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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From the ministry archive

Judge Righteous Judgment

A remorseful man receives gentle counsel and an offered hand while an older companion examines his own heart.
© By One Spirit Ministries

Yesterday’s post was on the subject of “judge not,” so it may seem strange to some that today’s post is on “judge righteously.” But the fact is, everyone judges all the time, whether about situations, people, or any myriad of things. And there is nothing wrong with judging, as long as we aren’t judging things erroneously or judging people without mercy. But let’s focus on judging people, and what it means to do it rightly. First of all, as believers in Christ, our first and foremost duty in judging is to judge ourselves. The apostle Paul made it clear that we must do so, and why we must do so, when writing to the believers in Corinth: “For he that eateth and drinketh [of the spiritual things of God] unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (I Cor. 11:29-32). So if we partake of the worship of God through his Spirit, with sin in our lives, we are doing so unto our own hurt and damnation, unless the Lord can get our attention and turn us from our sins. And this goes to the point of judging others rightly as well. As quoted in our post yesterday, the apostle Paul told the Galatians in regard to this point; “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). So you see, we could not restore someone who is in a fault unless we are able to judge that they are in a fault. The point is, as the apostle said, do so with the right kind of spirit and motivation; but nevertheless, do so! No doubt we are all familiar with the famous scripture; “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” and with good reason. Jesus said that all the law and the prophets hang on that statement, along with “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy mind, and all thy strength.” But it is what is said just in front of the original stating of that scripture that I would like to point out: “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:17,18). So according to the law of God, if we do not reprove a brother or sister who is holding sin, then we hate them. And the original giving of this commandment to “love thy neighbour as thyself” was given in that context, as we see here by the scripture. And in this vein, Jesus commanded us likewise: “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him” (Lk. 17:3). Notice how he said “take heed to yourselves”? If we love ourselves rightly, then we will rebuke our brother for trespassing against us; that is if we love him as we love ourselves.

What does this all mean, you may ask? It’s as simple as this: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Unless we are holy, meaning literally without sin in our lives, we cannot and will not be saved. Period. We are clearly informed in Rev. 20:6 that only those who are holy will be partakers of the first resurrection, which takes place at the second coming of Jesus to this world. True holiness is what everything comes down to, and that is what no one seems to care to understand or believe. The apostle Paul believed it. He scorned the elders in Corinth because they did not judge the sin of someone in the congregation who was continuing therein and refusing to repent (I Cor. 5:1-13). He let them know in no uncertain terms that all of their worship was worthless and that everyone in the congregation was accountable for this man’s sin, if it was not dealt with and him removed from their fellowship. And ultimately why was it so significant that this man and his sin had to be removed from the congregation? Because without holiness no man shall see the Lord, and because this man’s sin negatively affected all the congregation, as the apostle stated. When Israel came into the land of Canaan and took the city of Jericho at God’s command, they proceeded from there to take Ai as well. But they were defeated at Ai and Joshua sought the Lord for the reason of their defeat. God spoke to him and let him know that it was a simple matter. Sin was in the camp and God commanded Joshua to find it and remove it, threatening to leave him if he failed to do so (Josh. 12:1-7). And why did the sin of Achan mean so much to God? Because without holilness no man shall see the Lord, and because the presence of sin in the camp negatively affected everyone in the camp, as was evidenced by their defeat at Ai. The failure of the individual members of the body of Christ to judge each one’s own sins, and the failure of the so called leaders of God’s people to rightly reprove and judge sin in their camps is the reason for the abundance of sickness, weakness, premature deaths; and evident lack of God’s love, power, unity and peace among his people today. And it is all encompassed in the lack of understanding of the love of God, that the love of God is holy and that it requires holiness [being without sin] in each and every one of us (Hos. 4:6). And why have we found ourselves in such state? Because we have accepted and upheld the doctrines and traditions of Christianity which uphold and give safe harbor to sin. And that leaves us with the exhortation that states the following in regard to the Christian religion that does not literally deliver from sin: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power [to deliver from sin] thereof: from such turn away” (II Tim. 3:5). And all I can add to that is, Amen.

From the Preserved Writings of Lary R. Hale

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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