the phone, comes to 15:41 find out it's my father, my 15:43 father who's not in Canada, 15:45 who's in Jamaica and my dad 15:47 calls and he's like, "I wanna" 15:49 "speak to Nwamiko," so my 15:50 brother comes in, he's like, 15:51 "Dad wants to talk to you," 15:52 so I'm like, "Hello?" 15:54 And he's like, "Nwamiko," 15:54 "what's going on?" 15:56 And I'm like, "What do you" 15:57 "mean what's going on?" 15:58 He's like, "I used to have" 15:59 "these things from since" 16:00 "childhood." 16:01 "Tell me what's going on." 16:03 And he's like, "You're doing" 16:05 "something, you're deciding" 16:06 "about something," and I was 16:07 like, "Yeah, about acting." 16:08 And he's like, "I knew it," 16:09 "don't make any decision 'til" 16:10 "I come back to Canada." 16:12 "Don't make any decision," 16:13 "alright?" 16:14 I was like, "Yeah...what..." 16:15 I didn't know what to say 16:17 'cause I didn't tell him I was 16:18 quitting acting so there's no 16:20 way he could have known that. 16:22 Come to find out, he tells me 16:24 that he was building a house 16:25 in Jamaica, right, and he's 16:26 into real estate and doing 16:28 some of those other things, 16:29 but building a house in 16:31 Jamaica, didn't even have a 16:32 phone installed in the house, 16:33 but he saw a vision and in 16:34 that vision basically, he 16:36 interpreted it as it was 16:37 about me, three different 16:39 scenes, I don't have time to 16:40 tell them now, but the three 16:41 different scenes he 16:42 interpreted as me needing to 16:44 go back into the entertainment 16:46 industry. 16:47 And I was like, "But that" 16:48 "doesn't go with what I've" 16:49 "been reading and studying," 16:51 but he's like, "That's what" 16:52 "I'm seeing, you're supposed" 16:53 "to go back into the industry," 16:54 and I was like, "This is not" 16:55 "making sense." 16:56 And so I went to my mom next 16:57 and I had a heart-to-heart 16:58 with her and I said, "What's" 16:59 "going on with Dad? Like..." 17:01 And she's like, "Yeah, he's" 17:03 "had things like that before," 17:04 "but I forgot to tell you" 17:05 "something; when you were a" 17:07 "child, I dedicated you to" 17:08 "God before you were born." 17:10 "That's why this is happening." 17:12 And I was like, "Thanks, Mom," 17:14 you know what I mean? 17:16 Thanks for letting me know 17:17 now, you know, but she 17:18 literally is like, "Yeah, I" 17:20 "dedicated you to God so" 17:21 "you're actually supposed to" 17:22 "be dedicated to God's" 17:23 "service." 17:24 And I was like, "Oh, wow!" 17:27 And so I was like, that's why 17:28 I came out the womb basically, 17:30 like, believing right away 17:31 that there was a God the way 17:33 that I did and so now 17:34 everything started to make 17:35 sense and I was like, "OK," 17:36 "Lord, like, what's next?" 17:38 And I was super depressed, 17:39 super emotional 'cause I'm 17:41 like, I just gave up five 17:42 years of my life and what the 17:43 momentum that I was building 17:45 and so I'm like, "Lord, what's" 17:46 "next, like, I have nothing," 17:47 and, you know, it's funny 17:48 because I tell people, people 17:50 say, you know, money talks, 17:51 right, but the problem with 17:53 money is that she'll say 17:54 things like, "Oh, you're so" 17:56 "great that you have me now," 17:57 you know, "I'm gonna be with" 17:59 "you forever," but then the 18:01 last thing money said to me 18:02 was, "Bye-bye," 'cause money 18:03 left. [laughs] 18:05 Because the money leaves when 18:06 the party's over, so to speak, 18:08 you know, and I was no longer 18:10 in the entertainment industry 18:11 and, like, certain things 18:12 happened and it was just 18:14 really difficult so I was 18:15 like, "OK, Lord, what's next?" 18:16 And I got an offer to work at 18:18 a Christian school as a 18:21 substitute teacher and I was 18:23 like, I didn't wanna take this 18:25 job 'cause it was literally a 18:26 rough, dead-end kind of job 18:27 right beside the train tracks, 18:28 literally there was like a 18:30 train right there beside the 18:31 school and I was like, 18:32 "I don't wanna take this job," 18:33 and it's really problem kids 18:34 and stuff, but I was like, 18:35 "OK, God, if You're telling" 18:37 "me to take this job, I'll" 18:38 give You a chance to show up." 18:40 "Tonight, there's gonna be a" 18:41 "live presentation by a" 18:43 "pastor via satellite and if" 18:44 he wears a red tie tonight," 18:46 "I will take that job" 18:48 "no problem, right." 