Don't Fall For the Fake Jakes!
I hope all of you had an awesome Resurrection Weekend! He is Risen!!
Several weeks ago I had someone claiming to be T.D. Jakes begin communication with me on twitter. At first I brushed him off thinking there was no way he was the real T.D. However this individual was persistent. We began exchanging a few direct messages back and forth. He then proceeded to invite me to go with himself and several other ministers over to Japan to preach over there. That was when I told him to email me at my website email. The conversation continued. At first I didn’t believe at all this was the real T.D. Jakes. However the more we exchanged emails the more I really thought it might. His phrasing on how he worded things sounded like the real T.D. The text emails were coming from Texas, and it was obvious this man spent a long time familiarizing himself with T.D. and his website because of the way he wove legitimate things about the real T. D. into the conversations. This went back a forth for several weeks until finally the truth came out. He was asking the ministers who were flying over to Japan to chip in money to charter the plane to go over there. While ministry does cost money it became increasingly obvious that this wasn’t the real T. D. Jakes but a fake. I have alerted T.D. Jakes’ ministry due to the suggestion of others. Sadly I hope no one actually falls for this.
I began thinking about deception as a result of this and how it can be so easy to fall into the trap of a lie. When you are deceived you believe you are in truth, however in actuality you aren’t. You’ve fallen for the lie. The devil has no real power. He only tries to deceive people into believing he does.
The Bible warns about deception in the last days.
Luke 21:8-9 (NIV)He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
So then how do you make sure that you’re not deceived? That’s kinda concerning if you think about it? You think you’re doing right but aren’t. In regards of this T. D. Jakes incident I began to come up with some thoughts on the matter:
1) Test the situation with the word, and your spirit. If red flags begin to appear don’t just overlook the red flags because you want it to be real. Ask the Lord to reveal truth. He is the revealer of truth and He will show you truth. (1John 4:1).
2) Surround yourself with people that your accountable to, submit these things. While at some point I’ll admit I might have been gullible enough to believe this might have been the real T.D. Jakes, My husband, my pastor, and my sister had strong opinions on the contrary. (Hebrews 13:7 and 1Peter2:13) We have to stop thinking that we are an island unto ourselves if we’re going to guard ourselves against deception. We have to trust those who God has put into our lives.
3) Don’t be so quick to judge a situation. (Psalms 46:10) There is a concept that I’ve seen play out time and time again. Being still and knowing He is God, is not just about seeing God show up on the scene. Yes, that is true and happens. But being still can sometimes mean being discerning and allow God show the truth or lie behind an issue. God has a way of bringing the truth evident in a situation. I’m the type of person that often finds myself jumping to conclusions first and asking questions later. However maturity has shown me time and time again that’s not always the best option. Be still and know that His is God and be willing to hear what He says.
So no I’m not going to Japan with a fake T. D. Jakes. But this situation made me look at various things in myself and in the ministry that God has entrusted Dan and I to. While it had deception all over it, I’m grateful that God used it to show me some things. Remember God has awesome plans for your life. So be excited because He is truth. He doesn’t deceive and He is faithful!
Several weeks ago I had someone claiming to be T.D. Jakes begin communication with me on twitter. At first I brushed him off thinking there was no way he was the real T.D. However this individual was persistent. We began exchanging a few direct messages back and forth. He then proceeded to invite me to go with himself and several other ministers over to Japan to preach over there. That was when I told him to email me at my website email. The conversation continued. At first I didn’t believe at all this was the real T.D. Jakes. However the more we exchanged emails the more I really thought it might. His phrasing on how he worded things sounded like the real T.D. The text emails were coming from Texas, and it was obvious this man spent a long time familiarizing himself with T.D. and his website because of the way he wove legitimate things about the real T. D. into the conversations. This went back a forth for several weeks until finally the truth came out. He was asking the ministers who were flying over to Japan to chip in money to charter the plane to go over there. While ministry does cost money it became increasingly obvious that this wasn’t the real T. D. Jakes but a fake. I have alerted T.D. Jakes’ ministry due to the suggestion of others. Sadly I hope no one actually falls for this.
I began thinking about deception as a result of this and how it can be so easy to fall into the trap of a lie. When you are deceived you believe you are in truth, however in actuality you aren’t. You’ve fallen for the lie. The devil has no real power. He only tries to deceive people into believing he does.
The Bible warns about deception in the last days.
