From NFL Dreams To Federal Prison & Hearing God's Voice: Sterling Harris' Journey of Redemption (Inspirational)

In this episode, Reginald D had the privilege of speaking with Sterling Harris, a former NFL player whose life took a dramatic turn after developing a deep, personal relationship with Jesus. Sterling shared his journey from growing up in a small town in Texas, where he experienced a form of "church-anity" rather than true Christianity, to discovering the transformative power of a genuine connection with God.

Despite facing numerous challenges, including injuries and personal struggles, Sterling persevered and made it to the NFL. He candidly discussed the harsh realities of professional football, including the cutthroat nature of the league and the pressure to perform. He also shared his experience of going to federal prison for a crime he didn't commit, which led him to seek a more authentic relationship with God.

During his time in prison, Sterling discovered the transformative power of the Holy Spirit and began to teach others how to hear God's voice. He emphasized that everyone has access to this divine communication, regardless of their background or past experiences.

Throughout our conversation, Sterling's passion for helping others connect with God was evident. He founded Sterling Harris Ministries, dedicated to empowering people of all ages to hear God's voice and experience transformation in their lives. He also discussed his upcoming book on "Mastering the Mind" and the practical strategies he offers to help individuals deepen their spiritual connection.

This episode is a powerful reminder that no matter our past or the challenges we face, there is always more to discover in our relationship with God. Sterling's testimony is a testament to the grace and love that Jesus offers to everyone, regardless of their background.

Sterling Harris Links:
Website: https://sterlingharris.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sterlingharris.org
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@SterlingHarrisMinistries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sterlingharrisministries

Transcript

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Welcome to Real Talk with Reginald D. I'm your host, Reginald D. On today's episode, I have Sterling Harris. Sterling is a former NFL player. He's a former federal prisoner whose life was radically changed by starting and developing an intimate love relationship with Jesus. He also has a ministry called Sterling Harris Ministries. Welcome Man, Big Reg, what's up, baby? What it do, son? That's it. That's it. Straight up kingdom. I'm so honored to have you on the show, man. I think your I can tell you it's definitely colorful. That's what the listeners will find out. My testimony has various shades to it. That's for Absolutely, absolutely. So Sterling, let's I grew up in Terrell, Texas, a home of Jamie Foxx and Sterling Harris. I don't know if you know who that first guy is, but I'm Sterling Harris. But grew up in a small town, Terrell, Texas, 35 minutes east of Dallas, and grew up in a normal kind of middle-class family. It was a Christian family. I would say it was more of a more of a church-anity Christian family is what I term a church-anity, not Christianity. Christianity is supposed to be like a intimate connection, relationship, spiritual connection with Jesus. That's what Jesus modeled. Unfortunately, most of the people like myself grew up in church-anity, which all of your spiritual connectedness is really based on your church attendance, and how many programs you're involved in, and how much you serve at your church. Those are good things, but that shouldn't be the bulk of your relational connection with Jesus. That would be your day-to-day connection, your day-to-day communication. Obviously, I know as a former professional athlete, You can't work out one day a week and be good at anything. You sure can't work out one day a week and be good at football or business or parenting or anything else like that. If I just showed up to parent my kids one day a week, yeah, that wouldn't go over very well in my house, okay? If I showed up to be a husband once a week with my wife and be supportive and listening once a week, that wouldn't work out either. But obviously, so many of us, including myself for 15 years, my Christian walk, lived church entity. And I went to church and that's where I met God. And then he stayed up in the sky. And then I went and white knuckled at the rest of the week, which is not what Jesus modeled. Jesus modeled an everyday relational connection with Jesus. But honestly, I just didn't know it was available. So many of us, we model what we see modeled. I saw Church Hannity modeled and religion modeled, working harder, doing better, trying to get God's approval, where, thank God, it's not about what we've done or how good we are, thank God, it's how good Jesus is and what he's done for us. And I honestly just didn't know that, Reg. At 12 years old, I gave my life to Jesus based on a spiritual encounter I had with him. I just threw up this prayer and just said, God, if you're real, Because I'm not sure if you're real or you're not real. My parents say you're real. I'm not sure if you're real in my heart or my mind. If you're real and you want a relationship with me, like show yourself to me, let me know. And Reg, I woke up the next day, little 12 year old kid with a feeling of peace and serenity almost like a warm blanket around me. And I just knew it was almost like my room was almost electrified, if you will. I didn't see Jesus walk in the room. I didn't hear a big booming voice, but in my heart, I got a thought impression that the answer to both of your questions, yes, I am real. And yes, I'm in a relationship with you. I knew the answer inherently in my heart, I wouldn't say that God spoke to me back then because people in my sphere of influence did not use that kind of language. That was taboo. And people thought you were crazy if you said, I felt like I heard God speak to me, but he spoke to me nonetheless. And he put on my heart, yes, I'm real. And yes, I want a relationship with you. And based on that, I gave my life to Jesus and got water baptized and gave my life to him. And then I got religion. I started modeling what I saw modeled. And I grew up in a Hellfire and Brimstone era. For people who don't know what that is, they basically kind of scare you into having a relationship with Jesus. And God's this big God up in the sky that's looking to zap you and discipline you for everything you do wrong. And then for everything you do