"You have not sufficiently felt your obligations to God for sparing your life. You have, for pettish reasons of your own, excused yourself time and again from religious duties which devolve upon us at all times and under all circumstances. Feelings of discouragement are no apology before God for the neglect of a single duty. You are not your own; you have been purchased by the blood of Christ. He claims all that you are capable of doing; your time and strength are not your own. 4T 216.1"
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."
EGW directly alludes to the concept of being bought with a price and not being one's own, echoing the core message of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
God indicated that you could be educated to act a part in His cause, but it was necessary that your mind should be trained and disciplined to work in harmony with the plan of God. You could gain the required experience if you would; you had the privilege presented before you of denying your inclination, as your Saviour had given you an example in His life. But you have not placed yourself in a position to learn all that you could and all that it was important for you to learn in order to become a correct worker in the cause of God. There were some things to reform in yourself before the Lord could use you effectually as His instrument. 4T 216.2 Brother C, it was a sacrifice for you to leave your farm; you enjoyed your life there. You did not come to ----- from choice. You had no knowledge of the work in connection with the publishing interest. But you were determined to do the best you could, and in many respects you have done well. But many things have arisen as stumbling blocks in yo…
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
EGW's call to deny one's inclination and follow Christ's example directly reflects the principle of self-denial found in Matthew 16:24.