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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Water Baptism and the New Birth

A young woman opens her hands in joyful prayer beside an older woman in a bright kitchen, with a white dove and sunlight beyond the window.
© By One Spirit Ministries

Today I would like to share a revelation of truth which the Lord let me see many years ago, that is desperately needed in the body of Christ today. It has to do with the new birth experience that Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to establish; and also how the idolatry of water baptism has suffocated this truth out of the spirits and minds of God's people. "And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet" (II Kin. 13:20,21). I remember this eye opening experience like it was just a few hours ago, and actually it was probably thirty years ago when I first read this passage. As soon as I read this, a scripture just jumped into my mind and spirit, and it was this: "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation [power] of God, who hath raised him from the dead" (Col. 2:12). The dead man who was "buried" with Elisha's bones was literally raised from the dead by the power of God that was still present with the great prophet's remains. And that was a perfect type of someone being "buried with [Christ] in baptism," and of being "also... risen with him" BY MEANS OF the POWER of God, as Colossians 2:12 clearly states. My dear friend, NOBODY is quickened by the power of God by means of water baptism. Jesus said that we would "receive POWER after the HOLY GHOST is come upon [us]" (Acts 1:8). And he said that immediately after telling his disciples, "For John truly baptized with water; but ye SHALL BE baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence" (Acts 1:5). It is the baptism of the holy Ghost with the heavenly sign of speaking with other tongues that buries us in Christ, and also that quickens us from all trespasses and sins, which is to say "raises us" (Eph. 2:1). The same apostle Paul said the exact same thing to the Romans in just a little bit different words: "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3,4). And again, NOBODY receives "newness of life" by means of water baptism. But rather the scripture says clearly, "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). So the measuring stick on whether anyone has "newness of life" or not, is whether they are "in Christ" or not. So the question becomes, how do we get INTO 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; Eph. 4:4). Yes, it is by BAPTISM that anyone gets into Christ, and this vastly overlooked scripture leaves no room for argument as to what baptism does the job.

You see, true, literal faith in Jesus and what he's done for us, results in truly and literally being "buried with him in baptism," as well as being truly and literally being "risen with him through the faith of the [power] of God," just like the scripture says (Jn. 7:38,39; Acts 5:32). The apostle Paul also said regarding the matter; "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have PUT ON Christ" (Gal. 3:27). Once again he is speaking of LITERAL things here. Jesus Christ is NOT WATER! But the scripture does tell us, "Now the Lord is THAT SPIRIT" (II Cor. 3:17). So we really and truly "put on Christ" by baptism because it is the SPIRIT BAPTISM that puts us INTO CHRIST [and he into us], LITERALLY! The observance and practice of water baptism in the body of Christ, meaning those who HAVE been baptized with THE SPIRIT, has just wreaked havoc on the faith of God's people by means of mass confusion [Who do you suppose is the author of that?]. It has totally erased the knowledge of what the new birth actually is, and therefore nobody even truly knows who is a brother or sister. There is no other new birth experience in the Bible beside the baptism of the Spirit, and there was no other point to the ministry, suffering, death, resurrection, and heavenly priesthood of Christ other that the SPIRIT baptism! (Mk. 1:7,8; Acts 1:4,5; Acts 2:4; Acts 2:33; I Cor. 6:11; I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:5). Go ahead, check the references and do the math. It's simple math my friend, I assure you of that. The fact is that those who have this overly religious reverence for Acts 2:38, are not even reverencing the part about receiving the holy Ghost. It's all about water baptism, and that reverence is just plainly an abomination to God. Jesus DID NOT die and rise again in order to implement water baptism. It was already there, and if it had anything to do with truly taking away sin and making someone truly right with God, he would NOT HAVE HAD TO SUFFER AND DIE! Hear the scriptures: "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Gal. 2:21). You don't think water baptism was a "work of the law?" Then do the math on these two references (Mat. 3:15; Mat. 5:17). Water baptism had its time and place my friend, just as all the law did; and that time and place was to lead Israel to faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:24). And as that referenced scripture goes on to explain, there was no more reason to continue in the works of the law after Christ was manifested and completed his mission (Gal. 3:25). And just after THAT referenced scripture it is plainly explained that "[we] are all the children of God BY FAITH in Christ Jesus [NOT by ceremonial works]" (Gal. 3:26). And just exactly HOW are we made the children of God by faith in Jesus? Well, he goes on to explain THAT in the NEXT verse: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). Oh yeah, I think we've already been there and done that previously, haven't we? Yes we have, and the only SCRIPTURAL conclusion is, that like the dead man was REALLY raised from the dead by the power of God as a result of being buried with the bones of Elisha, so a TRUE believer in Jesus is TRULY washed and cleansed from sin by the baptism of the power of the Spirit of God, and thereby given TRUE "newness of life." We need to throw the dead works off of the ship my friend, lest we sink it by our over much religious reverence for those dead works [which reverence ministers nothing but spiritual confusion and death], and we fail to reach safe harbor (Rom. 2:28; II Cor. 3:6; Gal. 5:4; Heb. 8:13). And that should be at the very top of the priority list of New Year's resolutions for every child of God that wants to be more real with God this year than they were last year. 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