right, he just kind of pats you on the head and you should have done that anyway type of thing. And that led me to a lot of shame, guilt, condemnation. And it led me to just, there's almost the shameful type of relationship with God where I never felt like I was good enough and always felt like I was falling short. And so I looked for stimulus in other places, football, school, approval of other people, working out, and also drugs and alcohol as well. And some of those things in themselves are good, but anything that you have in your life, no matter good or bad or positive or negative, If your whole identity is not grounded and based in your relational connection with Jesus, then the Bible says that the things in your life will be shaken. Everything that's shaken will be shaken. And you actually open up the door of the enemy. to destroy or shake those idols in your life. Because if he has your idols and he shakes them, he can shake how you view God, how you view yourself, how you view others. And that was my case so many times that so many things in my life got shaken through injury and football and through my parents getting divorced and different things like that. Things that I idolized, Those things got shaken and I was also under their religious belief system that everything that happened to you is God's will for your life. So I go on and I end up, you know, a lot of people counting me out in football. And God used like Rocky movies and different things like that to just kind of like put on my heart and give me this impression inside that I had what it took to get to the NFL. And I had what it took, even though a lot of people didn't think so. A lot of people looked at me, I was big, uncoordinated, and they had a lot of bad things to say about me. but instead of listening to that nonsense, listen to the haters, because you're always gonna have haters in this life, no matter what you do. And if you don't have any haters, you probably need to check what you're doing, because you're probably not doing that much. You're probably just going on along with the status quo. But if you look to stand out in any way or make any kind of impact, you will have haters. And instead of listening to those haters, I took in what they said, but I didn't believe it. I believed what I now know was the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of me, pushing me to stay after practice, look at my weaknesses, work on my weaknesses, continue to work on my strengths. And I had some great coaches around me that really taught me the power of visualization. And through that, and through visualizing me taking the right step, the right fit, Through working hard and being the first one in the gym and the last one out, I ended up being an All-American, All-State, All-Area, All-District in high school and went on to play college ball at SMU. I could have went anywhere in the country and ended up, my dad wanted me to go to SMU. And at the time, I had this kind of inward gut feeling that I should go somewhere else. But I thought, if my dad wants me to go there, this must be a sign. The problem with signs in life, Reg, is if you interpret them in your own soul, or wanting to people please, or out of fear, or obligation to someone else besides the Holy Spirit, God will often get you to where he wants you to be, but what detours you take along the way can be buried in colorful. And in my case, I actually ended up, I believe, going to the wrong college for me at that time. And it always felt like I was ice skating uphill, like there was never any grace on those next four or five years of my life. And now I look back and knowing now what I know about hearing God's voice, I recognize that that that inward witness of the Holy Spirit, that kind of like nudge, like, no, you should probably go here instead of there. I actually now realize that was the Holy Spirit trying to lead me in other direction. So that took me on a, on a detour. And I had experiences in life that necessarily weren't God's best for my life, but I ended up making it to the NFL and O and 12 football team. We didn't win a game, uh, my senior season and never had a winning season while I was there. And again, ice skating uphill, not in God's will for my life. I felt it was always pressing against something. And I felt like I don't have any grace in my life. Even in the midst of that, I continue to press in, continue to press on, put away the naysayers, continue to do good at school, and run that parallel path of, yes, I'm getting my education, but yes, I want this dream to go to the NFL. And I ended up making it to the NFL, the Cleveland Browns, on a 0-1-12 football team. At the same time, there's a cost to pay. The guy who ended up going to the university of Texas, him and I, at that time were like the number one, number two offensive tackle in the state of Texas, which puts you, you know, he's generally in the, between the first and third round NFL draft in your draft class. He ended up going to UT and played there at a bigger school at that time. Ended up going second round NFL draft. I ended up going on an O and 12 football team and, and less people want to watch that. just obviously don't want to get your face beat in by 40 or 50 points every week. And I ended up going priority free agent. The difference between that is, you know, eight to $10 million. So there was a cost of pay not listening to God. And I've often tell people like knowing God's voice, connecting with him, it doesn't always make sense, but in your life it will make dollars. because God's practical and it will lead you down a path that will not be easy. It will be uncomfortable, but you'll have grace on your life and you'll have some lubrication. Like you have lubrication, like in an engine, you have to have oil. If you don't have oil, the pistons will lock up because there's too much friction against it. You need that lubrication of the Holy Spirit, the oil of the Holy Spirit in your life. to make sure that you have grace on whatever you're going through. I've went through a lot of hard challenges since I started recognizing and practicing the presence and the voice of God. But in the midst of those challenges, I heard God's voice and I'm hearing God's voice even in the midst of the challenges I face today. And the difference is there's grace for what I'm facing. There's grace for what your listeners are facing. It starts with a love relationship with Jesus and recognizing that he can speak and he wants to speak to you. And that was my whole deal. I just didn't know that God spoke unless you had like some mark and you were born on some