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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Temptation and the Church

By Lary R. HaleNovember 19, 2013

Peter speaks as Cornelius and his household praise God under descending Spirit light in a Roman atrium. — © By One Spirit Ministries

There are two ways by which man can be 'justified,' or made right with God, whether supposedly or truly. One is his own way, which produces only his own fruit in his life; and the other is God's way, which produces God's fruit in one's life. There are many ways by which religious man attempts to justify himself, but they all add up to only one way really, because it is still of man. Many establish their own supposed right standing with God by "going to church" several times a week. Others are more definitive in their self righteousness, like trusting in being water baptized, or by "keeping the sabbath," or by "taking communion," or keeping dress and hair standards, and adding more and more "church service" and the like to their lives. With many people it is their identification with the particular 'Christian' affiliation that they are in, believing that their 'church' is the true way of Christ. For that matter a lot of folks feel that they are acceptable with God by NOT doing a lot of the things that many stark sinners practice. And it's certain that everyone who professes to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ THINKS they are right with God because they 'believe on Jesus' according to their own defining of what believing on Jesus means. The problem with all of the above, as well as with many other like things; is that none of these methodologies of being justified with God can do one single thing to make the heart and soul pleasing and acceptable to God. All of these kinds of things can be done by man himself, including thinking that you believe sufficiently on Jesus. The only true way to be right with God is to really believe on Jesus unto repentance from sin and yielding one's heart to him until he literally transforms and renews the heart and spirit by the power of his holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5; Acts 1:8). Jesus specifically defined initially believing on him as follows: " He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) [Jn. 7:38,39] The baptism of the Spirit of God for honest, repentant, believing souls, IS that "river of living water" that Jesus spoke of; and it is that baptism that Jesus himself administers that literally cleanses the heart of man from sin and thereby justifies him, which is to say that it puts one in right standing with God by truly taking away his sins through his faith in Jesus which produces the experience (I Cor. 6:11; Gal. 3:14). That is the only way that anyone can and must be made a partaker of the true righteousness which is of God. That is also the only way that anyone can be born into the kingdom of God and become a member of the one body of Christ (Jn. 3:5; I Cor. 12:13). These scriptural truths are confirmed by the apostle Paul as follows: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but RIGHTEOUSNESS, and peace, and joy IN THE HOLY GHOST" (Rom. 14:17).

The baptism of the holy Ghost with the accompanying sign of speaking with other tongues is something that JESUS HAS TO DO, and he does it when anyone truly submits themselves to him by true faith and repentance. Peter told exactly how people were justified by faith in Jesus by the washing away of their sins, when he described what took place with the first Gentile believers when he preached the word of the Gospel to them: "Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, PURIFYING THEIR HEARTS BY FAITH" (Acts 15:7-9). And to be more pointed of what he was telling about, we also have the actual account of this event as well: "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God" (Acts 10:44-46). So according to the apostle Peter it was the baptism of the holy Ghost with the evident sign of speaking with other tongues that purified the hearts of these Gentiles from their sins by means of their sincere and earnest faith in Jesus. And as the account states, it was God, who as Peter said, "knoweth the hearts;" who "bare them witness" of their justification, by means of his chosen sign of speaking in other tongues. That is how Peter and those who had come with him to the house of Cornelius the Centurion KNEW that these Gentiles had received God's Spirit. And that was the same holy Spirit that washes the heart and soul, thereby renewing and regenerating the inner man of those whose faith is sure (Tit. 3:5). This is how souls were justified BY GOD in the beginning of this Gospel, and it is certain that nothing has been changed, at least not by God. And this is why the apostle Paul made the following evident statement of truth: "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9).

Religious man has tried to change this glorious Gospel of liberty and deliverance with all of his non-scriptural methods of how to get and stay right with God, but he has only buried himself in his sin and his shame in so doing. The only way to stay right with God after initially being made right, is to continue to do the things that it took to first be baptized with the Spirit; namely submitting ourselves to Jesus with humility and faith, and praying through daily to the renewing of the heart by the cleansing power of God which is in his Spirit that we've received (Col. 2:16). If we practice that then everything else will take care of itself because we will be able to "walk in the Spirit" and thereby be "led by the Spirit" into all of God's ways (Gal. 5:16; Rom. 8:14). Today God's Spirit is calling to his people, pleading with the same question that he asked Israel of old: "O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?" (Psm. 4:2). Jesus suffered and died and rose again to provide us with the same Spirit of holiness and power that he walked in when he was here, and yet God's people have exalted their own ways of obtaining 'righteousness' before and above the experience of attaining to GOD'S righteousness by being baptized BY JESUS. True faith in Jesus and justification thereby can ONLY be administered to anyone BY JESUS, who is the ONLY mediator and baptizer under the new covenant (I Tim. 2:5; Mk. 1:7,8). But it truly has happened to God's people today even as it happened to Israel: "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Rom. 10:2,3). And it has happened by means of man taking the Gospel into his own hands and making it something other than what God established for him. The mess that man has made of the Gospel of Christ is akin to the mess that he has made of the world that God gave him to be blessed in, and it can truly be said according to the wise observation of Solomon: "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions" (Eccl. 7:29). The only solution is the same solution that God proposed to Israel by Jeremiah: "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein" (Jer. 6:16). Maybe a few souls can learn the lesson of history. God bless.

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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