Nick Shakoour, who has inspired millions through his portrayal of Zebedee in “The Chosen,” is openly sharing his incredible faith journey.
Shakoour told CBN News his new book, “Transformer: Awakening From A Spiritual Coma – A Nick Shakoour Autobiography” — which details his path out of darkness and into Christianity” — is a “tribute to God.”
The text recaps his personal story, tackling everything from Shakoour immigrating to America from Lebanon to his radical encounter with Jesus — a stunning, spiritual moment that led him to faith.
Shakoour, whose encounter with Christ came after he started working on “The Chosen,” shared the details behind what unfolded, explaining how new Christian friends made during filming helped lead him into a true walk with the Lord.
“I’ve always said ‘The Chosen’ was a conduit that God used to get me over to Texas,” he said. “Lo and behold, I didn’t think it would lead to a church conference invite with friends that I started to make with the construction crew, and then there are friends outside of the production.”
Shakoour continued, “I started running in all these, I’d say, believer circles. So, it amalgamated to the Holy Spirit encounter. But so much had to happen, as I talk about in the book, starting with my grandfather, Nicholas, who was a Greek Orthodox … spirit-filled priest.”
The actor explains all of this in “Transformer: Awakening From A Spiritual Coma – A Nick Shakoour Autobiography,” but it’s his radical encounter with the Lord that is perhaps most eye-catching.
“It happened after the church conference was over,” Shakoour said. “We were in an empty arena. It was just me and pretty much nine people praying over me.”
The moment came at a key time in Shakoour’s life, as the actor admitted he had reached a “climax of not understanding the point to life.” Though he wasn’t suicidal, he was deeply struggling and knew he needed something more.
“For some reason, I was thirsty to know who God really was,” he said. “I was growing tired of people telling me to refer to Scripture.”
The Bible had started speaking to him at the time, but Shakoour still had questions.
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“[I was like], if this is real, like, where is God? Where is God?'” he recalled. “On the way to the conference, I actually had a physically tangible, I guess you could call it low energy demonic attack … where I felt like I was being swallowed alive and my body froze.”
Shakoour said he ended up terrified by the time he reached the conference, finding himself “completely broken, and disarmed, and desperate.” He said he had no idea where life would be heading after the conference, but ended up leaving totally transformed.
“It was unbelievable because I just thought, ‘OK, they’re they’re coming in. They’re going to pray over me. Great. Good luck with that,'” he said. “And the next thing I knew, when they placed their hands over me and they were praying in what they called speaking in tongues, all I know is what happened was on a cellular level, my cells started to vibrate and it was like I was in a massage chair, man. Like, it was insane.”
Shakoour continued, “A force outside of me was growing larger, and larger, and larger as my body was just almost shivering … quivering in fear. … And, as that was happening.”
He believes he was experiencing the presence of God in those moments, describing the profound impact the ordeal had over his body as the group continued laying hands on him and praying. Shakoour believes it was the moment he received the Holy Spirit.
Initially, he was confused.
“I said, ‘Yeah, but I thought that happened when my grandfather baptized me,'” he said. “And the intercessor there said, ‘Well, that may have been resting on you when your grandfather baptized you, but he’s resting in you.'”
Shakoour then asked if the experience he had was the reason so many of those who prayed over him were “so crazy about Jesus.” He now understood the power in Christ’s presence.
“It really changed everything,” he said.
He’s hoping “Transformer: Awakening From A Spiritual Coma – A Nick Shakoour Autobiography” — a book written in the spirit and excitement of a comic book — will inspire people to look deeper at his journey and to discover the power they, too, can find in the Lord.
Learn more about his story above.
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