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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The Spirit Is the Word

By Lary R. HaleNovember 9, 2014

A reader lifts her gaze from scripture toward a luminous sky. — © By One Spirit Ministries

I am still thinking today about the Bible and about the word of God. I would like to explain in just a little more detail exactly what the difference between the two are. The fact that the Bible is not the word of God, and is something ‘different’ than the word of God, BY NO MEANS is to imply or state that the scriptures are in any way CONTRARY to the word of God. In fact, if the word of God comes to someone it will and MUST ALWAYS be able to be confirmed by consistent evidence of the scriptures. Anyone who watches our ministry page here on facebook, or anyone who is familiar with the ministry that God has committed to me in ANY venue; knows that my preaching and writing is basically NOTHING BUT scripture confirming scripture confirming scripture. That is the way the holy Ghost has taught me to preach from the beginning, and it just happens to be the same way that Jesus and the apostles preached. In fact that is how the new testament scriptures were written, by confirming the truth of Jesus and the new testament through old testament scripture; and that brings me to the point of today’s post. The following scripture is one that is misunderstood by many who hold to the mindset that the Bible is the word of God: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Tim. 3:16). I actually had a comment on yesterday’s article where someone quoted that scripture erroneously, in order to support their traditional thought on the matter. He actually quoted the above scripture as, [“The Bible is the Word of God (written) and Living. Through the bible we find truths and examples. 2Tim 3:16.”] Wow! I don’t know whether he came up with that himself, or whether he got it from some perverse Christian translation; but I DO know that it is not what that verse says. But now I’m going to reference a passage that I quoted in part in yesterday’s article, that will open the door to us to put the preceding scripture in it’s true context and understanding: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of ANY PRIVATE INTERPRETATION. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Pet. 1:20,21). THAT IS THE WHOLE THING MY FRIEND!! OF COURSE “all scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Webster’s theological definition of ‘inspiration’ is, “A divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.” And that is exactly what Peter was saying, that the scriptures were written by those who were “moved by the holy Ghost.” It is the holy Ghost that is the word of God, not the scriptures, which Jesus attested to as well: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the SPIRIT SAITH unto the [congregations]” (Rev. 3:13).

The apostle Paul confirmed that the Spirit is the word of God as well: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the SPIRIT, which IS the word of God” (Eph. 6:17). A simple grammatical breakdown of that passage will show that it is “the Spirit” that is being said to be the word of God. The scriptures are a written account of the fact that the word of God did come to the writers of the Bible. But here is the problem: If you think that the Bible is the word of God, it leaves the door open to a “private interpretation,” which the SCRIPTURE says is forbidden The truth of the Gospel is not a variable thing in the mind of God, or of his Son, who are in “one mind and one accord” in all things (Jas. 1:17; Jn. 17:22). So how is it that man has divided the Gospel into ten thousand versions, and there is nothing but division in the body of Christ? Because everyone thinks that the Bible is the word of God, and everyone has THEIR OWN INTERPRETATION of what supposedly is the word of God. Sound confusing? Yeah, and with good reason, or actually I should say bad reason. The fact remains that the word of God CANNOT be read or written. It has to be HEARD and EXPERIENCED! There is no such thing as the “written word of God.” My friend, the word of God is what it is, and it is ABSOLUTE TRUTH. Period. It is not subject to man’s interpretation of the scriptures. Anyone can make anything they want to make out of what is written, but when God’s word comes to a person, it is exactly what it is - ABSOLUTE TRUTH. Unless your READING of the scriptures is INSPIRED by the holy Ghost, you will never know what you are reading about. You can think anything you like about the scriptures, but there is only one way to truly understand what is written, and that is by THE WORD OF GOD COMING TO YOU!! The beloved apostle said it very simply this way: “But the ANOINTING which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same ANOINTING TEACHETH you of all things, and IS TRUTH, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (I Jn. 2:27). Again we see that it is THE SPIRIT [anointing] that must impart divine understanding to us, which divine understanding IS the word of God. In the testimony of Wisdom, or the Word of God in Proverbs 8, which is actually the testimony of the Son of God; we read the following: “I AM understanding” (Prov. 8:14; I Cor. 1:30).

It is the ANOINTING that John mentioned, which is the SPIRIT, that truly is the word of God. And as he also stated, it is that anointing that we MUST be taught by. In fact, that anointing IS the Lord Jesus Christ who himself IS the Word of God, as the following passage shows us: “Now the Lord IS that SPIRIT” (II Cor. 3:17; Jn. 1:1; Rev. 19:13). In closing I would like to note that this faulty thinking about the scriptures being the word of God is not new, and it is not harmless in the least. The devil used scripture, unchanged at that, to tempt Jesus to do evil (Mat. 4:6). Was THAT the word of God? Not unless Satan momentarily switched places with God. In fact one of Satan’s favorite past times is to quote scripture, but when he does so, it is NEVER the word of God because it is ALWAYS with misunderstanding. When Jesus came here, the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Chief Priests, etc., knew the scriptures backward and forward, and inside out. These people were so well versed in the scriptures that they undoubtedly could quote many chapters consecutively by heart. And these were the people that Jesus said the following to: “Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye CANNOT HEAR MY WORD” (Jn. 8:43). And the real clincher: ” And ye have not HIS WORD abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye THINK ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will NOT COME TO ME, that ye might have life” (Jn. 5:38-40). The very embodiment of the scriptures, meaning the Word of God that they CLAIMED to believe was walking and talking among them, and they rejected him. And how did they justify their rejection of the Son of God? BY THE SCRIPTURES! He was constantly accused of breaking the sabbath because they had their own idea of what breaking the sabbath meant. Eventually he was condemned for blasphemy because they had their own idea of what blasphemy was. Breaking the sabbath and blaspemy were both in the scriptures, but they had a private interpretation of ‘the word.’ They claimed their righteousness by means of Moses and the law because they had their own interpretation of Moses and the law. These were scriptural truths, but the truth is they were WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING; meaning that they were void of the word of God, as Jesus said. And those who hold to the claim of the Bible being the word of God today, are being conditioned to thereby not “hear what the Spirit saith unto the [congregations].” So the question is, do YOU really want to know the true word of God? Well here’s a good place to start: “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). 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