By One Spirit — Holy Ghost Ministry

Lary and his beloved dog Champ welcomed by Jesus into a radiant garden of flowers, waterfalls, and golden light — Remembering the ministry and teachings of Lary R. Hale

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By One Spirit is a lasting home for Holy Ghost ministry, preserving the teachings of Lary R. Hale and the memories of the people whose lives he touched.

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Repentance and Faith

By Lary R. HaleDecember 14, 2014

A Samaritan traveler offers water and support to a weary man on an olive-lined road. — © By One Spirit Ministries

I believe that if anyone could want to know the answer to one question in their life for absolute certainty, it would be this: "Whose heart is really with me?" Of course if we are children of God by faith in Jesus Christ, we know by experience that the heart of Jesus is with us at all times. He has never let anyone down. He has "never left or forsaken" any who put their trust in him (Heb. 13:5). In fact he hasn't forsaken those who are his even when they have failed to trust him. Seeing that we are called to be "conformed to [his] image," we should be like minded with him, especially in this most important of all arenas of our faith (Rom. 8:29). Those who have walked closely with God throughout history have experienced the painful dilemma of not finding that kind of quality among those who were their peers, families, and brethren. I suppose David may have put it in the words that describe it best: "Help , LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men" (Psm. 12:1). There it is, that word that describes the heart of those who are most like Jesus - 'faithful.' Faithfulness is the word that describes the godly quality of having the heart to "bear all things," and to "endure all things," when it comes to our relationships with one another (I Cor. 13:7). You may note that the quoted and referenced scripture comes from the chapter that most defines the divine quality of the love of God. Both Jesus and his father are utterly complete in that faithful love, and that is why Jesus is called "Faithful and True," as John described in the vision he saw of his second coming (Rev. 19:11). A lot of folks are all over the whole 'faith' thing, but Jesus is looking for those who love and focus on the 'faithful' thing more than anything else. John also described in the Revelation those who will be with Jesus at his coming: "for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev. 17:14). I can assure you that if we are not faithful in our relationships with those whom we can see, we are not being faithful to Christ whom we cannot see (I Jn. 4:20). I can equally assure you that there is no pain like being failed in a great time of need by those who should be and are most responsible to be helpful to us. That is what motivated the same David that I quoted above to called on the Lord with this desperate cry: "Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted" (Psm. 25:16). So the moral of that story is that we do not want to be those who contribute to and promote that desolation and affliction by overlooking it.

I can't help but think back to the parable of the 'Good Samaritan' in Luke 10 which I did a couple of posts on around six weeks ago. A Jewish man was injured and in much jeopardy, and there were both a priest and a Levite who passed by him at separate times, and neither of them did anything to help the man who was hurt. Of course we know that the Samaritan, who was despised of all the Jews, did stop and take care of the man. Well, God bless the Samaritan, and I know he did; but it's the priest and the Levite that lend more light to the story. These were the two most highly anointed offices in Israel, and these men were the ones who were responsible to represent God to the rest of God's people of Israel. Now one can look at this parable and just quickly come to the conclusion that the priest and the Levite were just wicked, heinous men. But we don't actually know exactly how bad they were, or where they were going when they passed the injured man by. We do know that they were guilty of being unconcerned, and they were guilty of serious neglect. But it could be that the priest was on his way to offer sacrifice or do the service of the temple, and he felt that his service for God in that capacity was more important than anything else could be. After all we should always prefer God over everyone and everything else. It could also be that the Levite was on his way to teach the law of God to a group of people, or to assist the priests with the duties of the temple. That is what Levites did, and it was indeed a very important job for the Lord; and again God and his ministry should be preferred above all. The problem was that if indeed these things were the case, and that is why neither of these 'important' men had time to stop and help the man who was in jeopardy of his life; they were guilty of the greatest of all hypocrisies. The very law of God that they were supposedly doing the service of, was and is ALL ABOUT the man whom they both passed by! Jesus raked the religious Pharisees over the coals for that very hypocrisy: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Mat. 23:23). These people had taken the stated error to the extreme, and they refused to relinquish that error.

