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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Today I have a few words on two priests, two baptisms, and two remissions of sins

John in a coarse brown garment gestures toward Jesus, who stands with open hands before a prayerful gathering under light and a white dove.
© By One Spirit Ministries

Today I have a few words on two priests, two baptisms, and two remissions of sins. Okay, so to the point: John the Baptist was a priest. I don't know if a lot of people realize that, but in Luke 1:5 we see that his father Zacharias was a priest, and that means that John was also a priest. God chose John to be the man to introduce Jesus to Israel, and to tell of why Jesus was coming. And he just happened to be the ONLY man God sent for this purpose. He was mentioned in the old testament scriptures several times, and in fact Jesus said of John; "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist" (Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1; Mal. 4:5; Mat. 11:14; Mat. 11:11). Now here's where it starts getting really good. God sent John to do two things, one was to baptize in water, and the other was to tell that God's Son was coming as well (Mk. 1:4,7,8). Well, there is another detail, but let's go with what we have and come back to that detail in a bit. What was John's baptism for, or what was actually the function of it? "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Mk. 1:4). "Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins" (Mat. 3:5,6). The baptism that God sent John to baptize with was for the remission of sins [for that time]. That is why the people came to his baptism confessing theirs sins. Under the old covenant, anyone who wanted to obtain remission of their sins had to take a sin offering to the tabernacle to the priest, who in turn offered it on the altar of sacrifice (Lev. 4:27:35). It was only the business of the priests to deal with the offerings made by anyone for sin. And again, John was a priest of the Levitical priesthood, and that is why God appointed him with this baptism for the remission of sins, in order to introduce Jesus. It was a new thing, and it was a very gracious thing that God did not have to do. Yet he provided this very up close and personal shadow type of what he was sending Jesus for, and made sure that the messenger got the simplistic point across. God really didn't want anyone to miss the point of why he was sending his Son. He could have just let it suffice that the high priest on the day of atonement was a type of Jesus and what he was going to do (Heb. 9:7-12). But he decided in his goodness and love to make it even clearer. Now John was a priest under the law, and his baptism was a "work of the law." Jesus came to fulfill the law, and he made it clear when he came to John's baptism, that it was for the purpose of fulfilling the law that he was coming to be baptized (Mat. 5:17; Mat. 3:13-15). Two more significant things that the scriptures show us are that Jesus did not baptize while on earth, and that he could not be a priest while he was on earth (Jn. 4:2; Heb. 8:4). And as we will go ahead to see from the Bible, both of these omissions from his earthly ministry were intertwined and for the same reason and purpose.

Okay, let's go back to that detail in John's message that I left out: "And [John] preached, saying, 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). Do you know that baptizing with the holy Ghost is the only thing that John said Jesus was going to do? Maybe that is because of what God told John: "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him [Jesus]. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost" (Jn. 1:32,33). No wonder that is all John had to say about the purpose of Jesus' coming. So here's what it comes down to: Jesus, like John, is a priest; but not of the old covenant Levitical order: "We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Heb. 8:1,2). Jesus could not be a priest on earth, because as the scripture states, "there were priests according to the law" (Heb. 8:4). So Jesus is a priest like John was a priest, but of the new covenant, and of the heavenly order. In like manner Jesus is also a baptizer like John was, but of the new covenant, with a heavenly, spiritual baptism (Jn. 4:13,14; Jn. 7:37-39). Jesus did not baptize while on earth for the exact same reason that he was not a priest on earth; because there were baptizers according to the law [John, his disciples, and Jesus' apostles]. And that brings us to this: If John's baptism was for the remission of sins at that time under the old covenant, and we have seen that it was; then Jesus' baptism is for the remission of sins under the new covenant. There is no other possibility unless we care to accuse God of being "the author of confusion." John and his baptism were for the express purpose of leading the way to Jesus and his baptism, because the baptism that Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for; is the only thing that has ever truly taken away sin (Jn. 3:30; I Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:5). That is why when Jesus ascended back to heaven, his last instructions were for his followers to wait for the baptism of the holy Ghost. He also reminded them at that time of how John's baptism led to him and his baptism (Acts 1:4,5). When Jesus ascended back to the heavenly sanctuary, it was to offer himself before God, both as the high priest, and as the sacrifice; in order to obtain the remission of sins UNDER THE NEW COVENANT for all that truly believed, and would believe on him (Heb. 9:11,12,24-26). And the apostle Paul certified us that the baptism of the holy Ghost was and is the witness of this heavenly fact (Heb. 10:14-17). That is the experience that was received by believers after Jesus went back to heaven (Acts 2:1-4). So what this very evident scriptural and spiritual truth means is that all of the supposed methodologies of Christianity that serve as the remission of sins and new birth, are utterly false, modern religious inventions of man. Anything that is recognized as the remission of sins or new birth, other than the Spirit baptism with it's heavenly witness of "speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance;" is idolatrous and an utter denial of what Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for. "Getting saved," "accepting the Lord as your personal savior," "confessing Jesus as Lord," and all the like; are nothing but filthy abominations to God that leave those who trust in these teachings in sin. Not only so, but water baptism has been dead and buried in the sight of God for 1979 years to date, and it is also idolatrous to continue with a practice that God's Son gave his life to fulfill. He alone has earned the right to be the ONLY new testament baptizer (I Cor. 1:17; I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:5). No wonder the scripture clearly says, "Now if any man HAVE NOT the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9). 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