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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Following Christ Beyond Denominations

A peaceful modern courtyard conversation emphasizes purity of heart beyond outward dress and hairstyle.
© By One Spirit Ministries

Almost a year ago I had occasion to meet and speak with a denominational Christian minister. As soon as he realized I was a minister he asked me, "So what does it take to get to heaven?" I liked that because he was forthcoming and I didn't feel that he was looking for a strife. I love for someone to just be direct with me, as long as it doesn't have a spirit of contention with it. I know how to shut that down as well, but it just gets a little wearisome after a while. Anyway I quoted to him the essence of Hebrews 12:14: "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Naturally he wanted to know what I meant by holiness, so I let him know what the scriptures mean about holiness, and about what GOD means about holiness. And simply stated, it is scripture confirming scripture again: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." There is the "getting to heaven" part. As for the holiness part, the next verse after that one tells the story: "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (I Jn. 3:2,3). And I think that makes really good spiritual sense, seeing that Jesus also confirmed that saying: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mat. 5:8). So what does that tell you about anyone who has not had and kept their heart purified from sin? That is correct, they do NOT "get into heaven," as it were. Anyway we had a somewhat interesting conversation from there for a short time. But a couple of months later a man who is part of a Pentecostal sect that I know of, and who also had heard things about me, approached me with a similar mindset. Problem is, he was looking to prove the "truth" of his sect's creed to me, and had a pre-prepared agenda to do so. So he starts out the same way I started out with the other minister. He just comes up and says to me, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Well, I'm thinking, "amen," but I was still waiting for the punch line, and it was on its way too. He almost immediately started defining the "holiness" that he was talking about: "You know, women can't cut their hair, and they can't wear pants, and men......well." He didn't finish the "men can't" part because he was going to say that "men can't have long hair;" and my son, who is filled with the holy Ghost, was standing next to me, and he HAS long hair. Well I'm sorry, but if you are speaking for God you don't respect the persons of men and shy away from telling it like it is. He was afraid to say what he wanted to say because he was AFRAID period! The Bible I read says that "perfect love casts out fear," and that "he that feareth is not made perfect in love" (I Jn. 4:18). And that goes to what I told him about holiness after he had his spiel: ONCE AGAIN: "And any man that hath this hope [of salvation] in him, purifieth himself even as he [Christ] is pure." I explained to him that that is the correct definition of holiness. The "holiness" that he tried to tell me of is nothing more than "the commandments and doctrines of men," that "make the word of God of none effect" (Mk. 7:7,13). The "holiness" that this man was perpetrating is nothing more than a "form of godliness" (II Tim. 3:5).

Allow me to set the record straight on this hair issue, which is a tradition upheld by many Pentecostal affiliations. Jesus harshly rebuked the Pharisees for this way of thinking: "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also" (Mat. 23:26). So what kind of traditions did they have that relate to this issue? "But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments" (Mat. 23:5). Both of those rebukes in fact took place at the same time, in Jesus' renowned scolding of the Pharisees in Matthew 23. These people had actually exaggerated and embellished ceremonial things that were in the law, like having the commandments of God woven into the borders of their garments, so that they could APPEAR more holy than others. And so the apostle Paul's mention of long hair being a "glory" for women, and long hair for men being a "shame," has been totally exaggerated and embellished for the same exact purpose. You don't think so? The man who approached me let that cat FLY out of the bag! First off, long hair means that it's on the back, not down to the waist. And short hair for men can be as far as down to the shoulders, but not down the back. And beside all of that, the apostle clearly stated about this topic, "But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the [congregations] of God" (I Cor. 11:16). So what happened to that part of the equation? There is no such custom from God in the Bible that a woman cannot cut her hair, or that a man has to have an ivy league cut. THAT IS A COMMANDMENT OF MEN! And if it isn't, then why is it that most of the women in these sects wear their hair up in a bun almost all of the time? How can your long hair be a glory if it is always piled up on top of your head? It is nothing more than the Pharisees broadening the borders of their garments where the commandments of God could more easily be seen written. And Jesus made it perfectly clear that, "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him" (Mk. 7:15). And by the same token, there is nothing on the outside of a man that can enter into him and make him pure or holy. So again, if we have that kind of meaning of holiness then we are absolutely taking away from the TRUE meaning of holiness at the same time, which is purifying the heart by the power of God's Spirit after we've received it (Acts 15:8; I Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:6; I Pet. 1:22; I Jn. 3:2,3). If your heart is pure and in tune with God's Spirit, you will have the spiritual sense to not look perverse on the outside; and neither will you feel inclined to have to do anything special to the outside to make it LOOK holy. So I will conclude with this one evident statement of truth: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). Holiness my friends, is purely of the heart, even as the scripture says. Amen.

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