The Pharisees that Jesus rebuked were particularly wicked, but we don't know that the priest and the Levite in that parable were as bad as them. The reason I say this is because I know by experience that one doesn't need to be particularly wicked, or even wicked at all for that matter, to be guilty of what they were guilty of. All one need do is have his priorities somewhat misplaced, and be overboard on 'ministry' and lacking on faithfulness at the same time. As far as 'preferring the Lord' over everyone else, we need to be certain that we aren't going too far in that direction either. How can we do that, you might ask? Like this: "I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying , Lord, when saw we thee an hungred , or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying , Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Mat. 25:43-46). We cannot separate our relationships with one another from our relationship with Jesus. They are the same, and Jesus is the one who told us so: "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is LIKE UNTO IT, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Mat. 22:37-39). In the parable of the Good Samaritan the wounded man's injuries were openly evident to any who saw him. But There are many who have spiritual injuries that are not so evident except to those who are conditioning their hearts continually in the love of God. Those who are doing so are the 'Good Samaritans' of the here and now, and they show that by what they do. Unfortunately I find that there are more who are like the priest and the Levite, and just don't seem to 'get' what this Gospel is really all about. Do you seek to have more faith, maybe for spiritual gifts and miracles so that you can be more prolific in ministry? Let me tell you this if you will: Seek faithfulness with greater fervor, and don't leave the other undone. If you aspire to great things in 'ministry' as it were, be aware of the hurt of those in your sphere of living, and 'minister' to that. It doesn't really take a whole lot to make a whole lot of difference in the life and spirit of someone who has been injured by whatever hardships or adversities that have come. Not only so, but God will be pleased with your ministry in that circumstance more than any other you can offer him. May God be with us all to do so. Amen.

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In loving memory

Lary R. Hale

November 13, 1954April 21, 2024

Lary smiling with his beloved dog Champ — Lary with Champ

Obituary

A Hero Finally Rests.

Lary Redman Hale of Louisville, KY entered into his greatest joy, the presence of King Jesus himself, welcomed by the cheers of angels and the saints of God on Sunday night, April 21, 2024.

What the outside world would see as the untimely passing of a humble, local minister, heaven saw as the triumphant finale of a valiant warrior's life. He fought the good fight, having kept the faith, and received what Christ himself called "The Champion's Wreath of Victory".

Lary was born November 13, 1954 to Marvin and Norma Hale. Being the youngest of his siblings ensured he had lots of time with his loving mother, from whom he undoubtedly developed his profound sensitivity, heartfelt sentimentality and emotional comfortability - characteristics that were trademarks of his life. He grew up surrounded by cousins and classmates that became his best friends.

At his 50 year class reunion he was overjoyed and excited to catch up with so many of them, smiling and laughing more than he had in a long time. He would often tell stories of how he treasured those times as a young boy riding bikes, shooting B.B guns and playing with his childhood dog Peanuts; all while getting into assorted harmless mischief. He cherished the time he spent living on his parents houseboat and helping his dad, a united states marine veteran, take care of the boat and dock.

His relationship with his dad was only strengthened in their later years as they watched boxing matches almost every weekend for the remainder of his dad's life. He admired his brother Gary for his athleticism and industrious attitude, and thought his sisters Vicki and Mila had hearts of gold just like his mother. In his teen years Lary developed three of his lifelong loves: swimming, cool cars and lifting weights.

Some people said Lary was part fish because of how well he swam, but Lary would correct them, he was actually part dolphin. As a young man he managed a health club where he helped multiple people lose weight and counted that a huge joy. He loved nature and taking photos of it, honing his skills and knowledge in cameras. His vocabulary was second to none and he enjoyed learning new words and using them especially in his writings.

Before he passed he still exercised as much as his body would allow and he longed to return to the ocean and the white sands of Destin, Florida.

