Intro:

IMAGINATION: Close your eyes, and begin to take an inventory in your mind of all the truth you believe. Catalog there, in your mind your beliefs about Big Foot, whether the earth is flat or round, What really happened during the Pandemic, Your views on UFO’s, Now move into srpiritual truth — Catalog your views on the Bible, Jesus, The Sabbath, Prophecy and End Time Events, Diet, Marriage, Jewelry, A character that reflects Jesus.

I know it’s a lot — but when I said each word you probably knew exactly what you believed about each one of those subjects, or they may be some that you set aside with question marks.

Now imagine all of your truths in a box or a bag, all mixed up… Your job, is to make some hierarchy out of this bag of truth… So you reach in your bag, and you pull out one of your beliefs — and on that Belief Box you read “Big Foot”

• Where does views on BigFoot go in your hierarchy of truth — Top, Bottom, Middle?— Now ask yourself why you chose that spot for that belief, in the hierarchy?
• What about your views on the Pandemic is that above or below BigFoot?
• What about Bible Prophecy, does that go above or below the other two?
• Is there anything you’d place at the top of your list? What’s the priority of all the things in your bag of truth?

Illustration: Now take your prioritization of truth here, and let’s say you meet a Hippy wearing a Big Foot T-shirt — smoking pot — and yelling out loud “I follow the science, man”….

Where should you start with this man according to your prioritized chart of truth?

— Should I put all my energy into convincing him that Big Foot isn’t real? Or should that be the last thing on my list… and it’s last not because the truth is not important, but because truth is prioritized….

— Should I argue with him about the Pandemic, should that be the mountain I die on. Although I may feel very strongly about the whole Pandemic response, and what really happened, my views on that are not the priority, are they?.

When I consult my prioritized chart of truth, what is at the top of my list? That is where I should start and put all my energies in evangelism….

A prioritized chart of truth will not only help you to see how to witness, but it will help you in knowing which issues to raise in church and which ones not to, a prioritized chart of truth will help you to see clearly where you should spend time in your Bible studies. A prioritized chart of truth will make you become a happier Christian, because you won’t feel a need to judge everyone who doesn’t measure up.

First ditch dug by the devil — TRUTH IS NOT IMPORTANT, it’s all a molehill not a mountain. Your truth is yours, and mine is mine — In this ditch convenience, culture, the path of least resistance are prioritized over God’s truth… We just aren’t interested in truth, because we want to live our life without restrictions or worries or we’ve bought into the lies of Satan. How many fall into this trap? — Jesus says, the majority of the world (Christian and non-Christian)

Second ditch dug by the devil — EVERYTHING I VIEW AS TRUTH IS SALVATIONAL, it’s all a mountains not molehills — My truth, my beliefs, my views, my research, my opinion are all supreme. They may or may not be bible based, they may or may not be a major theme in

scripture. In this ditch, Truth is not prioritized at all! If I believe it, it’s salvational, and if you don’t believe it, then you are deceived & lost.

We call these two ditches —  “All” or “Nothing” thinking!

The Apostle Paul addresses this danger. Truth, bible truth, something that is really, honestly true can become a stumbling block for another Christian and can lead to the loss of souls! OUR KEY TEXT:

[Rom 14:13 NKJV] 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in [our] brother’s way.

One of these stumbling blocks in Paul’s day was “meat sacrificed to idols” — now the whole issue was that some believed you could eat meat sacrificed to idols, and others believed because the meat was offered to an idol by a pagan priest, I’d be participating in that idol worship by eating that meat.

Listen in on how Paul under divine inspiration resolves this issue in the church?

[1Co 8:8-13 NKJV] 8 But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. 9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Did you catch what Paul is saying here? Let’s go through it together… What is truth regarding meat sacrificed to idols? Can we eat it, or can’t we eat it? According to Paul

The Truth: “We can eat it”

And if that is the gospel truth taught in scripture, that we can eat meat sacrificed to idols — then the issue is resolved, right? Just tell the gentiles who don’t want to eat meat sacrificed to idols the truth: “It’s ok, the apostle Paul says we can eat it”… But Paul doesn’t do that… What does Paul say we should do with this truth?

“If food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat” — In other words… This truth is NOT applicable to everyone, it’s low priority even though it is biblical, even though it was affirmed by one of God’s apostles…

The amazing thing is that Paul says that food offered to idols is nothing, and a Christian can eat it, when the Jerusalem council forbade eating food offered to idols:

[Act 21:25 NKJV] 25 “But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written [and] decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from [things] offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

So what is the truth? Can we eat meat sacrificed to idols or not? It depends on your individual conscience. You must follow your convictions, and then be careful to not burden or expect others to receive truth that is not salvational — be mindful that your beliefs may become a stumbling block for someone else:

[1Co 10:27-29 NKJV] 27 If any of those who do not believe invites you [to dinner], and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth [is] the LORD’s, and all its fullness.” 29 “Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another [man’s] conscience?

Do you see that there are some truth taught in scripture that: (1) Is based on your own convictions (2) Is prioritized lower than others?

