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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Scripture and Love

An open book, oil lamp and olive branch lead the eye toward a dawn-lit path.
© By One Spirit Ministries

"In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death" (Prov. 12:28). I love this scripture because there is so much hope in it. After all, that's what we're aiming for isn't it? To live forever. Not just to live forever, but to live forever without any of the issues we have in this world and with this corruptible body. But I want us to think about that verse a little bit, and see the absolute simplicity of it. While we're thinking about that one, let's take a look at another one like it: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). So between these two verses we see a very clear picture of what it takes to attain unto eternal life,and also what it takes to miss out on that glorious promise. Righteousness equals life, and sin equals death. There simply is no confusion, complexity, or difficulty in that equation. It all means just what it says. Moses said the same thing to the children of Israel after he had declared to them the repeating of the law that they had received: "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deut. 30:15-19). So there's a few more words there then what we see in our text verses, but nonetheless the same simplistic message.

I would like now to look at Romans 6:23 a little closer, because we are told there that not only "the wages of sin are death," but also that "the gift of God is eternal life." Since we are more motivated toward the 'eternal life' end of that spectrum, let's see just what this "gift of God" is that IS in fact eternal life. "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the GIFT of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God" (Acts 10:44-46). So we see that the holy Ghost here is referred to as "the gift," but does that mean THE gift of eternal life? Remember from our text verse that it is in "the way of righteousness [where] there is no death." With that in mind let's look at another key verse in the matter: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but RIGHTEOUSNESS, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17). So in fact it is the Spirit of God which IS the righteousness of God, even as it is the Spirit that is the peace and the joy of the Lord. We have this fact confirmed to us again in another place: "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Eph. 5:9). If that isn't enough then we can look at another verse that goes straight to the point of this whole article: "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the SPIRIT IS [eternal] LIFE because of RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Rom. 8:10). This verse plainly shows us that not only is the holy Ghost the righteousness of God, but that it is also the same Spirit that IS eternal life. Is that not enough for you? Then let's just back up to some verses in the same chapter for even more confirmation of the point: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2). Wow! That one takes us even more full circle to the understanding of the whole matter. He refers to the holy Ghost as "the Spirit OF life," meaning eternal life; and even clarifies that it is the Spirit that frees us from the [nature] of sin. And of course we already know from our text verses that sin equals death, whereas righteousness equals [eternal] life. So it only serves to good reason that it would be 'life' that sets us free from death, and that is exactly what Romans 8:2 says.

So with these things in mind, let's look again at our text verse: "In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death." Seeing the clarity of these things, it is absolutely no wonder that the scripture states the following: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). So where is it that the Spirit of God leads us to? Well, with all that we've read here from the Bible, it certainly is NOT to sin. That means that God's HOLY Spirit only leads us into the HOLINESS, or righteousness of God, because in fact the Spirit IS the righteousness of God. The Bible also shows us that God's Spirit gives us the 'power' to remain clean and free from sin, if we will be led by it (Acts 1:8; I Cor. 4:20). Just to veer from the exact topic for a moment, I would like to make one more point in short order, so as to leave no confusion about the holy Ghost being the eternal life of God. That is what we have seen from the Bible, so let me just point out that the scriptures mean what they say. Jesus clearly said that the Father had given him 'life' even as he [the Father] has life (Jn. 5:26). He also said that he came to provide that same 'life' for us (Jn. 10:10). Naturally the 'life' that is in God, that he gave to the Son to be in him when he begot him, is ETERNAL life, because God is eternal. What this means is that the holy Ghost is not a third person of the 'God family,' but rather it is exactly what we have seen from the scriptures here, and that is the very life substance that dwells in the Father and the Son, and now is made available to dwell in us by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Spirit is the righteous or divine nature of God, and of the Son, and of all those who have and follow after the Spirit. John said it like this: "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is IN his Son [as well as in the Father]. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (I Jn. 5:10). So in conclusion let me just say, Have life, and follow after it. 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