Like most disenfranchised teens in the early 70s, Lary indulged in countless vices that left him empty and searching for more. Although his long black curly hair, loud clothes, muscles and muscle cars made him the envy of the boys and the heartthrob of the girls, none of these things satisfied his heart. He pursued a college education briefly, desiring to be a marine biologist or philosopher but found that this was not what he was missing either - he longed for true fulfillment.

Depressed, empty, and feeling hopeless, Lary heard about a particular beautiful girl he had a crush on that was attending a small church where the "Spirit of God" was changing people's lives. After wondering why someone like her would attend a church like that, he began to attend also.

After a few months, he made a simple prayer on his hands and knees, saying "God I can't stop smoking, drinking, raging or any of the other countless vices I have - but if you can set me free from these things, I'll know you're real and that you want me to serve you". The next morning Lary woke up and described the next few hours as "walking on air" realizing he was, in his words "delivered" and never going back to those vices.

This began his life long commitment to glorifying Jesus, the king of glory, for how he transformed Lary's life from darkness to light. Lary would marry that same beautiful girl, the love of his life, Fay Kustes, and they would have two sons together, Benjamin Isaac and Elisha Daniel. Lary's greatest joy in life was being a husband and father.

He was happiest when he was sharing what he was learning in the bible with his family, and teaching them that knowing God was simplistic and yet powerful - that God was not merely a religious concept, but a powerful savior on a day to day basis. As Lary made it his life's goal to find "the lost sheep", he would tap into his multifaceted creativity that went largely underappreciated.

Lary produced well over a thousand episodes of gospel presentations: self-producing, mixing, editing and encoding both a radio and television show. Between the two, he broadcast for over 30 years. All of this in the analog age, where self produced radio and TV shows were nearly unheard of, especially without any budget whatsoever.

Lary was an evangelist in Louisville and southern Indiana, being asked to preach and teach in multicultural and multi-generational churches across the city. The churches he was most loved and welcomed by were the African-American Baptist and Pentecostal churches that loved and welcomed his passionate, excitable and action packed style of preaching.

Once the dawn of the internet came, he immediately worked to have a website published, making his literature and gospel teachings available. Eventually he'd use social media to teach, preach and encourage believers all across the world. He would spend every night praying with and encouraging christians from every nation until the end of his life. Many of which saw him like a second father and all of whom greatly mourn his passing.

Even though he produced over a thousand episodes of media, taught in multiple churches, mentored in multiple countries, and had multiple printed works of literature, he considered his greatest life's work to be his two sons. One of their earliest memories is Lary saying "the most important job in the world is not preaching the gospel, it's raising kids in the gospel". This threaded through his entire life.

In his final week on earth, he reminisced on his life saying "I see my life as the highest success, because my life's work are my two sons, who I am so incredibly proud of - not for their natural achievements but for their love, humility and personal faith in Jesus that is not only evident in their lives but also in their love. Because of them, I know my life is a true success - and I credit Jesus for all of it".

His sons today see him as the most successful man they will ever know. He succeeded in loving them and never hurting them. Leading them and never controlling them. Being there for them and never leaving them. He was a man that would apologize quickly, forgive quickly, and always encouraged his sons to "get up and go from here". He succeeded in teaching them faith, hope and love in a world starving so badly for all three. His ministry lives on in them.

The lives of everyone touched by their lives are forever indebted to this humble, prayerful man of faith.

He is preceded in death by his father Marvin, mother Norma, sister Mila, sister-in-law Marlene, nephew Adam, aunts, uncles, treasured cousins, and his beloved dog of 18 years, Champ.

Until they are reunited in the glory of heaven, he is survived and will be missed by his sons, Benjamin and Elisha (Katrine), his wife of 30 years, Fay, his brother Gary, His sister Vicki (Dan), his cousins, nieces, nephews, his friends, and those that called him their pastor and teacher.

"The righteous perish, and no man lays it to heart: merciful men are taken away and no one considers that the righteous person is being spared from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: he shall rest in his bed, having walked in uprightness." Isaiah 57:1&2

Remember him