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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Truth and Scripture

By Lary R. HaleFebruary 3, 2013

Five believers sit among uncarved rocks and wildflowers overlooking a broad valley, praying beneath a radiant sky. — © By One Spirit Ministries

"And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it" (Exd. 20:25). This one scripture shows us what the true worship of God is all about, and also how that worship has indeed been totally polluted under this new covenant. It's simple really, if we can actually see simplicity. Jesus gave us a very clear statement of absolute truth as to what the worship of God under this new covenant is: "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:23,24). There it is my friend, the altar of unhewn stone not polluted by the tool of man's hand. Simplistic and pure; "in spirit and in truth." These are words of great renown, and yet words that have rarely been understood. Let's just look at these two elements that make up the new testament worship of God. "In spirit" simply means that we can ONLY worship God by means of our spirits, and that we can no longer worship God by means of carnal ordinances like those under the old covenant. This is exactly what the apostle Paul was saying in the following statement: "For we are the circumcision, which worship God IN THE SPIRIT, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philip. 3:3). "Having no confidence in the flesh" simply means that we are to have no regard for the carnal ordinances of the old covenant that only pertained to the outer man, and could not touch the inner man. When Jesus suffered the cost of death for our sins, the scripture says that he nailed those old covenant ordinances to the cross, putting them away along with sin (Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14). And if we are "in Christ" by means of the Spirit baptism, we are free from sin as long as we maintain true power OVER sin through the power of the holy Ghost (I Cor. 12:13; Rom. 6:3,4,6,7,12,18). You see, there was no true deliverance from the actual nature of sin under the old covenant, and therefore the people were not free to worship God in spirit alone (Gal. 3:21; Heb. 10:4). That is why they had to worship God through carnal, symbolic, ceremonial ordinances ( Heb. 9:9,10;). But we DO have true deliverance from sin through the power of God's Spirit, and therefore we ARE free to worship God in spirit, and have no need of things that only stood to symbolize that freedom which was to come (Col. 2:16,17; Heb. 10:1). Not only so, but the apostle Paul made it abundantly clear that we MUST NOT mix the spiritual worship of God with the natural ordinances of the old covenant (Gal. 3:2,3; Gal. 5:1-4). And in so saying, he was only reaffirming what Jesus said, that being that we MUST worship God in spirit. Peter described the true spiritual worship of God with the following statements of truth: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ... Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Pet. 2:5; I Pet. 1:8). Friend, being truly made free from the very nature of sin and sinning, and having "joy unspeakable;" and being "full of glory" is as good as it gets. And the truth is, that is only possible by means of the baptism of the holy Ghost, and the power it imparts to us for overcoming and putting sin to death (Acts 1:4,5,8). That is the altar of stone not polluted by the tool of man, but left pure even as God has made it. Natural ordinances such as water baptism and so called "communion" [partial passover] have nothing to do with that process. Those are carnal, symbolic ceremonies of the old covenant that merely helped to point the way to Jesus, and to the spiritual worship that he would provide for us. The inclusion of these natural ordinances in the new covenant worship of God is total confusion, and it is absolutely contrary to the leading of God's Spirit, even as the apostle Paul pointed out (Gal. 3:3; Gal. 5:18). These things only constitute man putting his hand and his tool to the altar of perfection that God has provided for us through the death and resurrection of his only begotten Son.

Now back to what Jesus said about the new testament worship. The "in truth" part simply means that when we DO worship God, it must be in holiness, meaning without sin in our hearts and lives. To understand the whole equation of "in spirit and in truth," one need only look at the flip side of the statement. As I've shown above from the Bible, "in spirit" means NOT in carnal things, as Paul said again: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink [carnal things]; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in THESE things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men" (Rom. 14:17,18). And "in truth" means NOT in pretense, as Jesus reproved the Pharisees for being guilty of: "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But IN VAIN they do WORSHIP me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Isa. 15:7-9). And therein is the problem in the body of Christ today. God's people are laboring under the doctrines and traditions of Christianity, which are altogether of men, and therefore quench the Spirit of God among his people. It starts with the false "new birth" teachings of Christianity that are contrary to what the Bible plainly sets forth as being the real new birth. Those teachings vary in terminology but they are all headed up in the saying of "getting saved." Then the Spirit baptism that Jesus died and rose to provide is relegated to a "secondary Christian experience." Problem there is that there is NO record of anyone in the Bible teaching or experiencing this "getting saved" thing. Check it, it isn't there. What IS there however is that the forerunner of the Lord, the Lord himself, and his apostles were crystal clear that Jesus came to this world solely to make the way for HIMSELF to be able to baptize the hearts and souls of men with the soul cleansing power of his Spirit and life (Mk. 1:7,8; Jn. 7:38,39; Jn. 10:10; Acts 1:4,5,8; Acts 2:33; Acts 5:32; Rom. 8:2,9; I Cor. 6:11; I Cor. 12:13; I Pet. 3:21). Oh yeah, and you can forget this nonsense of RECEIVING the Spirit upon "getting saved," and then "coming into the fullness of it" upon being baptized with the Spirit along with the accompanying sign of speaking in tongues. That isn't in the Bible either. The scriptures are clear that Jesus' disciples could not RECEIVE the Spirit until AFTER he did go back to heaven (Jn. 7:38,39; Jn. 16:7). And after he DID GO back to heaven they were BAPTIZED with the Spirit even as he told them they would be (Acts 2:4). Being baptized in the Spirit and speaking in tongues IS receiving the Spirit, and the scriptures declare nothing other than that. The false teachings about the new birth have served only to disesteem and quench the very "Spirit of life," which alone "makes [us] free from sin" (Rom. 8:2). So it is no wonder that doctrines of sin, such as "sinners saved by grace," hold the household of God captive. And the only result of that is sin in the worship, whereby the worship of God among his people has been largely reduced to be "in vain," not "in truth." The apostle Paul told the Corinthians that their worship was no good because there was sin present in their congregation that was not being dealt with (I Cor. 5:6-8). God has not changed my friend, and he has not changed his requirements for the worship that his Son died and rose to provide. That altar of stone that we read about in our text scripture is in fact that "chief cornerstone," which is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And there is no Jesus here with us other than his Spirit that was sent back in his name (Jn. 14:26): "Now the Lord IS that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (II Cor. 3:17). That liberty is indeed liberty from sin, and the resulting reality of being literally joined to the Lord, wherein we can ONLY worship in spirit with holiness (I Cor. 6:17). To add anything at all to that spiritual reality is to pollute the pure and simplistic altar that God has provided us with. Amen.

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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