Shabbat Shalom

Candace Long: Good morning and welcome to Shabbat Shalom. I'm Candace Long, your host and producer. Before Pastor Matt comes to teach today's Torah portion, I want to acknowledge that today we are celebrating the appointed festival of Shavuot, which means "weeks" and is commonly referred to as the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.

It follows the tradition of counting the Omer for 49 days, which are described in Leviticus 23 as seven perfect weeks. This is how long it took for God's people to leave Egypt and become pure enough to stand before him at Mount Sinai and receive the Torah. It also depicts the giving of Holy Spirit in Acts 2 after followers of Yeshua counted the Omer for 49 days following our Lord's resurrection. I'll be teaching about Shavuot next hour.

Today's Torah portion, Nasso, means "elevate the head." Numbers 4 through 7 is one of my favorite passages because the Lord began teaching me the responsibilities of the three Levitical families, which inspired my book, "The Levitical Calling." It's here that we learn what many of us will be doing in the Messianic Kingdom serving the Lord as priests.

Now, if possible, I'd like you to download my handout on shabbatshalomradio.com. Click the link at the top that says "Candace Long Handout." I'll refer to it throughout today's program. Turn to page five and you'll see the Levitical encampment, which is filled with insight because it shows how God wants to live among his people.

The Levites live closest to the Tabernacle and the 12 tribes are positioned a little further away. Nasso records the separate census of the Levitical families. We learned about the Kohathites last week, so today's emphasis is on the Gershonites and Merarites lifting up their heads to be counted.

The word "Nasso" means to lift up or elevate the head. The Hebrew meaning is that they are to raise themselves up and advance their positions so they can bear or carry certain things as their service, a word that means their specific ministry assignment. You'll notice the Shabbat Shalom logo shows Kohathites carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

Each Levite is to carry or bear the burden of something unique. Now, the word "burden" is interesting in Hebrew. It doesn't just mean to carry something physically that's heavy, like part of the Tabernacle, but it also means to carry inside you an utterance, like a prophetic word that you've been given to say or teach or sing.

Remember, the Levites were the ones charged with the music during the sacrificial services. So, I want you to begin to think of Levites as charged with carrying something the Lord wants said or sung. As a Levite, I can assure you these divine expressions take a long time to birth. Everything I ever felt burdened to write or to compose, to sing, to teach, has taken what sometimes has been a lifetime to express.

If you have carried around something inside you that you felt burdened to say or teach or preach or express or sing, and you have been continually squelched, blocked, and ignored, rest easy, my friends. You are a Levite learning how to carry what God put inside you. It may never have been given to be heard in this life, but it will be heard in the world to come.

Let's recite the Shema together. Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Ehad. Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one. Barukh shem k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed. Blessed is the name of his glorious kingdom for all eternity.

And the last section: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I set up for you this day shall be upon your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children. You shall speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the way, when you lie down and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm and as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and in your gates.

Pastor Matt McKeown: Good morning once again, friends, and welcome to Shabbat Shalom, the radio program where we explore the Jewish roots of our faith and discover how the Torah still speaks powerfully into our lives today. This week's Torah portion is Parashat Nasso, and right away, the name itself carries a powerful meaning.

The word Nasso means to lift up, to carry, to bear, or to take account. This is interesting because last week in Parashat Bamidbar, we saw God counting his people. In Nasso, we see something deeper, because when God lifts up someone, it's not just about recognition. It's about responsibility. In other words, if God counts you, and we say that in Hebrew as a lifting up, then he also entrusts you. That's where this Torah portion begins.

It begins with the Levites. Remember, the Levites were set apart. They weren't counted among the fighting men. They had a different calling, a sacred calling. But in Nasso, we see that calling get very specific, very practical, very real. Each family within the tribe of Levi is given a task, a responsibility, a burden to carry.

The family of Gershon carries the fabrics, the curtains, the coverings of the temple. The family of Merari carries the structure, the frames, the poles, the foundation pieces. And then the family of Kohath, they carry the most sacred objects: the ark, the menorah, and the altar. Think about that. No one carries everything, but everyone carries something.

And that's the point. God does not call his people to spectate. He calls them to participate. Our local rabbi, Rabbi Dr. Bruce Tucker at Congregation Beth Judah, likes to say, "None of us is as strong as all of us." Or, "None of us is as spiritual as all of us." All of us have a duty, and when we come together, it's somehow bigger than the sum of the parts.

That's something that we need to hear today because I think it's easy to come into faith and think that following God is just about receiving: receiving forgiveness, receiving blessing, receiving direction. But Parashat Nasso reminds us that following God is also about carrying, carrying responsibility, carrying calling, carrying what God has placed in your hands.

