Transformative Encounter with Spiritual Warfare

Steve Hemphill, a former CEO of a successful IT company, now finds himself in a unique role as a pastor. A lifelong non-smoker, his journey took a dramatic turn following his father’s unexpected heart attack, which left behind an “ancient vault.” Inside, Hemphill discovered a sealed envelope, addressed to him and his brother, containing a peculiar message.

“The note said, ‘If you find this after I’m gone, don’t open it. It’s unimportant. Just throw it away, Dad.’ It was dated five months prior to his death,” Hemphill recounts, adding, “I burned it without knowing what was inside. Every single day, I think about it.”

That envelope ignited a curiosity in Hemphill about the afterlife. The envelope, while mysterious, pushed him to explore concepts of eternity. This deep dive into the Bible opened his eyes to the reality of spiritual warfare.

“Without the Holy Spirit, I believe demons take hold. A person can only genuinely declare, ‘Jesus is Lord’ if they possess the Holy Spirit,” he reflects on a spirited debate he had with a retired Stanford professor.

During a visit to a Burger King, Hemphill noticed the professor’s odd remarks about the Bible. In response, Hemphill simply asked, “Dr. Smith, is Jesus Lord?” The professor, in a fit of rage, began to run around the restaurant, shouting, “No! Who is Jesus? I don’t know who He is!”

“I told him, ‘I’ll pray for you to find Jesus as Lord,’” Hemphill remembers, noting that this only aggravated the professor further. “He came closer, gritted his teeth, and told me, ‘Don’t pray for me.’ I smiled and assured him, ‘Now I can pray for you.’ He stormed out, yelling and slamming the door,” he adds.

That encounter served as a turning point for Hemphill, revealing to him the existence of modern-day demonic influences.

This newfound understanding of spiritual warfare led Hemphill to adopt a practical approach: the use of “stakes.” This involves embedding the word of God into troubled land.

Hemphill shares an instance where a friend confided about a demonic presence on his property. “I asked him, ‘What’s the issue?’ and he replied, ‘A demon wants to die on my land.’” Hemphill suggested writing a Bible verse on a tent stake and driving it into the four corners of the property, encouraging prayer and praise. “He followed through, and the next week, he announced he wanted to be baptized,” Hemphill noted, still astonished by the outcome.

He recounted another case where a woman sought help because she experienced frightening dreams of demons at 3 a.m. every night. After applying a similar approach, her nightmares ceased.

“Then, they asked me to stake out a public school, and all the issues resolved. The source of the trouble passed away suddenly from a heart attack,” Hemphill explains, asserting, “I can’t make this stuff up.”