Unhindered | Sin Estorbos (week 1) | Pastor Kris Bojorquez | Strong Church - Mesa, Az.

Aug 18, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When the Wheel Squeals Against God’s Push

The shopping cart’s stubborn wheel mirrors our resistance to the Spirit’s leading. Just as a defective wheel fights the shopper’s direction, internal resistance—unbelief, complacency, or fear—can stall God’s movement in our lives. This friction isn’t about God’s power or purpose but about our refusal to align with His guidance. Like Israel in the wilderness, we often repeat cycles of doubting God’s faithfulness even after witnessing His miracles. The problem isn’t the path or the pusher but the unyielding parts of our hearts. To move freely with God, we must identify what squeals against His grace. [00:27]

They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
(Psalm 78:41, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel spiritual “resistance” in your life lately—a habit, attitude, or fear that fights God’s direction? How might surrendering this area unblock His work?

Day 2: Unintentional Fire Extinguishers

A campfire dies not only by dousing it with water but by neglecting to feed it. Similarly, we quench the Spirit not just through outright rebellion but by slowly abandoning prayer, Scripture, and community. The Thessalonians were warned not to despise prophetic words—God’s truth spoken through preaching, correction, or encouragement. When we dismiss accountability, skip worship, or ignore conviction, we smother the Spirit’s flame. Staying ignited requires daily tending: feeding on God’s Word and fleeing compromise. [15:49]

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:19–22, ESV)

Reflection: What unintentional habits—skipped prayers, avoided sermons, or tolerated sin—might be starving the Spirit’s fire in you? What one step will you take to “add wood” today?

Day 3: Stiff Necks and Closed Ears

Stephen confronted religious leaders who bore covenant marks but resisted the Spirit with hardened hearts. Like an ox refusing the yoke, a “stiff neck” resists God’s redirecting touch. Closed ears hear sermons as noise, not nourishment, and closed hearts prioritize tradition over transformation. Resistance isn’t always loud rebellion—it’s the quiet rigidity of “my way over Yours.” God seeks hearts soft enough to repent and ears open to His unsettling invitations. [35:00]

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” (Acts 7:51, ESV)

Reflection: Where has comfort or pride made your heart “stiff”? What might the Spirit be asking you to reconsider or release to follow Him more freely?

Day 4: Breaking the Cycle of “Again and Again”

Psalm 78 recounts Israel’s pattern: God moves, they doubt; God provides, they complain. Each generation faced the same choice—remember His faithfulness or repeat their parents’ rebellion. Resistance becomes a generational trap when we stop retelling God’s victories and start expecting His failure. Breaking the cycle requires intentional remembrance: testifying to His past faithfulness to fuel fresh trust. [08:50]

A stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
(Psalm 78:8, ESV)

Reflection: What “again and again” struggle—a recurring sin, anxiety, or relational rift—reveals your need to trust God’s pattern of faithfulness over your own history of doubt?

Day 5: The Unhindered Life Starts Today

God’s question isn’t “Can I change you?” but “Will you let Me?” Transformation begins when we stop justifying resistance and start inviting the Spirit’s surgery on our stiff necks and closed ears. Like Stephen, filled with bold grace, we can trade cycles of rebellion for rhythms of responsiveness. Holding the good (Scripture, prayer) and releasing the bad (sin, distraction) clears space for the Spirit to move unhindered. The choice is daily. [46:21]

Examine everything carefully; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:21–22, ESV)

Reflection: What step toward surrender—forgiveness sought, a habit released, a “yes” to God’s nudge—will you take today to start breaking free from old resistance?

Sermon Summary

The call to live “unhindered, sin estorbos” begins with the image of a bad shopping cart. The cart has nothing wrong with the push, nothing wrong with the supermarket, nothing wrong with the groceries, but something in the wheel keeps fighting the movement. The Holy Spirit can be moving, God can be leading, the power can be there, the purpose can be clear, and still something inside a person can pull in the opposite direction. The problem is not that the Holy Spirit does not move. The problem is that God’s people do not always move with Him.

