Gotta Be Da Shoes - Where Sneaker Culture Meets FaithSample

### How to Spot a Fake Counterfeit versions of shoes, purses, watches, and designer brands are now a $1.2-trillion-dollar a year industry. Sometimes it’s really easy to spot a fake, but many counterfeiters have mastered the craft. It’s getting harder and harder to tell. Sneaker websites like StockX verify every item. Their website claims to have inspected over 40 million items with advanced technology. They have over two hundred people who work for them as “authenticators.” Their team has rejected more than 70 million dollars worth of fake sneakers on their platform. Our world is full of scams. Everywhere we look, people are trying to get over on us. Most of us have been scammed at some point. We have to learn from our mistakes, do our research, stay observant, and stay connected to God’s spirit to give us discernment. Sometimes people will use God and spirituality to get you to trust them. The Bible gives us some powerful advice on how to spot a spiritual replica of the real things. 1 John 4:1-3 tells us, “My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ - the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person - comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God.” There are a lot of “spiritual” people out there who act like they follow God, but they have a weird mixture of different beliefs that don’t line up with the Bible. If people don’t listen to your spiritual advice, that could also be a big red flag as well. 1 John 4:4-6 talks about this. Over the years, there have been several people who have come around my church to try to get close to me just to get an opportunity to get on the platform. I’ve learned over the years to be cautious to give someone a position until we’ve had time to get to know them. If they are fake, someone on the team will spot it when they let their guard down. Don’t rush to give someone access. Be patient and time will tell, and God will always reveal their authenticity. ### Shoe Game Steps: 1. Have you ever bought something counterfeit and thought it was real? What was it, and how did you figure out it was fake? 2. How is your discernment? 3. Does your inside match your outside?