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 into One Body

Raphael-inspired oil painting of six men and women in a Jerusalem upper room, looking upward with open mouths and prayerful hands beneath a shared light and small flames above their heads.
© By One Spirit Ministries

I have something fairly short and to the point today, yet it is as integral to the spiritual and physical healing of the body of Christ as anything can be. "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). Let's quote that one more time for emphasis: "For - by - one- Spirit - are - we - all - baptized - into - one - body..." We'll leave it there since that is really the point. Do you realize how incredibly powerful and revealing that one verse truly is, and how much universally accepted religious tradition that it dispels? What that one scripture tells us is that there is only one way for anyone to get into the "one body" of Christ, the only congregation of God in this world (Eph. 4:4). And that one way is exactly what the scripture says it is - The baptism of the holy Ghost. Not water baptism, but as the scripture states, the baptism of the Spirit. This is the same holy Ghost baptism that John the Baptist said Jesus was coming to provide, and likewise it was the same Spirit baptism that Jesus commanded his followers to wait for, just before he left (Mk. 1:7,8; Acts 1:4,5). And it is the same baptism of the holy Ghost that fell on about 120 of his followers who followed his last instructions. It is also the same Spirit baptism that moved all of those 120 to "speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4). And that sign has never been removed from the experience, or at least not by God. Everyone who has received the experience knows that for personal fact, and every time the Spirit baptism is received by a hungry, believing soul, that scriptural truth is confirmed. There simply is no such thing as receiving the holy Ghost without the sign that God provided to go along with this new birth experience that Jesus suffered and died for. Speaking with other tongues is God's witness that someone has truly and fully repented, and truly and fully believed on, and relied on his Son for the remission of their sins (Isa. 28:11,12; Mat. 11:28; Acts 3:19; I Jn. 5:6,9; Jn. 15:26).

Now let's look at what this scriptural reality really means to us today. The body of Christ is the only thing that a true believer in Christ can be a part of in this life, that is of God. The body of Christ is in the kingdom of God, and in fact we are told that "the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy, IN THE HOLY GHOST" (Rom. 14:17). So it is clearly evident that being "born of the Spirit" into the kingdom of God is the exact same thing as being baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (Jn. 3:5,6; I Cor. 12:13; Rom. 14:17). What this means is that the Christian traditions of "getting saved," "accepting the Lord as your personal savior," and "confessing Jesus as Lord," are all erroneous and not at all in conformity with scriptural truth. Don't misunderstand me, we don't want to "get lost," or "deny Jesus as our savior," or "refuse to confess Jesus as Lord." The problem is that Christianity uses these phrases as a means of being converted to Christ. These terminologies represent to the entire Christian world a born again experience, when in fact there is no such born again experience in the Bible. These are shortcuts into Christ that anyone can do, but the truth is none of these things get ANYONE into Christ. If you will recall, the Bible says that the holy Ghost baptism is the ONLY way anyone can get into Christ. And it is obvious according to the scriptures that getting into Christ is the new birth experience: "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). There it is my friend, no one can become a "new creature" apart from getting into Christ, and there is nobody in Christ who was not baptized by the Spirit to get there. If this foundational truth can be acknowledged by all of God's people, or at least by a large number; and the false "new births" of Christianity be put away like the idols and "high places" of old testament times, we will see the beginning of unity and healing in the body of Christ. That is a guarantee. 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