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 Kingdom of God

By Lary R. HaleJanuary 12, 2013

A woman adds leaven to a large bowl of dough while a younger woman watches, with three bowls of flour on a red-covered table. — © By One Spirit Ministries

"Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (Mat. 13:33). In order to understand this parable of Jesus, we must first get the scriptural definition of "the kingdom of heaven," which is to say the kingdom of God: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; BUT righteousness, and peace, and joy IN the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17). Since that verse is self-explanatory let's look at a couple of others: "For the kingdom of God is NOT in word, but in POWER" (I Cor. 4:20). "But ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). So it is evident by consistent confirmation of the scriptures that being in the kingdom of God [heaven] is to receive the holy Ghost into our lives. Being baptized BY Jesus WITH the holy Ghost into the body of Christ is the same exact thing as being born into the kingdom of God (I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:4; Jn. 3:5). And again, this operation takes place by faith in Jesus which results in being filled with his Spirit (Jn. 7:38,39; Gal. 3:14; Col. 2:12). So then, let's get back to the parable of Jesus. It's very simple really, and that is that when we first receive the Spirit, we are a spiritual babe; and what needs to take place is that we continue to grow progressively in the Spirit afterward: "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up INTO HIM in all things, which is the head, even Christ" (Eph. 4:14,15). Notice that I capitalized the "into him" part there, because it is noteworthy that we understand this: "Now the Lord IS that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (II Cor. 3:17). And make no mistake my friend, the "liberty" mentioned here means literal DELIVERANCE from sin: "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall NOT fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). And again: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Rom. 6:6). And just once more for good measure: "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:13). Okay, here is what we have honestly seen laid out to us by the Bible to this point: To be in the kingdom of God is to be baptized by Jesus with the holy Ghost, and by the way, there is no holy Ghost baptism without the sign of speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:4; Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:1-6; Isa. 28:11,12; Mat. 11:28; Acts 3:19; I Cor. 14:21,22). Also, the holy Ghost gives us power to be able to put to death the sinful nature that we were born with. And putting sin to death in the inner man IS the way of growth and development in the Spirit of God. That is HOW we "grow up into him in all things," meaning to grow AWAY from the nature of sin through the power of the Spirit. That is what the scriptures have plainly shown us. If you don't see that, then you are wasting your time reading this article, and that is NOT a good sign of things for you if that is the case; because there has been nothing but wholesome truth and holiness set forth to us here by the scriptures in solid order. And so here is the problem we have today, and it is a VERY BIG ONE: The modern traditions and doctrines of Christianity that are upheld almost universally within the body of Christ have prevented the truth of this parable of Jesus from being fulfilled, both in the lives of God's people, and in the body of Christ as a whole. Actually in this parable the holy Ghost is represented by the leaven, as Jesus states, even though in the scriptures leaven almost always represents sin. Not this time. The three measures of meal represent anyone who has received the Spirit of God in their life.

The point of the parable is that the purpose of someone receiving the Spirit is that they "grow up into him in all things," and thereby attain unto a fuller and more mature unity or oneness with Jesus and the Father; which oneness is by MEANS OF the Spirit (Jn. 17:22-24). But in the "Pentecostal" community, not to mention the other denominations that God's Spirit baptized people have been scattered into; the true baptism of the holy Ghost has been demoted to be a "secondary Christian experience" after one has "gotten saved" or been "born again," AT BEST! My God!! Are you kidding me??!! You are NOT born again, saved, or any such thing, unless and until you have been BAPTIZED; not by man, and not in water, but by JESUS, and that by LIVING WATER!! (Jn. 4:14; Jn. 7:38,39; I Cor. 12:13) So if we put an imaginary "born again" experience before the only REAL born again experience, that can only retard the growth process and potential of someone who receives the Spirit. As my father used to say, "That's as plain as the nose on your face." If we demote the true new birth experience, and promote a lie to be AHEAD OF IT, we are diminishing the power and significance of the experience to the recipient thereof; and thus his growth is significantly stunted. On top of that we also have the universally accepted Christian tradition of sin being something that we cannot truly get free from altogether on the inside. Well, it takes no special wisdom to see that if you do not BELIEVE you can be totally free from sin, you most assuredly WILL NOT BE! The whole mindset of believers in Christ being "sinners saved by grace," regardless of what format you put it in, is just flatly an abomination to God, and a blatant LIE against the truth: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom. 6:1,2). There could not be a more pointed answer that exposes the folly and the falsehood of the entire "sinners saved by grace" ideology that prevails over the entire Christian religion today. The main thing to note in that scripture is, who is the "we" that is mentioned there? It certainly does not include the overwhelming majority of professing "Christians" today who have been comfortably taught that they are "saved" even though they DO "continue in sin," and that so that "grace MAY abound." There is far more to reprove in terms of carnal ordinances being wrongly a part of the worship and service of God universally, and that to the draining of life from God's people who erroneously observe and attribute godly regard to these old covenant ceremonies (Mat. 3:15; Mat. 5:17; Mat. 26:27-29; Lk. 22:15,16; Jn. 4:24; Acts 10:44-46; Rom. 5:1; II Cor. 13:14; Gal. 3:3,24; Gal. 5:4,18; Eph. 2:15; Eph. 4:5; Philip. 3:3; Col. 2:14); etc.). Then there is the "salvation at the beginning of your faith" error which Christianity also exalts, though it is obviously against what the scriptures consistently and plainly show (Mat. 24:12, 13; Rom. 13:11; Heb. 3:6,14; Heb. 4:1,11; Heb. 6:11-15; I Pet. 1:9; etc.). Then there is the idolatry of "the Bible is the word of God," even though the Bible itself plainly tells us WHAT the word of God truly is, and it is NOT the scriptures (Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17; Rev. 2:7; Prov. 8:6-8; Jer. 13:8; Hos. 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Zeph. 1:1; etc.). And this erroneous school of thought has crippled the body of Christ from HEARING and receiving the REAL word of God, which word of God is ALWAYS confirmed consistently BY THE SCRIPTURES! So there you have it my friend, in part at least, as to why the parable of the leaven has NOT been fulfilled in the lives of God's people, and in the body of Christ on the whole. Nevertheless, if you embrace the truths that you have seen set forth here by the scriptures, and forsake the errors that have also been exposed herein, you CAN fulfill the parable of the leaven and be whole in the Spirit of God to his glory! I don't know about you, but that is my sole purpose in this life, and I intend to see it through till the end; and that by means of "purifying [my] soul in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren" (I Pet. 1:22). And that love includes speaking the truth for the sake of those who will hear, knowing at the same time that many will reject it. God bless.

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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