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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I have a few notes tonight on why we must be baptized with the holy Ghost

By Lary R. HaleDecember 30, 2015

A family and friends pray together in a room filled with pearl and cyan light, representing new birth and unity in the Spirit. — © By One Spirit Ministries

I have a few notes tonight on why we must be baptized with the holy Ghost. A lot of God's people over the past century or so have been progressively realizing that the baptism of the holy Ghost with the sign of speaking in tongues that accompanies it, is a must have for believers. That's good, but there is a major missing element about why we need the Spirit baptism, that is stifling and preventing "the unity of the Spirit" in the body of Christ (Eph. 4:3). The modern tradition among almost everyone who has the Spirit baptism and allows for the Spirit baptism, is that it is needed for empowerment of ministry. We should really look at that mindset and see what it is actually saying. Here's what I mean: What do we actually have if we do NOT have empowerment for ministry? Well, considering that the scripture tells us that "the kingdom of God is not in word [only], but in power," it tells me we have a ministry and a Gospel that is apart from the true kingdom of God. Now that's not me reading anything into anything, it's just me comparing modern Pentecostal/Charismatic tradition with the truth of the scriptures. It would be wise also to note that Jesus said, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). Jesus just so happened to make that statement immediately after instructing his followers to wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the holy Ghost that he was going to send back to them after he went back to heaven (Acts 1:4,5). What that tells us is that there is no such thing as 'receiving' the holy Ghost apart from or before being 'baptized' with the holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. But to be doubly certain, Jesus made it clearly known that nobody could receive the Spirit in any way, shape, or form until after he went back to heaven (Jn. 7:38,39; Jn. 16:7). Now let's get back to this thing about the kingdom of God, and about how there is no Gospel apart from the kingdom of God and the power, or empowerment thereof. Jesus gave the believing Pharisee Nicodemus some real straight talk when he came to find out what Jesus was up to: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (Jn. 3:5). Now please don't read water baptism into that statement like so many are prone to do. That is another modern tradition that has absolutely no element of truth to it. Water baptism never came up in that discussion, but being born of a woman's womb did; so let's not put two and two together and somehow come up with fifteen.

But to the point, Jesus plainly equated 'receiving' the Spirit of God with 'being born again' into the kingdom of God. That is what's there. That also goes to a very emphatic statement made by the apostle Paul: "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9). Once again allow me to say, there is absolutely nothing in the scriptures that even implies that someone can 'receive' the holy Ghost before being 'baptized' with the holy Ghost. Neither is there anything in the Bible about any two or three step process of receiving God's Spirit. Jesus made it abundantly clear that faith in him results in being filled with or baptized with his Spirit (Jn. 7:38,39). In saying that I should probably note also that there is nothing even remotely scriptural about the notion that being 'filled' with the Spirit is something other that being 'baptized' with the Spirit, as some hold to. That is simply not in the scriptures anywhere. In fact Jesus told his followers before he ascended to heaven, to wait to be BAPTIZED with the holy Ghost, and several days later when he sent the Spirit back to them the scripture plainly says that they "were all FILLED with the holy Ghost..." (Acts 1:4,5; Acts 2:4). The idea that we "get saved" by our initial faith in Christ, and sometime afterward we can be baptized with the holy Ghost, simply cannot be found in the Bible because it is not in the Bible. The one forerunner who was sent to introduce Jesus to Israel and to tell the purpose of his coming, never said a word about anything that is upheld by modern tradition in the body of Christ, but he did say this: "There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" (Mk. 1:7,8). "Getting saved" is not the biblical new birth, but being baptized by Jesus with the life, and love, and power of his Spirit IS! Not convinced yet? Well how about this? "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, 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). As one dear brother said many years ago, "No wonder Bro. Lary calls his ministry 'By One Spirit!'" That's right, and the reason my ministry is called 'By One Spirit' is simply because Jesus Christ came from heaven to ultimately be nailed to a tree to die a slow, agonizing death; so that he could take our sins away by means of baptizing and washing our inner man with the living waters of his holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:11).

If we can't be in the one body of Christ unless and until we are baptized with the Spirit, and that IS what the quoted scripture says; then where the heck ARE we if we're 'saved' BEFORE being baptized with the holy Ghost? Gets kind of confusing doesn't it? That's because the doctrines and traditions of men always get confusing when compared to the plain truth of the scriptures. Friends, we simply are not 'in Christ' until Jesus baptizes us into him, and him into us, by means of his Spirit: "For as many of you as have been baptized INTO Christ have put on Christ... Now the Lord IS that Spirit" (Gal. 3:27; II Cor. 3:17). That's really pretty plain, don't you think? Knowing we are not 'in Christ' until he baptizes us into him, the following scripture takes us a step further: "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). All we have to do to see the truth of what I'm saying here, is to flip that scripture around backward, and it says this: "If any man is NOT in Christ, he is NOT a new creature: old things are still there, and behold, NOTHING becomes new." Now we know that's not much fun, so we should just leave it at what the Bible clearly shows us, and it clearly shows us that we are not in Christ unless we are baptized with the holy Ghost. Yeah, I know it means letting go of "getting saved," and I know it eliminates water baptism from the equation; and I know it just wrecks a whole bunch of modern Christian tradition. And of course I know that it makes me stand out like a sore thumb among God's people, which I'm quite accustomed to needless to say. But I ALSO know that eliminating man and his religious inventions from this Gospel makes Jesus and the suffering he accomplished for us, ALL IN ALL! I'm certain in fact that not only do the scriptures bear witness to this truth from every angle, but also that Jesus is worthy to be the only man responsible to baptize anyone into himself, and himself into them. So the evident scriptural conclusion of the matter is that we must indeed have the baptism of the holy Ghost with its accompanying sign of speaking in tongues, simply because we are not born again UNTIL we have it; which means our sins are not taken away without it. That is what the multitude of scriptures quoted and referenced in this article altogether show us. 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