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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From the ministry archive

Familiar Sins

Abraham leads his household and a camel away from a city toward sunlit open country.
© By One Spirit Ministries

People love familiarity. They really do, even when they are miserable with what they're familiar with. They re-elect incumbent politicians who have proven harmful, because they are afraid of change. They stay in marriages that they are unhappy with for fear of not knowing what to do if they were on their own. They stay in jobs and careers that they don't enjoy because it is easier than launching out and finding something that they could be excited about. The list goes on, but that point is sufficiently made, so I'll move on to the real point. When God called Abraham, he told him; "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee" (Gen. 12:1). He required him to leave everything that he was familiar with, and to trust him to take him to a better place; a place chosen by God. Whoooo! I hope you just felt what I felt as I finished that sentence. Wow! That has ALWAYS been the calling; to forsake your life and trust God to GIVE you LIFE! (Lk. 17:33) That is the only way anyone has ever been truly baptized with the holy Ghost by the hand of Jesus. That is what is required to begin this journey of faith, and that is what is required to continue, and to endure till the end and be saved (Col. 2:6; Mat. 24:13). God alone knows the hearts of men, and therefore he alone knows when the repentance and faith of someone who is coming to Jesus, is complete and acceptable to him (Acts 15:7,8; Acts 10:44-46). Nobody has ever accepted Jesus, except for his father. He accepts US if and when our offering of repentance and faith is whole (as in a "whole burnt offering" - Rom. 12:1). That is the reason for the sign of speaking in tongues which is synonymous with every new birth experience. It is God's witness of our offering being accepted (I Jn. 5:9; Acts 15:7,8; Acts 10:46). So the new birth experience shows that someone has indeed come out from all their familiarity to be "led by the Spirit of God" to a MUCH better place in life, and also hereafter. And this is how one truly becomes "the seed of Abraham" (Gal. 3:26-29; I Cor. 12:13). And I'm sure you see the parallel between Abraham's trust and faith toward God, and those who experience the real born again experience, which is clearly the baptism of the holy Ghost. And the truth is, people do not receive the Spirit because they simply are not willing to leave all that familiarity behind, and that means familiar sins. In other words they are more comfortable staying with familiar sins, even if they realize that it is destructive to do so, than they are willing to turn over the control of their lives to God. In other words, they just don't trust God to lead them to a "better" place. Simple as that. A certain sister in Christ recalls the day after she received God's Spirit, when two things stayed on her mind all day. One was the word "gulf," meaning that a gulf had been placed between her and her life before that day. The other was a scripture: "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). And it's interesting that she did not even know what she had received, just that she had been seeking God with all her heart. She had not heard any preaching on the baptism of the Spirit, and was not aware of what it was until she met some people shortly thereafter who had the experience also. And once that "gulf" has been placed in our lives, we surely need to keep it IN place.

But just because someone DOES meet God's terms and receives the blessed holy Ghost, that is no guarantee that they will continue in the faith as they began. And sadly, many do not, as Jesus alluded to: "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Mat. 22:14). And this is indeed a very sobering and fear worthy thing, as Jesus again alluded to: "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather OUT OF HIS KINGDOM all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Mat. 13:41,42). So you see, someone could not be "gathered out of his kingdom" unless they were IN the kingdom of God; which means they had experienced the new birth (Jn. 3:3). So the point is that we must CONTINUE to follow the conviciton and leading of God's Spirit into his holiness and his truth till the end, in order to be saved (Rom. 8:14; I Jn. 2:27; Rev. 2:7; Heb. 3:6-12). Now it's interesting to note that the scripture says of Abraham and those who left Ur of the Chaldees with him: "And truly, had they been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned" (Heb. 11:15). And it's also interesting that when God called his people out of Egypt, and their faith began to fail, the scripture says "and in their hearts [they] turned back again into Egypt" (Acts 7:39). The point is that Abraham and those with him COULD HAVE (but weren't) been mindful to return to where they came from, because it is all they knew TO return to. And the Israelites turned back in their hearts to Egypt because that is where they CAME FROM. And when someone begins and continues to fail in the faith of Christ that they began in, they begin to look back to familiar things and familiar sins. There simply is nowhere else TO go. A failing saint who does not repent will undoubtedly go back to the things that they were familiar with before they were in Christ. In such a case, I would go back to the things that I came out of, and likewise you would go back to where you came from. I wouldn't go back to your familiar things, and you would not go back to mine. And when you may get low in spirit, or overwhelmed by some hardship, Satan will bring those old familiar things back to your remembrance, and suggest that there was something nice, and something comfortable about that old familiarity. But my friend, that's as big a lie as it was when he deceived you once to live in that "vomit" (II Pet. 2:22). And that very much includes old associates that were comfortable in that life (or death, rather) with you. Beware my friend, when you are weak, and maybe fail God's holiness, that old familiar things on the other side of that gulf do not begin to seem attractive. But rather heed the scripture that says: "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed" (Heb. 12:12,13). The solution is to become so familiar with God's love, and care, and power, that you simply cannot BUT trust him fully, regardless of who or what comes or goes. And I assure you that there is a place in faith, and in God, where that state absolutely exists (Job 13:15). May God bless.

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