18:49 But if you don't do this, I'm" 18:51 "not gonna do anything" 18:53 "because all this crazy stuff" 18:54 "is happening to me and" 18:55 "You're not speaking to me" 18:56 "and telling me what I'm" 18:57 "supposed to do." 18:58 "So that's it, that's all." 18:59 So I go to the event that 19:00 night, sit at my church and 19:01 usually people don't wear red 19:02 ties because it's just not 19:04 good on camera, you know what 19:05 I mean? 19:05 As you guys would know. 19:07 Guy comes out, Pastor Walter 19:08 Pearson comes out, 19:09 bam, red tie. 19:10 I was like, "No!" [laughs] 19:13 So I was like, "Lord, did You" 19:14 "really just do that to me?" 19:17 And I was like, "OK, I guess" 19:18 "I gotta go work at the school." 19:20 So I work at the school for a 19:21 month and it was amazing 19:22 because it was almost like God 19:23 slapping me on the wrist, but 19:25 it was like, "Wow, I got a" 19:27 "slap on the wrist from God," 19:29 you know what I mean? 19:30 And He indicated by another 19:32 sign shortly thereafter that 19:34 He wanted me to stay on with 19:35 the school for a little bit 19:36 and so I did that for a little 19:38 bit of time, but that was the 19:39 first time I started seeing 19:40 that God was leading in my 19:41 life, He's saying, "Because" 19:42 "you've given me everything," 19:43 "now I can give you" 19:44 "everything, now I can show" 19:45 "you everything." 19:46 "You've emptied yourself so" 19:48 "now I can fill you up." 19:49 It was amazing, it was like a 19:52 soul-searching time in my 19:54 life, I basically just 19:55 withdraw from hanging out with 19:57 friends and everything and the 19:59 way God told me I needed to do 20:00 it was I started studying the 20:02 Bible, but He said, "You need" 20:03 "to turn off the television" 20:05 and turn on the Ellen-vision." 20:06 [laughs] 20:07 We have an inspired writer 20:08 that we've heard about, an 20:10 author, Ellen White and her 20:11 writings and there's some 20:13 powerful material in those 20:14 writings and so I said, "You" 20:15 "know, I heard a lot about" 20:17 "these things, let me inspect" 20:18 "them for myself." 20:19 And so I started to do some 20:20 introspection and here's the 20:21 crazy thing because my gift 20:22 was my imagination, but what I 20:24 notice about films is that you 20:26 get so sucked into that world, 20:28 after it's over, you still 20:30 want to exist in the world 20:32 that you were a part of. 20:33 Right? 20:34 Like it... 20:36 It diminishes your 20:38 appreciation for reality. 20:39 And there's something called 20:40 "Avatar depression" which was 20:41 actually a thing after 20:42 that movie, it was so 20:44 beautiful, the movie, Avatar, 20:45 that people got depressed 20:46 after going back to real life, 20:48 right, so that's what those 20:49 movies will do, your 20:51 imagination still wants to 20:52 live in that world. 20:53 Well, I read the book The 20:54 Great Controversy and you read 20:56 about the climax of history in 20:59 the battle between good and 21:00 evil is taking place in your 21:02 lifetime. 