Psalm 78 shows that this is not a new problem. Asaph tells the history of Israel so the next generation would set their hope on God and not forget His works. The pattern keeps repeating: God moves, God provides, God delivers, and God’s people respond with unbelief, rebellion, and disobedience. “Again and again” they tempted God and afflicted the Holy One of Israel. God revealed Himself and they doubted. God provided and they complained. God spoke and they resisted. The warning is uncomfortable because the same pattern can happen after someone has experienced God’s presence and still says no to His voice.

Paul’s command in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 is short and strong: “Do not quench the Spirit.” The word quench pictures a fire being smothered until it goes out. The Spirit can be quenched intentionally, when someone walks away from God and goes back to doing whatever they want. The Spirit can also be quenched unintentionally, and that is dangerous because it starts small: not praying, not reading the Bible, not gathering with the community, and slowly the fire goes out.

Paul shows how the Spirit is quenched when prophetic utterances are despised. Prophecy here is not only telling the future. It is God’s Word spoken with clarity, correction, encouragement, and power in the community. The believer must not reject what God is saying, but also must not accept everything blindly. Paul says to examine everything, like gold in the fire, and hold fast to what is good.

Acts 7 shows another hindrance: resisting the Holy Spirit. Stephen tells the Sanhedrin that they are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. The tragedy is that they had the sign of belonging to God, but not the substance. The Spirit will not lead a heart that refuses to open, and He will not speak to an ear that does not want to listen. Yet God’s mercy still says, “Let’s change that.”

Key Takeaways

1. The bad wheel names resistance The shopping cart image shows how resistance can live inside the very thing meant to move forward. The push may be right, the direction may be right, and the purpose may be right, but one broken place can fight the movement of God. Spiritual frustration often begins where the Holy Spirit is leading and the heart is quietly pulling the other way. [01:44]
2. God’s people repeat old patterns Psalm 78 does not let Israel’s history stay in the past. Asaph’s “again and again” exposes a cycle where God reveals, provides, and delivers, but His people still doubt, complain, and resist. The danger begins when hope moves to other things and memory forgets what God has already done. [08:50]
3. Quenching starts small and quiet Paul’s command not to quench the Spirit warns that fire can be put out on purpose or neglected until it dies. A person may not decide to abandon God in one dramatic moment, but prayerlessness, closed Bibles, and slow disconnection from community can smother the flame. The most dangerous drift is the one that feels normal while it is happening. [17:13]
4. Discernment protects the Spirit’s fire Paul does not call believers to accept every voice that claims to speak for God. The Word must be tested like gold in the fire, with every claim brought before the mirror of Scripture. A shallow diet of TikTok theology and Instagram certainty cannot replace a heart trained by the Bible to know what comes from God. [23:28]
5. The sign needs the substance Stephen’s charge against the Sanhedrin cuts deep because they had covenant marks but closed hearts and deaf ears. Religious signs can remain visible while the heart refuses God’s voice. The Spirit will not lead a stiff neck that will not turn, but God’s mercy still offers to soften, open, and change what has become stuck. [42:36]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:27] - The bad shopping cart
[01:44] - When the wheel resists the push
[02:53] - God’s calling for the church
[04:42] - Psalm 78 and Israel’s pattern
[08:11] - Again and again they tempted God
[10:46] - The uncomfortable question
[14:00] - Do not quench the Spirit
[17:13] - How the fire goes out slowly
[18:28] - Do not despise prophecy
[22:26] - Examine everything carefully
[27:01] - Hold the good, leave the evil
[30:47] - Stephen stands before the council
[33:24] - Always resisting the Holy Spirit
[42:36] - The sign without the substance

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” [14:10] [18:28] [22:26] [27:01]

Psalm 78
“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.” [04:42] [08:50]

Acts 7:51
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” [33:24] [42:36]