special day like Billy Graham or something like you need to be like this super Christian for God to speak to you. And that's just not the case. God speaks every day. The only question is, do you have the definition, language, practical examples and definitions to recognize his activity and recognize his voice when he speaks to you? Everybody said in one way or another throughout their life, there's a voice at the back of my mind. Something told me to do this. You've heard people, believers, non-believers, something told me to do that. And it was, what they're speaking of often is something wiser than them spoke to them because it wasn't in line with what they would have done necessarily. It was probably against what they wanted in their own self-will. But as they listened to that voice, like you'll hear somebody that listened to that voice and things worked out in their favor. And I listened to this voice and this is what happened. And then you have other people that says, you know, that gut feeling like, oh, I shouldn't, I don't think I should do this. And that kind of thought, oh, something's kind of telling me I shouldn't do this. And you do it anyway and you get in a wreck. Now, all of us have stories about how we got in wrecks. Like everybody, believer, non-believer, atheist, agnostic, whatever. Everybody's had that sensation of a gut feeling. I would submit to you and everyone, your listeners that So oftentimes that's actually the voice of the Holy Spirit. And it's the voice of God speaking through your conscience. So the God's voice sounds a lot like your voice, the voice of your own conscience, but it comes with a flow and a peace and a wisdom to it that won't be your own. And God speaks intervisually. Like people say, I had a vision. What does that mean? At least God's using the screen of your mind to show you a figurative or, or metaphorical meanings or literal meanings. There's times that I prayed about, a business decision to make, and God will show me a picture of me doing something or saying something or sending somebody an email, and I'll know inherently in my heart that's what I'm supposed to do. Or if I'm going to bid for a job that we move freight all across the United States and run a multimillion dollar business now that God literally took from going bankrupt to a multimillion dollar business in four years. It's not because I'm a great business person. which I am with the Holy Spirit. But apart from him, I'm just a regular guy, just a regular Joe. But with the Holy Spirit, I'm a really good businessman. I can turn things around. I'm a good husband. I'm a good father. But apart from him, like the Bible says, you can really do nothing. What does that talk about? Nothing of really kingdom value. Even if you get decent results, They're not going to be God's best and they're not going to have God's fingerprints on them in the way that they could. And I don't think anybody's signing up to live a limited life. If I said, Hey, would you like to live a full, happy, healthy, destiny, purpose-driven life? Or are you cool with just a limited life and just good to get by? Which one do you wanna do? I've never heard somebody say to this day, yeah, give me the latter one, give me the limited one. No, everybody wants to live the best life that they can. And I would submit to you that following God's voice is the way to do that because he knows how to get every drop out of the best of your life. And frankly, you don't. Right. And people often say, I don't, so I don't have time to pray. I'm like, well, who do you talk to the most throughout your day? Right. Don't talk to them. No, yourself. By volume, you talk to you the most out of anybody. And when I tell people, when I talk to me, I don't seek good counsel. So what I do, I turn that conversation inward and I say, Holy Spirit, like, what are you saying about this situation? Like, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to say? And I let the Holy Spirit, it'll be a thought impression, or I'll see myself doing something in my mind, or I'll have a piece about a certain decision I'm gonna make, or I'll have a lack of peace. about it. When people start to realize that there's like this, this internal dialogue that God wants to have with you. And people say, is it that easy, Sterling? And I'm like, well, Jesus said it was because he said that I can only do what I see the father doing, which is like an inner visual experience that he would have that you can have. And he would say, I can only say what I hear the father saying, what we, he wasn't talking about this big booming voice, which the Bible doesn't record. The Bible records Jesus hearing God internally. And we know that Jesus was moved along by the Holy Spirit and perceived things in his spirit. We've all experienced that gut feeling for better or for worse. and our whole ministry and my whole passion in life is to help people start recognizing that inward activity of the Holy Spirit and begin to start to partner with God in their lives and stop limiting themselves and living these limited lives and begin to come into the full purpose and destiny that God has for you because he knows where all the provision is. He knows where all the influence is. He knows where all the divine connections are that you need because Anybody will tell you that's built any kind of business or been any kind of successful. You need people, you need other people, you need divine connections. And God knows who those people are, and he knows how to connect you with them. But you got to follow him. Absolutely. And all while doing that, I happen also to go to federal prison. And people are like, oh, well, Sterling, you know, you live this NFL life and now you own this business and you're making good money and all that. Hey, bro, I went to federal prison for three and a half years for something that I didn't normally do. And I had a gut feeling that, oh, I shouldn't do these business deals. but I was young, ambitious, naive and swimming with sharks and didn't know it. I sold 20 houses to an investment group as a realtor. Five years later, the FBI knocks on my door and tells me I'm part of some grand conspiracy when I had washed my hands of the people four years earlier when I found out what they were doing. And I tried to explain that to the FBI and they didn't care. They were like, no, sir, you had knowledge and you didn't turn these people in and we're gonna indict you with them. So I thought I'm gonna go down there, Hey, I'm a former NFL player, motivational speaker, all around nice guy. They still gave me 70 months in federal prison. And what did I do? I