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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Baptized by One Spirit

A woman prays beside a flourishing olive sapling as gentle light reaches her heart.
© By One Spirit Ministries

In much of my preaching through the years I have called the Gospel that God has given us through his Son Jesus Christ, 'the Gospel of the heart.' Let me explain what I mean by that. First of all it is the heart that believes the word of God, not the mind. I'm not saying the mind necessarily rejects everything it hears, but it is not the mind that must hear and believe the report of the Gospel. The apostle Paul said it most simply: "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness" (Rom. 10:10). It is also the heart that is purified, or sanctified by faith in Jesus, through the experience of faith known as the baptism of the holy Ghost (Mk. 1:7,8; Jn. 7:38,39;Acts 1:4;5; Gal. 3:14). Peter gave us the straight up answer on this one when he described what happened to Cornelius the Centurion and his household when they believed Peter's preaching on Jesus, and were subsequently baptized BY Jesus with the holy Ghost: "And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8,9). That is quite a significant point, considering the weight of what Jesus said about the heart in regard to salvation: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they [only] shall see God" (Mat. 5:8). In light of these sayings it is obviously the heart that John was speaking of when he made the following monumental statement, also in regard to salvation: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (I Jn. 3:2,3). Again in regard to salvation, Jesus said that it is an honest heart that our continued growth and fruitfulness is dependent on: "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience" (Lk. 8:15). It is also the heart that receives the love of God from heaven by the same holy Ghost: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. 5:5). There's no way we can undervalue that statement, considering what we are told elsewhere about having the love of God in our lives, and being motivated by it in our deeds: "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not [love], it profiteth me nothing" (I Cor. 3:3).

Considering the utmost importance of having and maintaining the love of God in our lives, I believe one more quote should be given to emphasize the point: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Gal. 5:14). I'm sure we all realize that we do all of our feeling, in terms of inner feeling, with our hearts. It is that aspect of feeling that the apostle Paul was referring to in the following passage: "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness" (Eph. 4:18,19). If we harden our hearts against the holy Ghost through disobedience, the above description is what can happen to us. That reality should put the following scripture in top priority status for every believer: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). It is also no doubt that it was the keeping of our hearts that Peter was speaking of, when he told us, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (I Pet. 5:8). We feel with our hearts and we are made in the image of God, so it is certain that God feels with his heart as well. Our top priority should be to keep our hearts pure so that we can feel God's heart with our hearts, by means of his Spirit that he has given us. That is how we learn to love one another with God's love rather than with a misguided human love. And again, that is our entire calling when it's all said and done, or at least that is what Jesus told us: "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as [the same way] I have loved you" (Jn. 15:12). Also in the end we will all be judged according to our works, and our works are undoubtedly motivated by our hearts (II Cor. 5:10; I Cor. 4:5; Rom. 2:16; Heb. 4:12). After our hearts are initially purified by the holy Ghost, our biggest task is to catch up our minds with the state of our hearts. So it is the purified heart that the mind needs to learn to think like, and not the other way around. Just as we saw from Romans 10:10 that it is the heart that believes unto righteousness, by the same token it is impossible for anyone to find God through their mind. That is what the apostle Paul was speaking of in the following passage: "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (I Cor. 1:21).

The heart is able to believe, but the mind is not. The mind wants to figure things out, but God cannot be figured out, period. It is the reality of God's grace and power that our hearts experience by faith in Jesus, that the mind needs to come under subjection to. When we learn how to do that then we will begin to develop what the scriptures call "the mind of Christ" (I Cor. 2:16). Having the mind of Christ is our greatest weapon for fending off the devil's tricks that are designed to bring our hearts under subjection to his spirit, and to sin. The knowledge of the scriptures and of doctrine are our most valuable tools for developing the mind of Christ, and I'm certain that this is the motivation for one of the most overlooked verses of scripture in the new testament writings: "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee" (I Tim. 4:16). That's a mighty powerful statement by the apostle Paul to Timothy, and he gave him another one like it later: "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3:14-16). It's certain these are some really significant passages of scripture, but there is one thing that I love to stress in regard to studying the Bible, and that brings me full circle to the whole point of this writing. Like Jesus said, if we are going to be "good ground" in terms of our spirits receiving and nurturing the word of God, which is to say what his Spirit is saying to us; we must keep "a good and honest heart." We can study the Bible forward and backward, and memorize everything in it if we're able; but if our HEART is not humble and honest, and willing to see things God's way, it will only work against us. As I began the article, so will I end it: It all comes down to the state of our heart. The mind must be the servant of the heart, and not vice-versa. 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