21:03 Spiritual warfare between the 21:05 forces of good, the forces of 21:06 evil, all of the conflict is 21:08 coming to a head right now in 21:09 this time in which you are 21:11 alive and you have a part to 21:12 play in that story and you 21:13 close that book. 21:15 But this story's real. 21:17 You've just been awakened to 21:18 the fact that you're a part of 21:20 a greater reality so it's now 21:22 like you're more plugged in to 21:24 the movie of your own 21:25 experience and life. 21:27 And so I was like, "Wow." 21:28 "Wow, wow, OK, OK, Lord." 21:31 So He's like, "Now I need to" 21:32 "give you purpose, I need to" 21:33 "inform you about what it is" 21:34 "you actually believe, what" 21:36 "this thing called life is" 21:37 "actually about." 21:38 I started a city ministry with 21:40 some group of friends and we 21:42 started this non-profit to 21:43 reach downtown areas, inner 21:45 city areas, and so many 21:47 testimonies happened from 21:48 that, but God is really 21:49 showing me that, He's like, 21:51 "Nwamiko, I called you out of" 21:52 "the darkness to put you into" 21:53 "the light," you know. 21:55 And, you know, people who are 21:56 watching this show right now, 21:57 they might be wondering about 21:58 their own journey, but every 22:00 single one of us has a journey 22:02 that God wants to be powerful. 22:03 And here's the thing, I 22:05 thought I wanted... 22:07 I thought I wanted Adventism 22:10 to have its own actor so that 22:12 that would be the star-power 22:14 of Adventism, but the Bible 22:15 showed me that Adventism 22:17 already has star power because 22:19 in Revelation it says that 22:20 Jesus is the bright and 22:21 morning star. 22:22 Jesus is the bright and 22:24 morning star, we already have 22:25 a star in Adventism, but God 22:26 still needs you to play a 22:27 supporting role, right. 22:29 And then I was like, "OK, so" 22:30 "how is that?" 22:31 Well, He's like, "Nwamiko," 22:33 "there's two versions of" 22:34 "yourself that you can play," 22:35 because when you think about 22:36 David, David was a shepherd 22:37 boy and He was like, 22:38 "That's too small." 22:40 "I want you to get up and go" 22:41 "shepherd an entire nation." 22:43 Peter was a fisherman and he's 22:44 like, "That's too small," 22:46 "I need you to become a" 22:47 "fisher of men," right. 22:48 Paul used to go and capture 22:50 people and bring them back to 22:51 the Sanhedrin. 22:52 He's like, "Now I need you to" 22:53 "turn around and go capture" 22:55 "people and bring them back" 22:55 "to Christ." 22:56 Moses was gonna give laws to 22:58 Egypt, He's like, "That's too" 22:59 "small, I need you to give" 23:00 "the ten commandments to the" 23:01 "entire world." 23:02 You used to take the script 23:04 and play it out, now you 23:06 take the scripture and you 23:07 preach it out. 23:08 And it's truth that's gonna 23:09 last for eternity. 23:11 So every single person, every 23:12 single person has a role to 23:14 play in their movie and God is 23:15 the star-- Jesus is the star 23:17 of their film, but you only 23:18 get to experience that when 23:20 you invite Him into your life. 23:22 And so I think God is calling 23:24 us as a generation to create 23:26 media that's gonna impact the 23:28 world for Him. 23:29 And so I consider myself to be 23:31 a vision-maker, not just a 23:33 director or film-maker, but a 23:34 vision-maker. 23:36 And so if it's the most 23:37 powerful way of communicating 23:39 or compelling someone to 23:40 understand something or to 23:42 accept something, why not use 23:43 that for the gospel? 23:45 And so that's what I'm doing 23:46 right now, I'm making 23:47 documentary films, making 23:48 music and making, 23:51 not necessarily documentaries, 23:52 films, but 3D animated films 23:54 as well. 23:55 I've had the opportunity to 23:57 create a documentary on David 23:59 and Goliath and it had 3D 24:02 animation and just talks about 24:03 the story of David and Goliath 24:05 whether it was real so it can 24:06 take you from the atheistic 24:08 perspective to the Adventist 24:09 perspective in one film. 24:11 The big dream that I have 24:13 though is I want to take the 24:15 Conflict of Ages series, 24:17 Patriarchs and Prophets, 24:18 Desire of Ages, and The Great 24:20 Controversy, and create them 24:21 all, each as a two-hour 3D 24:23 animated film. 24:25 I actually have the company 24:26 ready to make it with me, they 24:28 are ready, they're on-- they 24:29 are standing by right now, it 24:30 just needs to be funded. 