You don’t find the Apostle Paul fuzzy on the truth of Christ’s atonement for our sins, our need of repentance, or on the Second Coming of Jesus… These truths stand on a higher plain, they are prioritized differently…  

[1Co 1:23-24 KJV] 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Paul is willing to risk offending Jews & Greeks over the gospel, but not over meat sacrificed to idols. Paul is willing to preach the gospel which some will stumble over and call foolish, but when it comes to these other truths, he would rather sacrifice his own position than to cause a brother or sister to stumble.

And lest we think the only issue was meat sacrificed to idols, we find the same controversy over circumcision — and Paul gives the same response. Circumcision is prioritized as a molehill, not a mountain:

[1Co 7:19 NKJV] 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God [is what matters].

As Christians who are maturing in the faith, listen to the Word of God, there are some biblical truths that you have been personally convicted of that should not ever become an issue in God’s church — that should not take center stage in our discussions, that should not be made a criteria for others… Paul lays it out plainly in his letter to the Romans:

[Rom 14:1-4 NKJV] 1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, [but] not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats [only] vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own  master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

A mature Christian is able to tolerate differences of beliefs — A mature Christian is able to prioritize and order truth based on importance — A mature Christian has a humble view of their own views and is willing to be persuaded on issues that are not pillars of faith — A mature Christian will sacrifice his or her own beliefs for the sake of others when those beliefs are lowpriority…. A mature Christian accepts that God is able to lead into the kingdom those who don’t believe or see things exactly as he or she does.

As Christians who are growing in maturity in Christ we need this essential skill to know how to prioritize the truth… We need to know what is the most important truths of scripture and make sure that we aren’t chasing rabbits in our pursuit of truth…

Did you know that if you don’t prioritize truth, the devil will lead you to focus all your attention on things that don’t matter much, in order to keep you from receiving or practicing the truth that matters the most? Another way of saying it is that Satan will get you wrapped up in molehills, so that you miss the mountains!!! Or as Jesus said, you strain out a knat but swallow a camel…

[Mat 23:23-24 KJV] 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 [Ye] blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

What was the great truth that the Pharisees emphasized? — Tithing!

Is paying tithe important? Yes. Should we neglect paying tithe and offering? No (Old Testament says we rob God when we neglect tithes and offerings), but according to Jesus is paying tithe right at the top of the list of truth or are there more important truths than tithe and offering?  

What truth is more important than tithe and offering? — Judgment, Mercy, and Faith… Wow! More important than paying ten percent of your income, is whether or not you returned that tithe and offering with faith…? Are you tithing a faithful tithe, but neglecting mercy in your business dealings?  

Illustrate: Not many years ago a Christian brother called me on the phone to talk to me about “The Cross” — he asked me if there were any crosses in the church. I said “I didn’t think so”, he then said what about a Christian flag? I said, we may have one… well then there is a cross on it, he said… The cross is a pagan symbol and should not be in any of our churches. He then went on to tell me he had done hundred and hundreds of hours of research on crosses and wouldn’t attend a church that had a cross anywhere in it. He said, unless we remove every cross in the church he could not step foot in my church…My honest question is, should this one issue become so important to a person that it keeps them from attending church, from gaining the blessing of studying God’s Word with His people? You may be right about a cross, that may be truth, but is that truth a priority over worshipping with God’s people on the Sabbath?!!! Is a picture of a cross, the mighty mountain that you will die upon before attending this church? Obviously if the Apostle Paul under inspiration foresaw the picture of crosses as the issue that should divide us, he wouldn’t have said to the Galatians:

[Gal 6:14 KJV] 14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus

Christ…

Should this one issue “A picture of a cross” keep us from obeying the command of Christ to come together and worship?  

[Heb 10:25 NKJV] 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as [is] the manner of some, but exhorting [one another], and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Should this one issue dominate the conversation, and be the deciding factor on which church is God’s true church? Especially when God has given us the criteria of His true church, will we then go behind God and set our own criteria?

[Rev 12:17 KJV] 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of

Jesus Christ.

[Rev 14:12 KJV] 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

“The Lord does not require that any tests of human inventions shall be brought in to divert the minds of the people or create controversy in any line… Nothing should come in to divert our minds from the grand test which is to decide the eternal destiny of a world,– the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” — (GC Bulletin, January 1, 1900).

Do you see friends, how a lack of prioritizing truth — an inability to distinguish between a mountain and molehill, allowed Satan to separate this good Christian man from the rest of his christian brothers and sisters? It is not wrong for a Christian to avoid crosses because they are pagan symbols but to set this as a criteria for God’s true church, which the Bible itself never sets for God’s church is making oneself an anti-Christ power just like the Papacy, by taking the place of Christ  as the arbiter of truth for His Church—  

“Do not advocate theories or tests that Christ has never mentioned, and that have no foundation in the Bible. We have grand, solemn truths for the people. ‘It is written’ is the test that must be brought home to every soul. Let us go to the word of God for guidance. Let us seek for a ‘thus saith the Lord.’”—Gospel Workers, 309, 310

So how do we prioritize truth? How do we know what is a the top in the hierarchy? Again, we turn back to the Apostle Paul who prioritize truth this way:

[1Co 2:1-2 NKJV] 1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

So important was the gospel of Jesus Christ, that Paul was willing to temporarily set aside other truths for a time that the believers in Corinth would receive the most important truth of Scripture: Jesus Christ.

