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

Faith carried forward

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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The Kingdom of God and Love

A woman listens closely to an elderly neighbor, offering reassurance beside a pitcher of water.
© By One Spirit Ministries

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not [love], I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not [love], it profiteth me nothing" (I Cor. 13:1-4). As Jesus said to Martha after telling her that those who believe in him would never die, "Believest thou this?" (Jn. 11:26) Well, if we don't believe the apostle Paul in regard to our text passage from the great 'love' chapter, let's check in with Jesus on this issue: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Mat. 7:21-23). To more perfectly tie this passage in with our opening passage, the word 'iniquity' actually means 'lawlessness.' That would be lawlessness to the law of God, and we are told in the scripture, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 13:10). So those who will stand before Jesus on the day of judgment and remind him of the spiritual gifts that they operated in, and are told by him to depart his presence because he did not know them; were in fact not known to him because of their lack of love that they conducted their lives in. So in God's eyes, being loveless is the same thing as being lawless, because his law IS love. Jesus did not know these people for the simple reason that they did not make it their business to know him, and to that the scriptures also agree: "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (I Jn. 4:8).

Please allow me to say that I couldn't care less about what spiritual gifts someone operates in, or what knowledge someone may possess, or even how much faith someone may have. But what I DO care about, and more importantly what GOD cares about, is how much do you CARE about your fellow man, and especially the brotherhood in Christ? That will surely be the tale of the tape when all men stand before God to be judged according to the deeds of their lives. Jesus made that point abundantly clear when speaking of the judgment (Mat. 25:31-46). As part of that passage says, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 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... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Mat. 25:41-43,46). As we have already seen graphically illustrated by the scriptures, there will be many at the judgment who seemed to have good deeds, but if those deeds were not motivated by the love of God they will be worthless. For too long I have seen too much focus by many believers on things like 'church' service, 'ministry,' spiritual gifts and the like; but too little focus on, and demonstration of loving the next person as Peter said, "with a pure heart fervently" (I Pet. 1:22). A thousand books could be written just to cover this subject from all angles and through all facets, but I would like to just point a couple things that earmark someone who has love. If we are motivated by the love of God then we are going to be more interested in listening to someone else's problems than to tell our own. In fact the love of God in someone's life will condition them to be more minded to listen than to talk, and the scriptures say the same: "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil" (Eccl. 5:1).

When someone is always wanting to dominate conversation, and the conversation never seems to be about the other person or people present, that is not motivated by love. If we just like to tell what we know, or think we know, and talk about what God is doing in our lives; but never really want to know what someone else knows or what God is doing in their lives, then I say again that is not motivated by love. The biggest thing on love's mind is how to edify someone else. The scripture also clearly shows this to be the case: "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others" (Philip. 2:3,4). Make no mistake, the love of God most assuredly operates in spiritual gifts and has knowledge, but if someone only seems to want to tell what they know and how they are moving in spiritual gifts, that does not come from love. Love and humility are inseparable twins, and as the great love chapter tells us, "Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up" (I Cor. 13:4). We need to let the horse pull the cart instead of the cart trying to pull the horse, and it is certain that love is the horse of the Gospel, not spiritual gifts or knowledge. As far as service and ministry, which are the same thing actually, let's not be like the priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, and forget our true appointment to ministry; which is to care for the needs of the needy (Lk. 10:30-32). Anyway, these are just a few things that we can think about that can help prepare us for the day when we carry the testimony of our lives and deeds to the place of no return. May God bless.

From the Preserved Writings of Lary R. Hale

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Jesus Is All

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In loving memory

Lary R. Hale

Lary smiling with his beloved dog Champ
Lary with Champ

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

A life in pictures and film

Watch the tribute video shared with Lary’s obituary. It brings together moments from his life and footage of the man so many loved.

Video hosted by Tribute Slides through Newcomer Kentuckiana.

Original obituary at Newcomer Kentuckiana

Memories of Lary