Now, here's something important. Not all burdens are the same. Some are visible, some are hidden. Some seem more significant than others, but in God's eyes, they're all essential, because the Tabernacle could not function if any one group failed to carry their part. If Gershon did not carry the coverings, there's no tent. If Merari didn't carry the structure, there's no framework. And if Kohath didn't carry the sacred objects, there's no worship.

Everything matters, and the same is true for us. In the body of believers, we all have different roles, different callings, different assignments, but we're all part of the same mission. Here's where it gets personal: What has God asked you to carry? Not what someone else is carrying, not what looks impressive to carry, not what gets attention, but what has God placed in your life?

Because your calling is not random. It's intentional. Here's the challenge: Sometimes what God asks us to carry feels heavy. Sometimes it feels inconvenient. Sometimes it feels unseen. Sometimes it feels like no one else notices. But that doesn't make it less important. In fact, often the most sacred things are done quietly.

Let's take this one step deeper because the word Nasso doesn't just mean to carry. It also means to lift up. That gives us a beautiful picture because when you carry what God has given you, you are actually being lifted: lifted into purpose, lifted into calling, lifted into alignment with him. That changes how we see our burdens because they're no longer just weights. They're assignments. They're opportunities, responsibilities. They're part of how God shapes us.

For us as believers, this connects beautifully to the New Testament because Jesus, Yeshua, says something that echoes this idea: "Take my yoke upon you." A yoke is something you carry. It's a burden. But then he says, "My yoke is easy, my burden is light." Now, that sounds like a contradiction. How can something be a burden and yet be light?

As we continue in this parasha, we move into a difficult and often misunderstood section of the Torah. It's a passage of what's known as the Sotah. At first glance, this passage feels uncomfortable because it deals with suspicion, with jealousy, and the possibility of unfaithfulness in a marriage, the unfaithful wife or the wife suspected of being unfaithful.

If we're not careful, we can miss the heart of what God is doing here, because this passage is not about control or oppression. It's about something deeper. It's about how God cares about what is hidden. The scenario is this: A husband suspects his wife of being unfaithful, but there's no proof, no witnesses, no evidence, just suspicion.

Now, in a human system, this can become very dangerous because suspicion without proof can lead to accusation, injustice, and abuse of power. But God steps in and he creates a process, a way to bring the situation before him. This, according to Jewish tradition, is carried out once a woman multiple times has been warned not to be in a place alone with a man that's not her husband.

If she continues to do this, and remember, the scripture says we should avoid even the appearance of evil, then this ceremony is meted out. The woman is brought to the priest, and this special ritual is performed, and the outcome is placed in God's hands. Again, this can feel strange to us. But here's what we need to understand: This process protects the woman. Instead of allowing the husband to act on suspicion alone, the matter is taken out of his control and any human control, and it's placed under divine authority.

God becomes the judge, and that is a key principle, because human judgment often is flawed, but God sees perfectly. Now, let's go deeper, because beneath the surface, this passage is not just about marriage. It's about faithfulness in relationship. In the Torah, the relationship between God and his people is often described as a marriage. God is the faithful husband and Israel is the bride.

Throughout the prophets, we see this language again and again. When Israel turns to idols, it's described as adultery, not just disobedience but literal unfaithfulness. That gives this passage a much deeper meaning, because it's not just about human relationship. It's about a spiritual reality.

God desires faithfulness, not just outward obedience but inward loyalty. Here's where it gets personal, because it's easy to focus on outward behavior, to look like everything's fine, to maintain appearances, to put on the happy face, to go through the motions. But God is not only looking at what is visible. He's looking at the heart. He sees what no one else sees: the thoughts, the motivations, the hidden struggles, the places where we may be drifting.

That can feel uncomfortable, but it's also incredibly important, because real relationship requires honesty, and God is not interested in a surface-level relationship. He wants something deeper. He wants truth, integrity, faithfulness from the inside out. Now, here's the good news: God doesn't reveal hidden things to shame us. He reveals them to restore us, to bring healing, to bring alignment, to bring us back into right relationship with him.

That's something we see throughout scripture. When God exposes something, it's not to destroy, it's to redeem. Now, let's connect this to the New Testament, because Yeshua takes this idea even deeper. In the Sermon on the Mount, he says, "You have heard it said," and then he goes beyond outward action. He goes to the condition of the heart. It's not just about what you do. It's about what's happening inside of you.