went to my prayer closet and said, God, this time I thought that everything that happens to you is God's will for your life. And I was very religious. I went to church, I served in my church, I did all the religious stuff. And I was just starting to be super, I would say unfulfilled. because the more philanthropic and the more things I did religiously, the less peace and fulfillment I had. And it was very frustrating because I put down the drugs and the alcohol and all those different things. But then when I picked up Church Anity again, as you know, as in my mid twenties and early thirties, I still found no peace of fulfillment there. And that's when I started really searching out a spiritual relationship with Jesus because I knew there had to be more. And I went in my prayer closet and said, Jesus, what's going on? I don't understand why I'm going to federal prison right now. In my mind, I work for you. I'm doing the stuff. I'm going to speak to kids. I'm doing mentorship with kids. We just put in for a nonprofit, God, what's going on? And I saw the end of one of my speeches where I say, life will always present you challenges. but it's how you respond to those challenges that will determine your ultimate success in life. And then I just got the thought like, what are you going to do? Like I saw that thought in my mind and I wouldn't say that God spoke to me, but he was speaking to me. And inherently in my heart, I knew like, I've just got to seek God through this. And as I seek God through this, I'll figure out. why I'm going through this. And at first I just blamed God and I blamed the people and blamed myself and just played that on repeat for the first three or four months I was in federal prison. But I was like, I can't keep doing this. I just started reading the Bible. I started just digging into the word. I started, I said, you know, I literally felt like God was calling me into this relationship with him. And I was so frustrated because in my religious mind, that's not possible, that there's no access there. There's no access to God. And I really, in my cell, I remember yelling at God. I said, God, I feel like you're wanting me to have this relationship with you. But I'm gonna ask you a question, Jesus. Like, how can I have a relationship with somebody I can't see? Just like that. Like, just that condescending. And did God rebuke me? No, he probably should have. But at that point, I had reached the end of myself. Like, I'm like, how can I do that? And I thought I had stumped Jesus. Like, I was like, he's not gonna have a response for this one, guaranteed. And then I just got the flowing thought, follow me and I'll show you. And I said, okay. I feel like this is what God is saying to me. And as an athlete, I know you have to develop fundamentals. You have to develop techniques. So I just started writing down what I felt like God's voice sounded like, what I felt my voice sounded like. I wrote down like, okay, I felt like I thought about the words follow me. And then I saw these block letters on a black screen with white letters in my mind. And I wrote that down and I just started. And then I was like, and then I got all these negative thoughts about you're an idiot. And God didn't really speak to you. God doesn't speak. And I wrote those down, but I thought that the enemy's voice sounded like, and what I thought the voice, my own conscience sounded like. And then over time, God confirmed what his voice was. And I started to see these patterns emerge. I started living a lifestyle hearing God's voice and the things that God was telling me came to pass. And I started like walking in words of knowledge. I started seeing people healed. There was like all of these like superpowers that every Christian has began to turn on in my life. Like I met the Holy Spirit. Like I realized he was a person. He wasn't just a force. He was a, he was a person. He's a person of the Godhead. Like he's the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. Like I grew up, it was like the father, the son, and the Holy scriptures. Like we, the Holy Ghost, we kind of put that on the sideline. Like, he's just like, he's just like everywhere. He's a force. Nobody knows like what it is. Well, it's not an it, it's a him. And I met the Holy Spirit and received the Holy Spirit and got baptized in the Holy Spirit and began to walk in spiritual things. And man, like everything in my life got juiced up and I began to teach other prisoners, like how to hear God's voice. And they got the same result, if not better than I did. And then I was like, man, I'm onto something here. And Reg, Literally, when I got out of federal prison, I thought that I was gonna almost be the only person in the world. I didn't even know who Billy Graham was, like when I was a kid. I didn't know who Billy Graham was till I was in my 30s. He was too charismatic for the people I grew up with. So I'd never even heard about having a relationship with Jesus. Everybody can do it, everybody can hear his voice. I thought what God was showing me and revealing to me was gonna be super novel. I didn't know there was a whole, Like people, years and years and years, I started reading the Bible and started recognizing like, wow, everybody in the Bible heard God speak to them. Even after, you know, the apostles, like even after Jesus went to heaven, like people in the book of Acts, like they heard the Lord's voice. Then I started recognizing that there was a lot, there's a movement throughout the earth for years and years and decades and decades and decades that believe you can hear God's voice. I just wasn't exposed to any of them. So I just started digging deeper and I ended up writing a book on how to hear God, 10 ways God speaks. And I'll tell you the truth, when the Lord called me to write it, I really, I'm like, God, I'm so unqualified. Like I've been hearing your voice like for five years, six years at that time. And I just feel like he put on my heart like, yeah, Sterling, but you got it the hard way. Like you grew up not even believing this stuff. Like you grew up and thought that people that said what you said were either crazy, idiots are making it up. So he's like, you're the perfect person because you have no agenda. You just want to help people. And so I ended up writing the book over a three year period. And, uh, and man, it's, it's helped a lot of people. We have a, a book, a workbook, online e-course, and our whole ministry is really about how to practically partner with God in your everyday life. Like I'm writing a book right now. We're in the, kind of in the last developmental stages of