Luke 21:8-9 (NIV)He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
So then how do you make sure that you’re not deceived? That’s kinda concerning if you think about it? You think you’re doing right but aren’t. In regards of this T. D. Jakes incident I began to come up with some thoughts on the matter:
1) Test the situation with the word, and your spirit. If red flags begin to appear don’t just overlook the red flags because you want it to be real. Ask the Lord to reveal truth. He is the revealer of truth and He will show you truth. (1John 4:1).
2) Surround yourself with people that your accountable to, submit these things. While at some point I’ll admit I might have been gullible enough to believe this might have been the real T.D. Jakes, My husband, my pastor, and my sister had strong opinions on the contrary. (Hebrews 13:7 and 1Peter2:13) We have to stop thinking that we are an island unto ourselves if we’re going to guard ourselves against deception. We have to trust those who God has put into our lives.
3) Don’t be so quick to judge a situation. (Psalms 46:10) There is a concept that I’ve seen play out time and time again. Being still and knowing He is God, is not just about seeing God show up on the scene. Yes, that is true and happens. But being still can sometimes mean being discerning and allow God show the truth or lie behind an issue. God has a way of bringing the truth evident in a situation. I’m the type of person that often finds myself jumping to conclusions first and asking questions later. However maturity has shown me time and time again that’s not always the best option. Be still and know that His is God and be willing to hear what He says.
So no I’m not going to Japan with a fake T. D. Jakes. But this situation made me look at various things in myself and in the ministry that God has entrusted Dan and I to. While it had deception all over it, I’m grateful that God used it to show me some things. Remember God has awesome plans for your life. So be excited because He is truth. He doesn’t deceive and He is faithful!
I wonder if it's the same guy who tried to scam me on Facebook:
ReplyDeleteI while ago I started following the ministry of Bishop TD Jakes on Facebook. Shortly after, a "Thomas D Jake" friended me and started sending me messages. At the time I did not really pay attention to the misspelled name ("Jake" instead of "Jakes"), and he was using the real Bishop TD Jakes' picture and talked exactly like him. He said God had told him to pray for me ("How nice of him", I thought). This was right in the middle of the deadbeat agency business, so I mentioned the problem of not getting paid. When I finally got paid, I thought it would be nice to update him on the answered prayer, and he sent me a really weird message in return. He told me to contact an orphanage in Nigeria, gave me an email address and a phone number and told me their website was "on construction (would an American really say "on contsruction"?). I was to donate to that orphanage in order to receive a miracle from God! I tried to google the orphanage, but it did not seem to exist. So I searched for TD Jakes on Facebook. He had multiple personalities, er, several profiles! Only one of them looked real, and that wasn't my new "friend". I reported him, of course, but since there isn't much room for commenting on Facebook reports, I could only report him for impersonating Bishop TD Jakes, not for trying to scam me. I blocked him, though.
I just experience the same thing on FaceBook. He told me that he would pray for me after I sent him money through western union or money gram to an orphanage. However, the request was not to an organization, but directly to a wire transfer website lol. I pray for myself and speak God's word over my situation, so Im not going to pay for someone else to pray for me. That's not biblical!
DeleteHe said God wants me to head his Orphanage and directions.
ReplyDeleteI said Bishop is this you? He said yes my ,beloved...my gut said wait, why is Bishop be contacting me this way about something so important. This sounds off.
So, I asked him to send me literature. He never said no, but attempted to explain it again. I told him my husband would never agree to it. He says this was something God gave to me. Hmmm...I thinking is he coming between me and my husband. The Real TD Jakes would not do this.
I said, well, I have to pray about it and talk to my husband just text some information and I'll get back to you...He continued to persist, but finally conceded.
I never got the information. But, I told him, God was not calling me to this purpose. I was confident he was not the real Bishop TD Jakes.
So he writes back saying...Shalom! Fades out his profile. But, comes back with a friends request..hmmm. I haven't responded. The answer is NO! ...Ironically, I'm already a friend of the real TD Jakes Ministry.
The Fake TD Jakes contacted me by instant messaging. He greeted. And asked if I had a prayer request, then he prayed. He ask about my faith. I told him how deep it was that's when he said God wants me to head his Orphanage. I ask how. He said through online banking that I would forward donated money to the Orphanage. I began to question about literature. He persisted to give me directions. I told him my husband would never agreed to it. What he wouldn't explain is whose banking account...mind or their account? I continued to ask for formal information. I never got it. See pt.2
ReplyDelete