That's exactly what we see here in Nasso. God is concerned with the inner life. Now, here's something powerful: In this passage, the outcome is placed entirely in God's hands. The priest performs the ritual, but God determines the truth. That reminds us of something important: We are not the ultimate judges. We don't see everything. We don't know everything. But God does.

That should lead us to two things. First, humility, because we recognize that we don't have the full understanding. And second, trust, because we know that God does. Now, as we move forward in this portion, we're going to shift from something difficult to something beautiful. One of the most well-known blessings in all of scripture: the Priestly Blessing. A blessing that has been spoken over God's people for thousands of years. A blessing of protection, of grace, of peace.

We're going to see that even in the midst of dealing with difficult issues, God's heart is still to bless. You've probably heard this blessing before: "The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." Simple words, but profound truth.

Now, let's understand what's happening here. God instructs Aaron and his sons, the priests, to speak this blessing over the people of Israel. This is important because the blessing is not just a nice statement, it's not just a wish. It's something God commands to be spoken, which means there's power in this spoken blessing.

Now, let's break it down. "The Lord bless you and keep you." The word "bless" here means more than just provision. It carries the idea of favor, increase, divine goodness. And "keep you" means guard you, protect you, watch over you. So the first line is saying, may God provide for you, and may God protect what he provides, because it's one thing to receive the blessing, it's another thing to have it preserved.

Now the second line: "The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you." This is deeply relational language. In the ancient world, to have someone's face turned toward you was a sign of favor, of acceptance, of relationship. And here, God says, may my face shine upon you. In other words, may you experience my presence, my attention, my delight. And then it says, "be gracious to you." Grace is unearned favor. So this line is saying, may God's presence be toward you, and may he give you what you don't deserve.

Now the third line: "The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace." To lift up his countenance means to turn his face toward you with intention, with care, with personal attention. And the result is peace. Now, this word "peace" is the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom is not just the absence of conflict. It means wholeness, completeness, restoration, alignment. So this final line is saying, may God bring your life into a place of fullness and harmony.

Now, here's something powerful. The blessing builds: first, provision and protection; then, presence and grace; then, peace and wholeness. If we look at it like this, it moves from external to internal, from what God does for you to what God does in you. And here's the key verse that often gets overlooked. Right after this blessing, God says, "So they shall put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."

Did you catch that? The priests speak the blessing, but God says, "I will bless them," which means the blessing is not coming from the priest. It's coming from God. The priest is simply the vessel. This shows us something very important: God desires to bless his people. He's not distant, he's not reluctant, he's not withholding. His heart is to bless.

Now, let's once again connect this to the New Testament, because this blessing finds its ultimate fulfillment in Yeshua. Think about it. "The Lord bless you." Through the Messiah, we receive every spiritual blessing. "The Lord keep you." He is our shepherd, our protector. "The Lord make his face to shine upon you." In Yeshua, we see the face of God. "The Lord be gracious to you." Grace is fully revealed through him. "The Lord give you peace." Yeshua says, "My peace I give to you." So this blessing is not just words. It's a picture of what God accomplishes through the Messiah.

Now, here's something practical. In Jewish tradition, this blessing is still spoken today. In our synagogue service every single week, it's the last thing that is said. It's the benediction. It's often said by parents over their children every Friday night in a Jewish home as Shabbat comes in. It is said over the kids. It is said by leaders over their communities.

There's something powerful about this because it reminds us that blessing is meant to be spoken, to be declared. This is something we can take into our lives: to speak blessings over our families, over our children, over our communities. Not empty words, but words rooted in God's truth.

Now, as we move into the final part of this Torah portion, we're going to see something unique. The leaders of Israel bring offerings. And yet each one is recorded separately. We come to this section that at first glance can feel repetitive, very repetitive. In Numbers Chapter 7, the leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel bring offerings for the dedication of the Tabernacle.

And here's what's interesting: Each leader brings the exact same offering: the same silver plate, the same bowl, the same grain offering, the same animals, the same everything. And yet, the Torah records each offering separately, line after line, leader after leader, day after day. Now, if we were writing this, we might summarize it. We might say, "They all brought the same thing."

But God doesn't do that. Instead, he repeats it in full detail 12 times. Why? Because God is making a point here in the Torah. What may look the same to us is not the same to him. Every offering may be identical, but each giver is unique. Each leader stands before God as an individual, not as part of a group, not as part of a number, but as a person, an individual.

God honors that. He doesn't say, "I've already seen this, I've already heard this, I'll just group it together." No, he gives each one space, recognition, attention. And that tells us something powerful about how God sees us. We live in a world that often measures value by uniqueness, visibility, difference. We think, "If what I bring isn't different or special, it doesn't matter. If someone else is doing the same thing, my offering is not important."