Remember that the Jewish Leaders were experts in the truths of the Bible, but they missed the priority of Scripture. Jesus said to them:

[Jhn 5:39 NKJV] 39 “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

The Apostle Paul affirms this truth, that the foundation of truth is Jesus Christ and it is upon this that we build the pillars of our faith.

[1Co 3:11-15 NKJV] 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation [with] gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on [it] endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

“If self is hid with Christ in God, we shall have no differences to alienate us one from another… the burden of our message will be, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”  — (YI, August 2, 1894).

Christ is the foundation — and upon this foundation the Bible says that we build a structure of truth — We call this structure built on Christ and His Word our “Fundamental Beliefs”. They are

Christ-centered, Bible based, Spirit inspired doctrines which stand as pillars for every Christian. Jesus said before one is baptized and joins the church, they must learn these fundamental truths. This truth must be established in them, for they become representatives of Christ and His church once baptized:

[Mat 28:19-20 NKJV] 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age.” Amen.

“Men will arise with interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but which are not truth. The truth for this time God has given us as a foundation for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth. One will arise, and still another, with new light, which contradicts the light that God has given under the demonstration of His Holy Spirit.” — 1 Selected Messages, 161.

These doctrinal truths, searched out by God’s church and taught by Christ, are the priority. They link together as a perfect chain — When you accept Christ and His Gospel, how can you accept the gospel if you don’t know what sin is, or believe that there is a devil who tempts us? How can you know what sin is if you don’t believe in the Law of God for the Bible says?

[Rom 7:7 NKJV] 7 … I would not have known sin except through the law…”

and if you believe in the law, how could you leave off the Sabbath of the fourth commandment? and if you believe in the law of God and His Sabbath, you will see in prophecy the importance

of keeping God’s commands in preparation for the Judgment —  

[Rev 20:12 NKJV] 12…And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

[Jas 2:12 NKJV] 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

and if we believe in the judgment, we believe that there is a time for the Judgment for the first angel warns the world that the  

[Rev 14:7 NKJV] 7”… the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

and if we believe we will be judged then there we must believe there is a reward for the righteous and disaster for the wicked (Heaven to seek, and a Hell to shun)  — and if we believe that…

[2Th 1:9 NKJV] 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

then we must also see clearly the state of the dead — that immortality is a gift, and that as Paul preached  

Romans 6:23 — “The wages of sin is death” —  

and if we believe in the Bible picture of death, we also believe in the truth about Hellfire that we don’t burn for eternity — and we also believe in the resurrection because that’s part of the true teaching on death, and how can we teach about a resurrection without proclaiming the importance of the second coming when all righteous dead will rise?, as Paul said:

[1Co 15:13-15 NKJV] 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching [is] empty and your faith [is] also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if in fact the dead do not rise.

and if we believe in the second coming we must believe in a heaven to be taken to… and the chain of truth goes on, until you realize that there are Fundamental links in this chain of truth we call our 28 Fundamental beliefs — and friends these 28 Fundamental beliefs can not be broken apart — they are forever linked together and form the structure of truth that is built upon Jesus Christ….

“Theoretical discourses are essential, that people may see the chain of truth, link after link, uniting in a perfect whole; but no discourse should ever be preached without presenting Christ and Him crucified as the foundation of the gospel.” —Gospel Workers, 158, 159 (1915).

“When the time shall come, in the providence of God, for the world to be tested upon the truth for that time, minds will be exercised by His Spirit to search the Scriptures, even with fasting and with prayer, until link after link is searched out, and united in a perfect chain. Every fact which immediately concerns the salvation of souls will be made so clear that none need err, or walk in darkness.” —Testimonies for the Church 2:692, 1870

This chain of truth was preserved by God…. Over and over the prophets foretold of a falling away from the chain of truth that would happen at the end of time — this chain of truth that God has restored in His last day Church is meant to repair and restore God’s truth in the world… We can not lose sight of this chain of truth built upon Christ — That is our priority, it is what binds us together as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian community, and it is our message to the world.

“The Sabbath question is a test that will come to the whole world. We need nothing to come in now to make a test for God’s people that shall make more severe for them the test that they already have. The enemy would be pleased to get up issues now to divert the minds of the people, and get them into controversy” — (3 SM, 254).

Do you see it? Do you see the enemies plans?

I end with this quote from Jesus to His disciples:

[Jhn 16:12 NKJV] 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear [them] now.

What was Jesus doing in this verse? — Prioritizing Truth!

And then Jesus does something beautiful, absolutely beautiful… After telling them that He had truth that He wasn’t going to share with them right then, because they couldn’t bear it, or handle it, or receive it right then… He then says this:

[Jhn 16:13 NKJV] 13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…”

Appeal: If Jesus was willing to leave some truth into the hands of the Holy Spirit, don’t you think we too could leave some truth in the hands of the Holy Spirit?

How many today would like to pray, Lord help me, teach me Lord, to prioritize truth?