1. The Seven Checkpoints
Gems
2014

2. Check Point #1: The Spiritual Disciplines
The focus of this check point is your devotional life. The apostle Paul
says that a true spiritual transformation begins with a renewed mind.
Only as you begin to renew your mind according to the truths Scriptures,
will your attitudes and behavior begin to change.
Principle:
When you see as God sees, you will do what God says.
Critical Question:
Are you developing a consistent devotional and prayer life?
Key Passage: Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.

3. Our focus is to help you see God as He sees. If you are able to gain
God’s viewpoint, then you are more apt to obey His Word. Simple,
right? No!! Everything on how to deal with life is documented in the
bible. The problem is you don’t read it enough.
Your struggle:
 Lack of discipline in reading the bible
 Lack of understanding of reading His Word
 Obeying what the word says
Your relationship with Christ will depend greatly on the constancy of the
spiritual disciplines.
What does a changed life mean?
 It means your life is transformed, changed. The problem is when
the change is not immediate you question the reality of your faith.
What does bring about change or transformation?
 A renewed mind. Renewal means change. Renewal is a process of
taking off the old self and putting on the new you. In other words
it’s the process of removing lies and replacing with the truth. When

4. you accepted Jesus as your Savior did he remove all the bad habits
you had? NO! Your identity is in Christ but your mind is still full
of junk.
 You can never have a transformed life until you have a
transformed mind. Transformed minds come about by having God
thoughts, and this can only be attained by exercising spiritual
disciplines.
What are the Spiritual disciplines?
 Time alone with God
 Scripture Memorization
 Journaling
 Prayer
Jesus always made time to be alone with His Father. This took priority
over everything. When you spend time with God you are able to know
and do the will of the Father. This requires communicating and listening
to God. Communication is a key component to intimacy and it involves
listening.

5. The problem is that many of you were not aware that God not only
wants to do things for you but He also wants to spend time with you and
speak to you through His Word.
Reasons we don’t spend time with God
 Not a priority is the main reason
 Not aware
 You don’t know how to have quiet time with God
What happens when you don’t spend time with God?
 You pay a price
 You can’t listen, you don’t learn
 If you don’t learn you won’t change
 If you won’t change you won’t show proper respect for God. Your
approach will be like a vending machine: give me, bless me, help
me.
 What started as a relationship develops into a boring routine.
As your leaders our goal is to help you develop a scheduled time alone
with God and help you develop a listening heart. How?

6.  Choose the proper time – Not at bedtime, preferably in early in the
morning.
 It is the first part of the day
 It’s quiet, no distractions, and no interruptions
 It helps you reboot mentally and morally your conscience as
well as your perspective.
 Be consistent
Jesus sought solitude. We should do the same. Solitude with purpose
creates discipline. If there is no purpose in solitude it creates isolation.
The Why behind the What
Do you ever wonder why you guys resist the truths of God’s word?
 You resist because you don’t see as God sees; therefore it makes no
sense to you. Ex: No sex before marriage, no lying, honor your
parents. Since it doesn’t make sense you don’t want to do what the
word says.
God’s Value System
 Scripture allows you to see what’s important to God and why.
Scripture reveals God’s value system.

7.  It allows you to see the condition of your heart, prejudices, and
attitudes. Read Hebrews 4:12
 Scripture is where you find out how deeply you are loved by God.
 Scripture has the power to cast and root out the anger behind the
depression or the insecurities behind some of the self-destructive
habits you have.
 It is where you can be overwhelmed with gratitude for the price Jesus
paid for you.
Let’s Recap
 You gems have the biggest decisions of life ahead of you.
 You need to see as God sees as it relates to friends. You will be able
to understand that certain friends will determine the quality and
direction of your life.
 As I stated earlier intimacy requires communication. Communication
involves listening. God is willing to speak to you through His words
if you listen.
 Find a way that is comfortable for you to spend quiet time with God.
Remember God loves variety.

8. Four Components to incorporate in your alone time with God
1. Read the bible
 The goal is to renew your mind for change. Therefore, the bible is
vital. It’s not how long you read the bible but what you get out of
it.
 Develop a habit of answering 4 questions as you real through the
scriptures:
 What does this passage say? What does it mean to me in my
own words?
 Why is this important? Why do I need to know this?
 What should I do about it? How can I apply this to my life
today?
 How can I remember this? Best way to remember a scripture.
2. We have to Pray (Wanda’s Lesson)
 Begin by praying what’s close to your heart and move toward
those things that are of less concern (Wanda’s lesson).
3. Keeping a Journal

9.  It’s best to practice journaling once a week instead of daily. The
benefits of journaling are: it shows you how far you’ve come
along in your walk with God. It also helps you pray by
reminding you that God is faithful and vitally active in your life.
4. Scripture Memorization
 Creates a strong devotional life
 It’s important because your mind will be your greatest strength
or downfall. You do the things you do because of the way you
think. So scripture memorization renews your mind by replacing
the lies you believe and act on with the truth.
 Behavior won’t change until belief system is changed. This is
done by reading your bible and identifying the lies in your life.
Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
 Paul states that these lies become strongholds for the enemy to
use against us. A stronghold is anything that is more
powerful than God. It takes away our focus, and causes us to
feel controlled or mastered.

10.  You identify these by asking yourself what consumes your
focus or controls you. Then find the scriptures the verses that
you can use to fight against this stronghold and memorize them.
Be intentional (Wanda’s lesson).
In Conclusion
A strong devotional life allows you to have a relationship with Christ. It
develops a sense of accountability between you and your heavenly
father. It is truly an amazing experience when you are sitting alone with
God’s Word and you can hear directly from Him and getting His
perspective on things concerning you.