it. It's the working title is how to master your mind made simple. And it's a strategy. All of our stuff is pretty much how to strategy stuff like rubber meets the road. I'm not a theoretical hermeneutical mumbo jumbo touchy feely type of dude. I'm like, I wanna know how to, I wanna know how you do it, I wanna know what it feels like, what it sounds like, how can I implement this in my life? Growing up, I just heard a lot of three-point presentations on how to live a better life, but none of it came with any spiritual power. It was just like, everybody said amen, and nobody really knew how to practically put it into action. And so hopefully through sharing My testimony on this podcast, hopefully you've picked up. I tried to kind of weave in a lot of practical examples because I believe that practical examples and testimonies are golden windows that people can see faith concepts through. And hopefully your listeners and viewers have began to see themselves in my situation because I'm like the everyday person. Like I grew up, like a regular average person, like literally small town, state of Texas. Can't get any more down home apple pie than that. You know, grew up with parents that just knew religion. They knew nothing about spirituality. God bless them. They say going to heaven, they just didn't know there was more. People are like, oh, Sterling, you believe you can hear God's voice? That's good for you. And they think I'm this religious hype dude. I'm like, bro, I'm anti-religion. I'm not about religion at all. I'm about a spiritual love relationship with Jesus. I'm about intimacy with the Holy Spirit. I'm about walking in the Father's love. That's what I'm about. I'm about spirituality. and connectedness with God. Jesus rebuked religious people more than he rebuked anybody else. Every person he called, the only common denominator was none of them were the religious elite. He didn't call any of those people. He called fishermen, tax collectors, all kinds of people like that. Did not call anyone that was a religious elite person until he encountered the Apostle Paul, then named Saul on the road to Damascus. That was after he died and resurrected and ascended into heaven and gave gifts to men, which was the Holy Ghost. It's one of those things that I am, I'm more apt to not believe than to believe. Like I'm like, show me some evidence type person, but I've also a person that I'm wise enough to know when I started experiencing things, like I want more of that. Like if it works, I can hear God's voice. If I have access to the creator of the universe, you bet your bottom dollar, bro, that we're going to hang out on a regular on a daily basis. Of course, I'm going to be partnered with Jesus. Of course, I want to walk in God's favor. Of course, I want to walk in God's will for my life. Like, who doesn't want to do that? You want to walk in self-will? Hey, bro, good luck. By the way, there's no such thing as luck. You know, there's a cause and reaction rather than you do in life based on your choices, other people's choices, and the devil's will trying to destroy your life and God's will trying to build up your life and your life is a combination of those four activities. But I say that tongue in cheek to say that man's self will. I mean, I've also. done it as big as people can do it. I mean, my life looked like people wanted it to look on television. You know, you got the NFL career, you realize your dream, you're making this money, you've got this status, you got this power, you got a little fame, you know, all this like that. But people ask all the time, like, why are these celebrities we see, why are they so messed up? Because everybody has a void in their hearts that can only be filled by a relationship with Jesus. Let So when you went to the NFL, what was different about it? Because I think I heard a story that when you started playing football, you really wasn't into football. He did. He made me a $20 bet that I could not last the whole season when I was telling him what a Neanderthal game and how pointless football was. And I took him up on that $20 bet. And I realized that I loved hitting people. I loved the contact of football. And I realized even though a lot of people didn't think I was very good at it. I made the bowl team my first year as a, as a, like a little league kid. And I was like, I never looked back. I was like, you know what? These people were telling me I'm, I'm fat and uncoordinated and don't know what I'm doing, but the coaches seem to think that I'm doing pretty good. And I just made the bowl team. So I think that right there, I was like, and then I just had this inherent feeling that I don't care what you say. Like, you're not my truth. Like I'm going to show you. And that's what I ended up doing, but I can tell you to answer your question. So high school is slow as far as the speed is concerned. You're playing against people that some of them are just, you know, kids that just wanted to play football. They're not professional athletes. They're not collegiate athletes. And some of them aren't even good high school athletes. They're just people that wanted to play football and have fun, which is great because football teaches you how to be on time, how to work with people, how to be team, how to, not get knocked down, pick yourself back up. I recommend sports to any and everyone that is able physically to do them. I think sports teaches a lot of great things and only a very few people make it to college and even fewer make it to a professional athlete. And even fewer of those make a career out of it where they can retire. And that's all they have to do for the rest of their life. It's a very, very small, very small percentage of that very small percentage. But I would say in every level, In high school, that's kind of where high school is. In college, the game speeds up a lot, but most people are either big or they're fast. Most people, the ones that stand out are the people that are big and they're super fast. So you take those people, that small percentage of college people, and then you add that to the NFL. The NFL is a very, very fast game because you have people that are very large that can move very, very quickly. And so the speed of the game is really the biggest difference. And the fact that you really have to honestly be at your very best to play at a high level because everyone there is big and they're fast for their position. And so that's one thing about the NFL is you really, if you lose a step, you will lose your job. And the NFL is also a very cutthroat business. Let's not make any qualms about that. It's the