Hello again and welcome to the program. We're here with a little strength for today. We're talking about learning to discern. If we do not discern in these last days, we're going to be deceived. There are many verses in the scriptures that tell us to be careful about the deception that will be very prevalent in the last days. 2 Timothy 3.13 says, but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Not only does the Bible warn about last day's deception in this entire world, But it also talks about deception within what we used to call fundamental churches in the last days. It says in 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 2, now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith. They can't depart from the faith if they weren't in it. What are they going to do? Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devil speaking lies in hypocrisy. Particularly referring to the final days of this age, Jesus said in Matthew 24 4, he said, take heed that no man deceive you. And so we have deception in the world, we have deception in our churches now, and the worst kind of deception, I think, is deceiving ourselves. Deuteronomy 11 16 says, take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside. Your self is your mind, your will, and your emotion. Jeremiah 17, 9 says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? The first mention of deception because of a lack of discernment is found in Genesis chapter 27 and in verse 23 where it says Isaac was deceived. Now, the story of Jacob and Esau, they were born, they were twins. One was obviously born a little bit ahead of the other. They were a very dysfunctional family. And in verse 23, Jacob, disguised as his brother Esau, purposed to deceive his blind father Isaac. In verse 23 of chapter 27, we read, and he discerned him not. That is, Isaac did not discern that he was being deceived. We find this story in Genesis 27. We read in verse 1, it came to pass, that when Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see he called Esau his eldest son and said unto him my son and he said unto him behold here am i and he said behold now i am old i know not the day of my death now therefore take i pray thee thy weapons thy quiver and thy bow and go out to the field and take me some venison and make me savory meat such as I love and bring it to me that I may eat that my soul may bless thee before I die. ' And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son and Esau went to the field to hunt for venison and to bring it. And now we get the deception. Who by? Rebecca. It says in verse 6, And Rebecca spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savory meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. now therefore my son obey my voice according to that which i command thee go now to the flock and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats and i will make them savory meat for thy father such as he loveth and thou shalt bring it to thy father that he may eat and that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau, my brother, is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. My father preadventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver, and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. and his mother said unto him upon me be thy curse my son only obey my voice and go fetch me them jacob was influenced by his mother but jacob also had to decide to deceive and so in verse 14 we read and he went and fetched and brought them to his mother And his mother made savory meat, such as his father loved. And Rebecca took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob, her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids, of the goats, upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck. Verse 17 says, she gave the savory meat and the bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came to his father and said, my father. And he said, here am I. Who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau, thy firstborn. I have done according as thou bidest me arise. I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, how is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, because the Lord thy God brought it to me. Wow, the deceiver becomes a liar. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father, and he felt him, and he said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau, and he discerned him not. Well, Jacob deceived his father, and he stole his brother's birthright. How did that turn out for Jacob and for Rebekah? We read in verse 41, And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of the morning for my father are at hand, then will I slay my brother Jacob. Verse 42, and these words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebekah. And she sent and called Jacob, her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, proposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise and flee thou to Laban, my brother, in Haran, and tarry with him a few days until thy brother's fury turn away. Well, that few days turned into 20 years where Laban was deceiving Jacob. So here, early in the Scriptures, we have the story of deceivement and a lack of discernment and the result thereof. We need to be learning to discern.