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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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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John 3:17

A woman offers water and gentle care to a weary neighbor.
© By One Spirit Ministries

John 3:17 Lary R. Hale

It’s probably the most famous scripture in the Bible, and for good reason. It pretty much tells the Gospel story in one verse. You see it in stadiums at football games on TV, and just about anywhere that there’s a lot of exposure someone will have it on a sign. I’m talking about John 3:16 of course, and just for accuracy’s sake, here’s how it goes: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Monumentally great verse, yet it’s the verse after that one that I find myself referring to so often when speaking with people about the Gospel. And it is in fact John 3:17 that I feel SO many of God’s people need to focus on a lot more. For the record, this is how that one reads: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Yes, that verse tells a really big, and a really overlooked story. That story is the story of God’s mercy, the motivating factor that sent Jesus into this world. In September of 1983 the Lord imparted through prophecy a gift of revelation knowledge to me through one of his humble servants that I met only that one time. That was enough. That gift began to operate prolifically a few weeks after that night, and probably the most overriding truth that God’s Spirit revealed to me in those first few months was this: The earmark of erroneous doctrine is a judgmental spirit, and the earmark of the truth is a merciful spirit. That actually makes perfect sense, seeing that every seed bears forth fruit after its own kind. In fact it can’t be any other way. As it is written, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psm. 85:10). For instance, the most erroneous religion in the history of the world is the abomination of Islam, and it is very clear that its most devout followers are both ultra-religious and ultra-unmerciful. The wicked brutality that has been going on in Syria recently is not an abberation to the religion, but rather the norm. They have proved that by murdering their own kind who are ‘backslidden’ from the hard, brutal, vastly unmerciful nature of the religion. But Islam is only the most exaggerated example of how erroneous 'belief’ about God produces an unmerciful spirit.

God’s people are not being deceived by Islam, at least not as yet. Unfortunately there will be more to come on that issue in the not so distant future. For the time being it is the erroneous teachings about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ that have damaged God’s sheep, and have produced a widespread lack of mercy in the body of Christ. Any unmerciful, condemning spirit is just a scaled down version of what is readily and fully seen in Islam. And this condition is nothing new, as the ancient prophet Hosea reminds us: “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land” (Hos. 4:1). There are a couple of rules of thumb to go by when it comes to mercy, and Jesus demonstrated perfectly what those rules are. There are those who are deemed worthy of showing mercy to, and those who are to be sharply rebuked for their lack of mercy. Those who are haplessly weak and undone are in line to be shown mercy, as well as those who are trying to get it right, but may be struggling. When the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who they had caught in the act of adultery, hoping that he would condemn her, he overthrew their judgmental spirits with godly wisdom: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her… And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (Jn. 8:7,9-11). The Pharisees were certainly not of a merciful spirit, and in another place Jesus gave them a stern rebuke for being so: “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Mat. 12:7).

Those who are condemning others that they deem less enlightened than themselves are worthy of that same rebuke today, and the holy Ghost will lead the righteous to give it to them. The same holy Ghost will lead the righteous in a merciful spirit toward those who are failing or fallen due to weakness or ignorance, while the judgmental will try to finish them off with scorning. At the same time, the judgmental will accuse the righteous of being judgmental for rebuking their unmerciful ways. It’s nothing but an attempt to cover their sins by accusing the righteous of their own sins.These modern religious zealots had better remember the admonition of the ancient proverb that addressed the issue with simplicity of truth: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). If they won’t hear that then they better beware lest they end up on the wrong end of this saying: “For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought” (Isa. 29:20,21). We’re heading into the home stretch of all things being fulfilled my friend, and if we aren’t being conditioned by the holy Ghost to the true nature of God that sent Jesus to this world to save that which was lost, we are heading for very big trouble indeed. Regarding the end of days, Jesus said it this way: “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Mat. 10:21,22). Those are some seriously sobering words from the Master, and it’s going to take more than a zeal for 'Christian’ religion to not end up on the wrong side of that coin. It’s going to take some sure fire “sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth;” and it’s going to take a boat load of God’s merciful love that is the sum of that equation (II Thess. 2:13). Peter put these elements together perfectly: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (I Pet. 1:22). There is no 'deeper light’ than that my friend, and there is no other 'truth.’ Amen.

From the Preserved Writings of Lary R. Hale

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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