only professional sport with no guarantee contracts, meaning that when you sign a contract, you see the people that sign like $60 million, $100 million contracts. By the way, that's only like five people in the whole team that signed contracts like that. That's not the NFL norm. ESPN makes it seem like everybody's getting paid like that. It's not the case. It's like the top, maybe five or 10% of the team, like the quarterback, the left tackle and a couple of other people make really good money and even their money. And they say, Oh, he got $50 million contract and 5 million or 10 million guaranteed. That means he's going to get. He's only guaranteed five to $10 million in that contract, whether he plays out or he doesn't play it out, he gets that money, but they could cut him that next year, which they do all the time. And they don't owe him $40 million. They don't owe him 50 million. They owe him the 10. And then he walks with a 10 and they, they look for somebody else. So the NFL is a very cutthroat business because there's no guaranteed money. So if you're not out playing what they're paying you, they'll just go get somebody that's either cheaper. are better So, right. So the NFL, when I think about it, I think about people like go to the NFL, you know, amazing athletes or whatever the case may be. They come from one walk of life, like don't have anything like court. And then it made it to the NFL and man, I'm guessing that's a game changer, man. You get in there and I guess the fame and the money and, I think I would say as far as, you know, the kind of shock, they do a really good job of like helping provide programs and things like that. The NFL does do a very good job of that. They recognize that a lot of these guys that make it there, they kind of got pushed along in high school, pushed along in college, and now you know, they're in the NFL. A lot of them came from very meager beginnings. Some of them came from, you know, trailer parks, hoods, you, you name it everywhere in between. Right. And the thing about it is, is it's all adage, wherever you go, there you are. And nothing changed. If you don't change, nothing changes. And so money, I love what Steve Harvey said. And so true. He said money doesn't make you either way. Money just magnifies who you already were inside. So if you were a very generous and loving person, when you get money, you'll just be more generous and loving. If you were a greedy person, you'll just be more greedy. You'll just be a greedy multi-millionaire and your heart will be greedy. You'll just look to gather more for yourself. And he used some other choice words, which I'm not going to use on this podcast or any other time in my life anymore. He's very important in that. And I believe that there is a truth there. When you get money, nothing really changes in your heart. It just allows you to be more of like who you already are for better or for worse. And for some people that money magnifies character defects, and traumas, and limited belief systems in their life, and magnifies it for the world to see and for them to see and for their family to see. And they can be more eccentric and, and reality may be able to cover up more, but it'll end up catching up with you in the end. In other people, what it does is it magnifies who they already were inside. You have somebody like David Carr or people like that that just, they love Jesus, and now they're able to do more and reach more people for Jesus. And we highlight a lot of those people on our Instagram. You know, we love, like CJ Stroud is an amazing man of God, loves Jesus. And so there's so many, there's been a revival in the NFL. Like the NFL, when I was there, was a very spiritually dark place. But there has been, I really believe that Tim Tebow, I'm sure there's other people that I don't know who they are, but I believe that Tim Tebow started a move of God within football in general. He wasn't ashamed of it. And he lived what he was preaching. Like he lived that life. And I think that he was a forerunner in so many ways. And I'm sure there's many other people that did that as well. I was not one of them, by the way. That's why we try to highlight athletes now that are doing that. But there's been a revival in the NFL that I've seen over the past probably five or 10 years, where there's so much more spiritual light in the NFL. And I think it's because people are coming more out of religion, because they realize it does not work. They realize what I realized, religion doesn't work, but relationship and spirituality and a connection with the Holy Spirit does. And that's what can empower you to be witnesses. You can't be an effective witness without the power of the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus said, hey, stay in Jerusalem. You already stayed, already breathed on you in John 20. You already received a measure of the Holy Spirit, but stay in Jerusalem because not many days from now, I'm going to baptize you. I'm going to submerge you in the Holy Spirit. And then the power of the Holy Spirit will clothe you. And you'll get a dynamite, the word dunamis is the word they use there. It's where we get our word dynamite from, or dynamo, a dynamic working power. And that's when he baptized them in the Holy Spirit and they were witnesses. And that's what we really need, is we need that, a fresh baptism in the Holy Spirit. And more than that, to receive the person of the Holy Spirit and receive his voice and his relational connection. Like Jesus said, it'd be better if I go and the Holy Spirit come. That's like Tom Brady in his heyday telling the Patriots, you know, you guys, it'd be better if I just went ahead and retired early and just set this season out. That's like LeBron James saying, guys, you know, it'd be better if I just went home in the finals and you guys will do way better. Like that makes zero sense. That's the same kind of thing. I'm sure the disciples were like, bro, how does that work? But he said, because I can only be at one place at one time, I've limited myself to this earth suit. But when I leave, I'm gonna send the Holy Spirit and you're gonna get back what you lost in the garden, which is an indwelling, an infilling, an abiding of the Holy Spirit within each and every believer. And that's what we lost in the garden. We lost the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Christianity is not a religion. It's an inhabitation. It's not about praying a prayer to go to heaven. It's about you becoming spiritually connected alive again in Christ through receiving Jesus' blood and then being able, because now you've received