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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For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Rom

By Lary R. HaleMay 26, 2016

A woman shares a ripe pear with an elderly neighbor in a flourishing garden. — © By One Spirit Ministries

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). This is a really significant scripture in the Bible, and we need only look at the flip side of this verse to see that. If we are NOT led by the Spirit of God, then we are not the children of God. That is the flip side and that goes for everyone, especially those who have received God's Spirit. That is who the scriptures were written to and for, and that is why we have statements like this in the Bible. WE need to heed these things, and WE need to learn how to follow God's Spirit, if WE expect to finish our course as we have begun, meaning being God's children (Heb. 2:1). John made it very clear in his first epistle that being a child of God means that we do the righteousness of God: "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil... In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother" (I Jn. 3:7,8,10). A lot of people who have the Spirit, meaning those who have been baptized with the Spirit, think of being led by the Spirit only in terms of God leading them to speak to someone, or pray for someone, or some other act of this nature. But the truth is, being led by the Spirit of God is something that we are in the main part of our lives either doing or not doing; and it is not always an easy thing to know which direction it is leading in. There are things in life involving things that don't have to do with being led by the Spirit, but by and large the holy Ghost is usually drawing us and leading us to go in a certain direction in things. Sometimes it's easy to tell and sometimes it is not. Sometimes we can feel that leading and other times we have to just decide what to do in a given situation. Sometimes we miss the mark but that's alright because God knows our hearts and he knows we are continually learning. But when it's all said and done. it comes back around to what John said, that "he who does righteousness is righteous." The most valuable asset we can have spiritually is that we love the righteousness of God. The significance is that the Spirit of God IS the righteousness of God, as the scripture also affirms to us: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17).

If we love the righteousness of God, and we hate the things that are contrary to it, we are going to generally be able to be led by God's Spirit. Reason being that the righteousness of God is always what the Spirit is leading us into, because as we have seen, the holy Ghost is the righteousness of God. I just can't emphasize enough that keeping our hearts pure and clean from any kind of sin, including things like fear, is the key to understanding the direction to take in all things. Jesus once said the same with a very profound statement of truth: "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness" (Lk. 11:34). Light is how we are able to see, so the analogy here is evident. The 'eye' that Jesus is speaking of is the eye of our heart, so if our heart is 'single,' which is to say pure, then we will have light to be able to see where we are going. If our heart is not pure, then as he also said, we are quite simply walking in darkness, which of course means that we can NOT see where we are going. So what this comes down to is that we either love the righteousness of God in our hearts, or we will not be able to be led by God's HOLY Spirit. That is where everything starts, meaning in the heart. That is where we first either love or do not love God's holiness, which translates as pureness of heart in us. After that we will demonstrate outwardly in our lives and our decisions what we love or do not love in our hearts. The ancient proverb says it best I believe: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). The word 'issues' in this verse is translated as 'outgoings.' Again, that means that whatever we are doing on the outside is something that began in our heart and comes out. Jesus made it clear that all sins for example originate in the hearts of men: "That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man" (Mk. 7:20-23). That in fact is the condition that all have been born in, and that is what Jesus hung on a cross for six hours and died for; to change that condition and eradicate sin from our lives. His spiritual baptism for the inner man is the experience of faith that washes our sins away and imparts the divine nature of himself and the Father into those who truly believe (Jn. 7:38,39; I Cor. 6:11; I Cor. 12:13; II Cor. 5:17; Gal. 3:14; Tit. 3:5; I Pet. 1:22).

It's no wonder the baptism of the holy Ghost is what both God and John the Baptist said Jesus was coming to provide for mankind (Mk. 1:7,8; Jn. 1:33). And no wonder the final instructions that Jesus gave to his followers before he went back to heaven was to wait for the baptism of the holy Ghost (Acts 1:4,5). So it is certain that no one can be led by the Spirit of God unless they have been baptized WITH the Spirit of God, because RECEIVING the Spirit and being baptized with the Spirit with the accompanying sign of speaking in other tongues, is in fact the same thing. Jesus made it clear that no one could receive the holy Ghost until AFTER he went back to heaven, and it was only after he went back to heaven that the Spirit came upon his followers (Jn. 16:7; Acts 2:4). This is all very vital understanding, seeing that the scripture plainly tells us, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9). I'm quite aware of the modern Christian tradition that sates that we 'receive' the Spirit when we 'get saved,' and are 'baptized' with the Spirit later. I am also aware that this modern Christian tradition is simply misguided, neither is there one single record in the Bible of anyone who ever 'got saved.' The Spirit baptism is the only new birth that exists or has ever existed, and two scriptures alone can show us that plainly: "Therefore if any man be IN Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Cor. 5:17). That verse shows us that we are a "new creature," which obviously comes about by a new birth, IF we are IN Christ. And this verse tells us HOW we get IN Christ: "For BY ONE SPIRIT are we ALL BAPTIZED into one body [of Christ], whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (I Cor. 12:13). So it quite simply comes down to us first having the Spirit, and then just continuing to love the righteousness OF the Spirit. If we do this we will always find our way and be led by the Spirit of God, even if sometimes we have to back up and do it over to get it right. God looks on the heart, and he rejoices at the heart that is trying to do the right thing, even if the perfectly right thing is missed at first. Thanks be to God for his unfathomable grace! 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