2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 (NKJV) "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6.
"The mind must be educated and disciplined to love purity." {CCh 185.5}
A love for spiritual things should be encouraged; yea, must be encouraged, if you would grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth." {CCh 185.5}
"To cultivate religious thoughts and devotional feelings is not made a part of education. These should influence and control the entire being. The habit of doing right is wanting. There is spasmodic action under favorable influences, but to think naturally and readily upon divine things is not the ruling principle of the mind." {CCh 185.4}
"The masses professing to be Christians have been satisfied to be spiritual dwarfs. They have no disposition to make it their object to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; hence godliness is a hidden mystery to them, they cannot understand it. They know not Christ by experimental knowledge." {CCh 186.1}
"Those who have trained the mind to delight in spiritual exercises are the ones who can be translated and not be overwhelmed with the purity and transcendent glory of heaven. [Testimonies for the Church 2:266, 267] {CCh 186.3}
"Educate your mind to love the Bible, to love the prayer meeting, to love the hour of meditation, and, above all, the hour when the soul communes with God. Become heavenly-minded if you would unite with the heavenly choir in the mansions above." {CCh 187.1}
"Ministers who are preaching present truth were held up to me in contrast with the leading men of the Reformation; especially was Luther’s devoted, zealous life placed beside the lives of some of our preachers. He proved his undying love for the truth by his courage, his calm firmness, his self-denial. He encountered trials and sacrifices, and at times suffered the deepest anguish of soul, while standing in defense of the truth; yet he murmured not. He was hunted like a wild beast of prey, yet for Christ’s sake he endured all cheerfully." {GW92 61.2}
My sister, the truth of God has been brought nigh you, and you have been as it were flooded with it. Many receive the truth, but at the same time are not sanctified by it, because they have not the love of the truth in the heart and see not the necessity of carrying it out in the discharge of duty. Indifference to the truths of eternal interest, which relates to the salvation of men, prevails to an alarming extent. Minds seem paralyzed to these things which are of the highest importance. The sacred truths for these last days are awful realities which should be valued above every earthly consideration. For the sanctifying influence of truth the ancients labored and died. Earnest men and women are wanted who feel the truth and who act the truth." {Ms2-1875.
"There is a wilfulness with many, an earnestness to gratify caprice or follow their own wills, a perseverance to accomplish their own selfish interest, but who are quite indifferent in regard to the holy principles of truth." {Ms2-1875.}
"There are many who hold themselves away from the service of God, because they desire worldly gain; and Satan uses them to lead others astray. The tempter comes to men as he came to Jesus, presenting the glory of the world; and when a measure of success attends their ventures, they become greedy for more gain, lose their love for the truth, and their spirituality dies. The immortal inheritance, the love of Jesus, is eclipsed to their vision by the fleeting prospects of this world." {GW 341.3}
"Sabbath and Sunday, October 24 and 25, we spent at Grythyttehed, a village surrounded by forests, nearly a hundred and fifty miles north-west from Stockholm. Here we were kindly cared for at the hospitable home of Bro. and Sister Hedin. This brother had in former years been a man of dissipated habits; and as the result, he was poor in every sense. When the truth was preached here, he received it, and it began its work in his life and character. He became temperate and industrious, and began to prosper in his business, so that he now keeps several men in his employ. He desired to entertain the ministers that visited them; but his house was small, and his family large, and it was often necessary for the ministering brethren to find a place among strangers. Such was Bro. Hedin’s love for the truth, that he hired money to build a good-sized two-story house where he could have room to receive the Lord’s servants. Two large chambers, comfortably furnished, and provided with stoves and writing-tables, are kept for their use. This brother’s history shows what Bible truth can do for a man. It elevates, ennobles, and refines him; it will fit him for the society of holy angels in the kingdom of God." {HS 194.3}
“I was shown that all who profess the present truth will be tested and tried. Their love for Jesus’ coming will be proved, and manifested to others, whether it be genuine. I saw, that not all will stand the test. Some love this world so much that it swallows up their love for the truth. As their treasures here increase, their interest in the heavenly treasure decreases. The more they possess of this world, the more closely do they embrace it, as if fearful that their coveted treasure would be taken from them. The more they possess, the less they have to bestow upon others, for the more they have the poorer they feel. Oh, the deceitfulness of riches! They will not see and feel the wants of the cause of God." {LS88 335.2}
"All who work for the Master should have the Martha and the Mary attributes blended—a willingness to minister and a sincere love for the truth. The heavenly angels are round about you to aid you in every good effort. The Lord calls Christian women workers who are prudent, warm-hearted, tender, and true. These can do a great work for the Master in representing true principles. How much Christlike work women can do when they are truly converted." {Ms 74, 1910, par. 10}