Observation questions

In Psalm 78, what pattern keeps repeating in the history of God’s people, and what words describe their response to God? [08:50]
In 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, what commands are given right after “Do not quench the Spirit,” and how do they connect to each other?
What are some of the small ways the fire of the Spirit can begin to go out in a person’s life? [17:13]
In Acts 7:51, what two descriptions does Stephen use for the people who resist the Holy Spirit? [33:24]

Interpretation questions

Psalm 78 says the next generation must set their hope in God and not forget His works. Why does forgetting what God has done make people more likely to drift into unbelief, complaint, and resistance? [06:27]
Paul says not to despise prophecies, but also to test everything carefully. What does that show about the difference between gullibility and biblical discernment? [23:28]
Stephen says a person can have the outward sign of belonging to God and still be uncircumcised in heart and ears. What does that reveal about the danger of looking spiritually healthy on the outside while staying closed to God on the inside? [42:36]
Quenching the Spirit can happen intentionally or unintentionally. Why might unintentional drift be especially dangerous for a believer? [17:13]

Application questions

The bad wheel picture shows that resistance can be inside a life that otherwise looks fine. Where has there been quiet resistance lately—an area where God seems to be pushing forward, but the heart keeps pulling the other way? [01:44]
Prayerlessness, a closed Bible, and disconnecting from Christian community can slowly smother the fire. Which of those areas has been the easiest place to drift lately, and what would it look like to take one honest step back toward faithfulness this week? [17:38]
God’s people can experience His provision and still complain, doubt, or resist. When has God already been faithful in a situation, but the response has still been fear, frustration, or delay in obeying? [09:12]
Testing everything requires knowing Scripture well enough to recognize what is true. What voices shape spiritual thinking the most right now—Bible, church community, social media, friends, or something else—and how can those voices be weighed more carefully? [24:06]
Holding fast to what is good is not enough if there is still a grip on what is evil. What is one good thing worth holding onto more firmly right now, and what is one harmful pattern that needs to be let go? [27:01]
A stiff-necked person is stuck, slow to turn, and resistant to change. In what area has stubbornness been disguised as stability or maturity, and what might humility look like there? [38:21]
The Spirit will not lead a heart that refuses to open or speak to an ear that refuses to listen. What would it look like this week to become more open before God—not in a vague way, but in one concrete conversation, decision, confession, or act of obedience? [42:52]

Sermon Clips

63s

#ChangeIsPossible

“``You don't have to stay the same. Así es. No tienes que quedarte igual. don't have to leave this door the same way. No tienes que salir por esa puerta igual. You don't have to go home still being stiff neck and with the closed heart and ears. No tienes que ir a casa terco y con corazón cerrado y oídos cerrados. You don't have to go home holding on to what's good and holding on to what's bad. No tienes que ir a casa aferrándote a lo bueno y aferrándote a lo malo. That can change. Eso puede cambiar. God is more than willing to change that. Dios está más que dispuesto para cambiarnos. The question is not, can God change me? The question is, am I willing to change? Amén. La pregunta no es si dios puede cambiarme, la pregunta es si estoy dispuesto para cambiar. Hallelujah.”

65s

#StopResistingGod

“Could I be doing the same thing? ¿Podrá ser que yo estoy haciendo la misma cosa? Could I be experiencing God's presence and still resisting his voice? Es posible que estoy experimentando la presencia de dios y aún resistiendo su voz. Could it be that I know what god is asking me to do, and yet I'm still refusing? Puede ser que yo sé lo que dios me está pidiendo y aún todavía rehúso hacerlo. Could it be that I have become so comfortable with the way things are, that when the holy spirit tells me to move, I say no. Puede ser posible que yo soy tan cómodo con las cosas, que cuando el espíritu santo me dice, muévete, yo le digo, no. Could it be that I have become a hindrance to what the holy spirit wants to do in my life? Puede ser que yo me he convertido en un estorbo de lo que dios quiere hacer en mi vida a través de su espíritu santo.”