Jesus' righteousness, Jesus' access to God, Jesus' access to the Holy Spirit. Why is Christianity so exclusive? because it's about an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It's not about how good you are. It's about how good Jesus is and was, and you get to piggyback in on that, which is awesome. That's the good news. It's not about what you've done or what you didn't do. Thank God. It's about what Jesus did, and you can receive that. You can receive that blood covenant, that blood agreement he had with the Father, and you can receive the Holy Ghost. Like you can receive the indwelling, like God of the universe comes live inside you. Like that's the best deal going, guys. Right, exactly. So Sterling, let's move on a little bit. So tell us about Sterling Harris Ministries. What is that Well, it's really all about helping people hear God's voice. It's all about empowering future generations, now generations, past generations. I mean, it doesn't matter. I got people that read the book and we have an enlarged print that are 70 years old. They're like, man, I'm seeing things I've never seen before. And I also got kids that are 10, 12 years old, 13 years old that are reading it and getting discipled. and people that watch our videos and follow us on some of our social media handles. And our whole thing is not about, it doesn't matter how many followers, how many clicks we get. We like those because we know we're influencing more people. It's really about transformation. That's what it's about. And my whole thing is, my testimony is I've tried everything. I've beat my head against so many walls. And I have such a passion for each and every person not to do that. I didn't have to go to federal prison. I could have been following God and God could have got me here where I am another way, an easier way. But I took so many detours because I did not know that the voice of God was available. And I did not know he cared like God He cares deeply. He cares about what you care about. He cares about the things that you don't think He cares about at all. He cares deeply for you. He knows every hurt, every pain, every victory, every thought you ever thought, every word you ever said. And in my case, He loves me anyway. Because I took Jesus and had Jesus experience things in my life You know, when I started realizing the Holy Spirit went everywhere with me since I've been saved at 12 years old, I was like, I have taken the Holy Spirit to some really, really dark places. And he went there with me, and he met me in the darkness. And no matter what darkness or light you may be walking in today, there's more light. There's more revelation. There's more. Because with God, there's always more. That's the good news of the gospel. There's always more. I'm hungering today to encounter God in deeper ways. because he is the transformational change agent of my life and everyone's life. And it's available to every single person, no matter your persuasion, background, social economic status, it doesn't matter. He's no respecter of persons. Jesus loves you. And there's nothing you can do about it, but there is something you can do about receiving him. You can't limit God's love for you. but you can limit through your own free will choices, how your relational connection with him back and forth goes. There's a lot of religious Christians living in bondage. There's a lot of religious Christians that don't even know you can hear God's voice. And there might be some people right now on the stream thinking that I might be a total heretic. Let me tell you, bro, I have lived a crazy life. You've heard some of it today and I am telling you 100%, without a doubt, I've activated thousands of people across the world, every belief system there is, to hear God's voice, to hear Jesus' voice. Atheists, agnostic, Wicca, witches, and let me tell you right now, when they hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, they know it wasn't Buddha, they know it wasn't Allah, they knew it wasn't the white magic. They knew it was Jesus, because he came and spoke to them in a way that was beyond what they thought, could feel or imagine. And he wants to do the same thing for each and every person. And it's amazing. that with seven, eight billion people right now, he can have and wants a deeper relationship with every single person that they start. It blows my mind because I just have, I just have a wife and three kids that I'm somewhat responsible for. And that almost drives me insane on a daily basis. I can't imagine having 7 billion, 8 billion kids that you are hearing every thought they think you're experiencing everything they're experiencing. Like you're there with them at all times, all the time and every way. God doesn't just like take a five minute break and look away from you. Like he's always there with you. I've gotten so many words of knowledge from people that, that God will show me their childhood in these very, detailed words of knowledge. I've seen one kid that he was a atheist. And I said, well, I see a picture of you at eight years old and you were an altar boy. And he's like, how could you know that? I was like, that's the picture that I saw in my mind. And I said, something happened with a priest. And you said that you were not going to follow God anymore because of that priest. And he had a whole story that that's exactly what happened. And there's some people that I've seen their toys they grew up with as kids. Like I saw this, this little white dog used to have it when you were five years old or different things like that. And I was like, God, why do you show them people's childhood? And in my heart, I just heard him saying, he said, I show you those things, Sterling, because they're so detailed. And I want people to know that before they sought me before they even really knew anything about me, almost, I was there with them every waking moment in their life. And I knew every single detail of their life and I love them. And I care so deeply and I've seen hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of words of knowledge over the years where I saw people's childhood in some way, shape or form. And it just never ceases to amaze me as that happens, that God is so detailed and he cares about the most minute details of people's days and people's lives. Like something that we might find immaterial, like God finds totally nostalgic and loves it. It's amazing. He blows my mind. I don't Absolutely. And I'm going to leave you with that because that was the one question I was going to ask you at the end, but you just spoke into so many lives of what you just