"Some may say, “If I were to engage in this sort of work, some connected with the church would discountenance me.” What if they should? Christ has said, “Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.” [Verse 8.] We need no greater encouragement than this; we are to seek to save those who are willing to be saved. We are to bring the truth before those who will hear it. Our own souls must be filled with a love for the truth. And as we do our part faithfully, Christ will acknowledge our efforts and add His signal blessing. And oh, what a reward awaits the winner of souls! When the gates of that beautiful city on high are swung back on their glittering hinges, and the nations that have kept the truth shall enter in, crowns of glory will be placed on their heads, and they will ascribe honor and glory and majesty to God. And at that time some will come to you, and will say, If it had not been for the words you spoke to me in kindness, if it had not been for your tears and supplications and earnest efforts, I should never have seen the King in His beauty. What a reward is this! How insignificant is the praise of human beings, in this earthly, transient life, in comparison with the infinite rewards that await the faithful in the future, immortal life!"s 15, 1909, par. 39}
"Some may say, “If I were to engage in this sort of work, some connected with the church would discountenance me.” What if they should? Christ has said, “Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.” [Verse 8.] We need no greater encouragement than this; we are to seek to save those who are willing to be saved. We are to bring the truth before those who will hear it. Our own souls must be filled with a love for the truth. And as we do our part faithfully, Christ will acknowledge our efforts and add His signal blessing. And oh, what a reward awaits the winner of souls! When the gates of that beautiful city on high are swung back on their glittering hinges, and the nations that have kept the truth shall enter in, crowns of glory will be placed on their heads, and they will ascribe honor and glory and majesty to God. And at that time some will come to you, and will say, If it had not been for the words you spoke to me in kindness, if it had not been for your tears and supplications and earnest efforts, I should never have seen the King in His beauty. What a reward is this! How insignificant is the praise of human beings, in this earthly, transient life, in comparison with the infinite rewards that await the faithful in the future, immortal life!" {Ms 15, 1909, par. 39}
"We are not to place ourselves in the society of the pleasure-loving and worldly, who have no love for the truth. Such association will paralyze the spiritual perceptions. “Wherefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” [2 Corinthians 6:17, 18.]" {Ms 30, 1904, par. 29}
"The Lord wants you to humble yourself before Him as a little child. When you do this, you will gain a precious experience. I write you this because I desire you to know that the Lord will work with you when you are willing to be controlled by His Spirit. When you give yourself wholly to Him, a great change will be wrought in you. You will have such a love for the truth that wherever you go, you will bear witness to the Lord’s power. He will give you a genuine testimony to bear. Then will the Lord pour out upon you His grace and power, and you will enter a new and living way. Christ’s righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rearward. Your words and works will be ratified in heaven. As you work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, God will work in you, to will and to do of His good pleasure. Power to overcome will be given to you. When the enemy comes in against you like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." {Lt 174, 1902, par. 34}
"We must educate, educate, educate, pleasantly and intelligently. We must preach the truth, pray the truth, and live the truth, bringing it, with its gracious, health-giving influences within the reach of those who know it not. As the sick are brought into touch with the Life-giver, their faculties of mind and body will be renewed. But in order for this to be, they must practice self-denial and be temperate in all things. Thus only can they be saved from physical and spiritual death and restored to health."—Medical Ministry, 262. {CME 30.3}
We should educate the mind so that we can hold communion with God constantly. We must learn to glance upward in sincere desire, sending a prayer to Heaven in all places and under all circumstances. You may have that faith that will place your hand in the hand of Jesus, and by faith you may keep hold of him. You should keep your mind filled with the precious promises of God. As Christians we do not make half enough of the promises, for God will never fail in any good thing which he has promised. We should take these promises singly, view them critically in all their richness, meditate upon them until the soul is burdened with their greatness, and delighted with their strength and power. I am so sorry that we deprive ourselves of the blessing we might have, and it is simply because we do not cherish the thought that the promises of God are for us. God has left them in his word for us, and we should dig for them as for hidden treasures. Why are we so easily satisfied with little flashes of light when there is a heaven of illumination for us? We drink at shallow streams, when there is a great fountain just above us, if we will only rise a little higher in the pathway of faith. Our natures must be raised from their earthliness, they must be kindled and purified in the upper brightness of God’s divine presence. But you must remember that only those who obey the commandments of God through his grace have a right to appropriate the promises written for the consolation of the children of God. The psalmist says: “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” {ST April 14, 1890, par. 1}