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 Holy Spirit and Baptism

Six adults in modest modern clothes pray with quiet open hands beneath luminous Spirit atmosphere, receiving peace and refreshing.
© By One Spirit Ministries

Today I would like to say just a few words about speaking in tongues, as the whole topic has long been misunderstood. First of all, everyone will have some kind of utterance of the Spirit upon being baptized with the holy Ghost and having their sins washed away thereby: "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest" (Isa. 28:11,12). The rest and refreshing spoken of here by Isaiah is the result of having the burden of sin lifted from the heart and soul (Mat. 11:28; Acts 3:19; I Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:5). This constitutes the 'sign' of speaking in tongues at the new birth, experienced by ALL who are born again, even as a child has a birth cry upon being born into this world: "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the SPIRIT of his Son into your hearts, CRYING, Abba, Father" (I Cor. 14:21,22; Gal. 4:6). There are many, many people who have spoken in an utterance of the Spirit and do not even realize that they have done so. Reason being that one makes the connection of faith with God in concentrated, focused prayer, and it is easy to lose awareness of what is going on with one's self and around one's self in this case. Sometimes a person will not speak in tongues after initially receiving the Spirit, until much later. The main reason for that is that they don't realize that they can do it, and they don't understand the value of exercising this capacity in the Spirit. Anyone who has received the holy Ghost can speak in tongues anytime that they feel to do so. The utterance is involuntary when a person first receives the Spirit, but afterward it can be initiated at any time by acting on faith. Not only so, but there was a very good reason that the apostle Paul said, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" (I Cor. 14:18). That reason is that spiritual rest and refreshing accompanies the practice, as Isaiah alluded to. Paul said it like this: "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself" (I Cor. 14:4). There are many operations of speaking in tongues, some of which are for one's own edifying, and some for the edifying of others. If someone else is to be edified by another person speaking in tongues, then there will either be an interpretation or the other person will understand the language themselves (Acts 2:4-11; I Cor. 14:13,27). This where you get into the 'gift' of "divers kinds of tongues," which not everyone operates in (I Cor. 12:10). That is the reason for the apostle Paul's much misunderstood statement about this 'gift' of tongues: "Do all speak with tongues?" (I Cor. 12:30). The answer is no, not as a particular diversified gift, but of course everyone speaks in tongues upon receiving the Spirit.

One point that many today have gotten snagged on is the use of praying in tongues, or praying in the Spirit, in a prayer or worship service around other people (I Cor. 14:14). Many have the mistaken notion that people should not pray by means of speaking in tongues around others unless there is an interpretation. The truth is, if a number of people are in prayer together, they are not supposed to be listening to one another praying anyway. They are supposed to have their own mind focused on the Lord in prayer themselves. What the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 14 about having an interpretation for someone speaking in tongues in a congregation, was referring to someone who was actually addressing the congregation on their own, as though delivering a message. If someone does address a congregation, or a person, or whatever the case may be; by speaking in tongues, and there be no interpretation of it; then the following statements from the apostle apply: "Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me... Yet in the [congregation] I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue... If therefore the whole [congregation] be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?" (I Cor. 14:11,19,23). These statements do NOT apply to prayer and worship, and the apostle would be much grieved to learn that so many people today are using his words like that. The other point that so many stumble on today is that there are instances in the Bible where the Spirit of God moved people to speak in foreign tongues to people who could understand the language, and that the tongues that people speak in today are just 'jibbersih' or 'babble.' Of course the holy Ghost will speak through people in a foreign language that someone else will understand! It happens all the time and has happened frequently and consistently from the days of the Bible being written until now. But if someone is praying or worshiping God, and they are speaking in tongues that someone else doesn't understand; how does that constitute that they are NOT speaking by the holy Ghost? The apostle Paul clearly stated the following on this point: "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh NOT unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries" (I Cor. 14:2).

As I've already pointed out, there is no requirement from God for tongues being interpreted or understood by anyone UNLESS the speech is being directed as a message to someone else or a congregation of people. Everyone who has received the Spirit has the God given right to pray, worship, and speak in tongues any time they are disposed to do so; with NO interpretation of any of it. It's like I told someone that I spoke with recently; just because you don't understand what someone is saying in the Spirit, that doesn't mean that it is not a language that they are speaking in. Many times a person will speak in one kind of tongue, which is totally monotone and repetitive. That is what people are calling 'jibberish' or babble. But the truth is, there are 'tonal' languages in places in the earth that sound very strange, and one would think the people speaking this way to be completely illiterate in terms of any kind of speech at all. But the others around them who speak likewise understand exactly what is being said, and it is just as fluent to them as my speech and yours is to us. What if someone is speaking in a tongue by the Spirit, and all they are saying over and over again, is "Praise God, Praise God, Praise God," or something like that? Is there something wrong with that just because you don't understand the language? If someone is speaking in tongues, it IS a language, whether you like it or not. We should remember the very wise instruction of Jesus, who said, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (Jn. 7:24). Do you think that the birds in the trees don't understand each other, or that God doesn't understand what they are saying? Face it my friend, we don't know everything, and we don't have to. What we do have to do is "love one another with a pure heart fervently" (I Pet. 1:22). The truth is that people should quit being so critical of God's simplistic children for the kind of tongues that they are speaking in, and get free enough themselves that they can enjoy the blessing of doing so as well. 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