24:32 The script is done, we just 24:33 need to get the funding to do 24:35 it and we wanna release that 24:36 in theatres world wide and on 24:38 online platforms. 24:39 So to tell the story of what 24:41 this world really is in the 24:43 most compelling and the most 24:44 amazing way possible. 24:47 >> Nwamiko, you know, God has 24:49 really inspired you with your 24:51 vision that He gave you 24:53 because the world is shifted 24:55 so much today and so many 24:57 people are spending time 24:58 on screens... 24:59 >> Yes. 25:00 >> ...and so what a powerful 25:01 vision that He gave you. 25:03 >> That's why I'm excited that 25:05 you guys do what you do. 25:06 >> So how can people get 25:07 ahold of you? 25:09 >> OK, so online my company 25:13 name is Certain Sound and so 25:15 they can go to 25:16 certainsound.org, that's my 25:17 website, also Certain Sound 25:19 Media, that is my YouTube 25:21 channel, so we're gonna have 25:22 some new material showing up 25:24 there, you could also just 25:25 search my first name on social 25:26 media and I'm on Instagram, 25:28 Facebook and all that stuff. 25:30 >> Yeah, and I'd like them to 25:31 be able to support your vision 25:33 because you do need financial 25:34 support for that. 25:36 >> Prayers definitely help, 25:37 but the other stuff doesn't 25:38 hurt either. [laughs] 25:40 >> Nwamiko, I wonder if you 25:41 can please pray for us before 25:42 we end our program today. 25:44 >> Sure, sure, let's do it. 25:47 Father in heaven, we thank You 25:48 so much for Your goodness, 25:49 Your grace, Your Mercy, Your 25:51 love, Lord, and for the fact 25:52 that Jesus is the star of each 25:54 of our movies. 25:56 Lord, we don't need to try to 25:57 be the star because You are 25:58 already there and willing to 26:00 come to make our lives like 26:02 the movie they were designed 26:04 to be. 26:05 I pray in a special way that 26:06 You would please bless 26:07 everybody who's watching out 26:09 there who is in a valley of 26:10 decision in their own lives. 26:12 Help them to realize that You 26:13 have the guidance that they 26:15 need and the answers that they 26:16 need and You have a whole 26:18 'nother side to life that they 26:20 actually desire and want 26:22 because You created them. 26:23 So bless everyone who's 26:24 watching and thank You for 26:26 hearing and answering this 26:27 prayer, in Jesus' name, amen. 26:28 [MIKE] Amen, amen. 26:30 Thank you, Nwamiko, you really 26:32 blessed us with sharing your 26:34 testimony, your experience and 26:36 the way God is leading in your 26:38 life right now. 26:39 >> The pleasure was mine. 26:43 >> Friends, today we want to 26:44 give you the book that 26:46 inspired Nwamiko, The Great 26:48 Controversy, because I have 26:50 read The Great Controversy and 26:52 learned from it multiple 26:53 times, I know that you are 26:55 going to be equally inspired 26:57 by this book. 26:59 >> The Great Controversy has 27:01 stood the test of time as a 27:03 trusted source on Biblical 27:05 truth and divine inspiration. 27:08 >> Before you go, we would 27:10 like to also invite you to 27:12 follow us on Instagram and 27:14 Facebook and subscribe to our 27:15 YouTube channel and also 27:18 listen to our Podcasts. 27:20 And if you go to our website, 27:23 you can see our latest 27:25 programs including our cooking 27:27 demonstrations, our short 27:30 spiritual messages entitle 27:32 Daily Living and our exercise 27:34 workouts called 27:36 Experiencing Life. 27:38 >> We also want you to 27:40 experience the truth found in 27:41 the words of Jesus when He 27:43 said, "It is written, man" 27:46 "shall not live by bread" 27:48 "alone, but by every word" 27:50 "that proceeds out of the" 27:51 "mouth of God." 27:53 ♪♪ |
Revised 2022-01-13