said. And man, it's amazing. It's amazing. So Sterling, how can listeners follow you on social media We have a YouTube channel, we're on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. It's at SterlingHarrisMinistries on all our handles. It's also sterlingharris.org. And literally I did not think that the ministry was going to be named after my name. I just, when I was in federal prison, I was riding out like a short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. And when I got out, I knew the Lord wanted to start a ministry and he gave me a vision of the logo and I gave the logo that was working on it. And she was like, okay, I got the colors and I've got all the stuff together, but you just saw the name. And I'm like, well, the Lord hasn't given me one yet. She's like, well, I need a name to like to finish your website and your logo. You need to go get one. You need to go talk to him. And so I prayed about it and I wasn't getting anything. And then I got those sheets out. I feel like the Lord was saying, get those sheets out. I got the sheets out. I said, God, you gave me these visions of what this ministry is going to do. And I wrote down these long-term goals and I printed them out. Like when I was in prison, it still had like the little, my little federal prison number on the top of them. Cause I printed them out on my email. I typed them out on my email and I printed them out and I just titled it Sterling Harris ministries because I had no, no title for it. And so he said, what does the top say? He said, my heart, I heard that. And I said, oh, it says Sterling Harris ministries. He said, that's the name of the ministry. And I said, God, I cannot name the ministry after my name. That's like so prideful. I can't do that. And I was almost like rebuked it. Like it was like the devil or something. And in the spirit of the Lord, just like tangibly came in the room. My, my, my, my eyes became a water and the Lord just spoke to me in my heart, like clear as a bell. He says, Sterling, your name has been tarnished. He said, son, I'm gonna redeem your name. And I can tell you, Reginald, that it's been nine years ago since I walked out of federal prison and did three and a half years in federal prison for something I didn't knowingly do that was, it was very hard. It was very unfair. God knew it was and everybody that knew me knew it was, but it was a path that I walked down. The enemy tried to use it to destroy my life. And I partnered with God and allowed it to be a springboard to bless my life. And I can tell you right now that God wants to meet you in your own prison experiences. And he wants to redeem your name in whatever way that looks like. And so that's why it's named Sterling Harris Ministries. And nine years ago, last month, I walked out of federal prison. And God has totally redeemed my name through the wife that I married, through the kids that I have, through the relationship that I have with Him, what He's allowed me to experience in God and Him. And through all aspects of my life, I've seen His goodness in every area. And a lot of it hasn't been easy, getting out of federal prison, living with your parents in their upstairs bedroom, and God's promising you He's gonna redeem your name. That doesn't look that luxurious. I mean, I walked into federal prison and stepped out of a BMW. Like, I mean, I had money and I had a business and I had all these different things when I walked into federal prison. So I stepped out of the BMW and when I got, I had nothing, nothing, zero. Even the clothes on my back didn't fit. Cause I had lost like a hundred pounds. So people say I had the clothes on my back. Like I didn't have that. Like if I did, I guess they didn't fit. I guess I could have worn them, but they just look like a parachute on me. So, you know God is a Redeemer so whoever's that word is for God wants to redeem Your name wants to redeem your life today if you will just come to him Jesus speak to me Holy Spirit baptize me afresh in your love and begin to listen and just give God room like Jesus What are you saying to me? Maybe it's a flowing thought maybe it's a Maybe it's a picture he shows in your mind. Maybe it's just a feeling of peace and warmth that I felt like when I was 12 years old. Whatever that is, let God begin to speak to your heart and let him redeem your life because he's no respecter of persons. Sounds cool, but man, I believe it, man. I believe it. Like you say, Yes, he did. He actually, that was one of the promises that he gave me out of the book of Deuteronomy, um, that, that he would make my name great. Like he made Jacob's name great. And the time I'm sitting in my prison zone, he's telling me this and I'm just like, I don't know how you're going to do that, Jesus, but I'm so excited to see that happen. But you know, I hadn't still have any, he's telling me that I still had about two and a half, three years left in my bed. So I was like, I still had to walk through those two and a half, three years, even though he's like, I'm gonna make your name great. I'm like, man, Jesus, like, can you get me out of here? Like. Then we can work on that. Yeah. So then we can work on that. But it's like, you know, it's like one of those things, man. Sometimes God meets you in the storm and walks with you step by step. Sometimes he takes you around the storm. Sometimes he delivers you from the storm. That storm, he walked me through step by step. There's a lot of storms in my life ever since I've gotten out. that there's some storms that man, Lord will deliver me from. And there's some storms that he's just going to walk through with you relationally. Exactly. He'll never waste a hurt if you don't let him. That's it. That's it. If you don't let him, because there's a lot of people who let the Lord waste something like they walk through a storm, they walk through a hardship in their life, they blame God and they allow that opportunity to be wasted. When I first got into federal prison, I called it a challenge and an opportunity. It was a challenge I was going to meet. It was an opportunity that I had to redeem time and to show the federal government, the world and myself that I would not be beaten. And I wasn't. That's it. So there you have it. Sterling Harris. Sterling, man, I appreciate you stopping by and hanging out with me for a minute. It was so powerful, Man, it's been a blessing, Reg, and we appreciate you and your listeners, and God bless you guys, and always remember that Jesus loves That's it. Thank you for tuning in to Real Talk with Reginald D. If you enjoyed listening to Real Talk with Reginald D, please go