58s

#MoveWithTheSpirit

“And that's how we are sometimes spiritual. Y a veces, spiritualmente, así somos. God is moving. The Holy Spirit is leading. Dios se está moviendo. The espíritu santo nos está guiando. The power of God is there. El poder de dios está ahí. There's a purpose. There's a vision. Hay propósito. Hay una visión. But sometimes, there's something in us that's pulling us in the opposite direction. Pero a veces hay cosas dentro de nosotros que nos jalan en la dirección opuesta. And it's not that the holy spirit do not move. No es que el espíritu santo no se puede mover. It's not that the holy spirit doesn't wanna use you. No es que el espíritu santo no nos quiere usar. The problem is that not that the holy spirit is not moving, but that we don't move with him. El problema no es que el espíritu santo no se mueve, el el problema es que nosotros no nos movemos con él.”

36s

#DontTurnOffTheSpirit

“It starts with not praying. Comienza con no orar. It starts with not reading the bible. Comienza con no leer la palabra. It starts with not coming to church and slowly get disengaging from community. Empieza con no llegar a la iglesia y, poco a poco, deshacerse de la comunidad. And before you know it, you're so far gone that the holy spirit has been turned off. Y antes de que usted lo sepa, ya antes de que usted lo reconozca, ya está apagado el fuego del espíritu santo en tu vida.”

48s

#HinderingTheSpirit

“It's not that God is not powerful enough to do something. No es que dios no es poderoso suficiente para hacer algo. I I need you to understand this, necesito que usted entienda esto. It's not that we can stop god from being god. No es que nosotros podemos detener que dios ya no sea dios, stop what we're saying, no es lo que estamos diciendo. But scripture teaches us, pero la escritura nos enseña that we can hinder the work of the holy spirit in our lives through the way we respond to him. Que nosotros podemos estorbar la obra de dios en nuestras vidas, en la manera en cuando respondemos a él.”

77s

#DiscernmentMatters

“what is my job? What is your job? What is el trabajo mío? What is the trabajo de usted? Es that whenever somebody speaks God's word, I need to examine what has been said. Que cuando alguien dice lo que es la palabra de dios, yo tengo que examinar lo que dicen. That word examine, esa palabra examinar, is the same word used to explain when we purify metals, de cuando se purifican metales. When when when when gold goes in the fire, cuando el oro va al fuego y salen las impurezas and the imperfections come out, that is what God is telling us to do with when people preach God's word. Eso es lo que nos dice que hagamos cuando gente predica la palabra de dios. Discernment, discernimiento. To understand what is being said and put it to the mirror of God's word and say, does it look like what God has said in his word? De obtener lo que se ha dicho y ponerlo ponerlo en frente del espejo de la palabra de dios y decir, ok, ¿se se mira como la palabra de dios o no?”

74s

#HearGodsVoice

“The uncircumcised ear, el corazón, el el el oído incircunciso es un un oído sordo. It's a deaf ear. It hears sound, but it doesn't understand meaning. Escucha el sonido, pero no entiende el significado. He hears words, pero he doesn't receive the word. Escucha palabras, pero no recibe la palabra. And the tragedy is this, la tragedia es esta. They have the mark of a covenant with God. Venía en la marca de un pacto con dios. But their hearts and their ears were closed off to God's voice. Pero sus corazones y sus oídos estaban cerrados a la voz de dios. They had the sign of belonging to God, but they were resisting the very god they claimed to belong to. Tenían la señal de pertenecer a dios, pero resistían el mismo dios que ellos clamaban.”

45s

#TestEverythingInScripture

“That's why there's so many false teachers coming up today. Por eso hay tantos maestros falsos surgiendo hoy en día. Because everybody gets their theology from Instagram or from TikTok, porque todos tienen su teología de TikTok y de Instagram, and nobody is doing first Thessalonians five twenty one. Y nadie le está haciendo primera de Tesalonicenses cinco veintiuno. Let me hear what you said, and let me put it to test in God's word. Déjame ver lo que acabas de decir y ponerlo a prueba en la palabra de dios, para ver si verdaderamente es palabra de dios, to see if it really is God's word.”

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