But Nasso says something very different. It says God values your offering even if it looks like someone else's, because he's not just looking at the gift, he's looking at the heart of the giver. Now, let's take this deeper. Each leader brought their offering on a different day. So even though the offering was the same, the moment was different, because your offering is not just about what you give, it's about when you give it, how you give it, the context in which you give it. God sees all of that.

Let's bring this into our lives today, because this really is practical. You may feel like what you're doing is not significant. You may think, "I'm just doing the same thing every day. I'm just serving in a small way behind the scenes. No one sees it. I'm not doing anything unique." But here's the truth: Faithfulness is never overlooked by God. Even when to us it feels repetitive, even when it feels ordinary, even when it feels unseen, God sees differently than we do.

He sees your consistency, your obedience, your willingness, your heart. And he values it. When we connect this to the New Testament, we see that Yeshua tells a story about a widow, and she gives a small offering. But he says she's given more than everyone else. Why? Because God measures differently. He's not impressed by size, he's not impressed by comparison. He's moved by the heart, by the motivation.

Here's something else we need to see. Each leader gave publicly, but the focus is not on competition. It's not who gave more, who gave better. It's simply each one brought what was required. And this creates a culture of unity. No one's trying to outdo the other. No one is trying to stand above the rest. They're simply being faithful.

That's something we need in the body today: to shift from comparison to faithfulness, from competition to obedience, from performance to purpose. Here's the big takeaway: God doesn't group you in with everyone else. He sees you individually, personally, specifically. Your life, your choices, your obedience, your faithfulness. It all matters.

Now, as we move into the final part, we're going to bring everything together, because Nasso is not just about responsibility, what we carry, how we're lifted. It's not just about the hidden things. It's not just about blessing. It's not just about offerings. It's also about identity. It's about understanding how God sees you and how this shapes how you live.

At the beginning, we began with this word for the Torah portion, Nasso: to lift up, to carry, to bear, to take account. And we saw that when God lifts someone up, he's also entrusting them. We're not just counted, we're called. And then we moved on to the passage of the Sotah, the woman suspected of being unfaithful. A difficult but important reminder that God cares about what is hidden, not just what people see, but what is real, what's on the inside.

And we saw that God brings things into the light, not to condemn but to restore. Then we came to the priestly blessing, a beautiful declaration of God's heart: to bless, to protect, to be present, to give grace, and to bring peace. And we're reminded that God desires to bless his people.

We saw how all the leaders gave identical gifts, yet each one was recorded separately. A powerful reminder that you are seen by God. You are counted, you are entrusted, you're seen, you're known, you're blessed. And because of that, you are called to live differently.

Now, let's connect this to our Messiah, because everything in Nasso points to him. He is the one who was truly lifted up, lifted up on the cross, bearing what we could not bear, carrying the weight of our sin. He's the one who brings cleansing, not through ritual but through his sacrifice. He is the one through whom the blessing flows: the grace, the presence, the peace. He's the one who sees us, not as a crowd but individually, calling us by name. Through him, we are brought into this identity. We are lifted up, not in pride but in purpose.

So here's the final question we must ask ourselves: How will we live this week? Will we carry what God has given us? Will we allow him to deal with what is hidden? Will we receive his blessing? Will we walk in the awareness that we are seen? Because when we do, our lives begin to reflect him. Not perfectly, but faithfully. And that, brother and sister, is what God is looking for.

So as we close today, remember this: You're not just another person in the crowd. You are lifted up, you are entrusted, you are known, you are blessed. And your life has purpose. So this week, may you walk in the strength of what God has placed in your hands, in the freedom of what he has cleansed, in the peace of his presence, and in the confidence that you are seen. Shabbat Shalom.

Candace Long: You will hear Pastor Matt teach the Torah every Saturday morning from 6:00 to 6:30. "Families Under Attack" with Rujon Morrison will return next week at this time. She and Steve, through their ministry, "Healing for the Nations," have been leading an international conference for ministers in how to heal their people. It will be good to have Rujon back so she can keep training us.

Coming up next is part two of the interview I did with Dr. Steven Coyle, whom God raised up from being a Southern Baptist pastor for over 30 years to founding several Messianic congregations. And now, in his retirement years, he has spent the last 12 years developing a vibrant prison ministry.

Doors continue to open to him by prison officials who ask him to come in and teach the Torah to their inmates. What I hope you're seeing is that God is at work teaching his ways through Levites such as Dr. Coyle, who heard his calling and elevated his head to be counted.

I'm Candace Long. Welcome to the Kingdom Ready Pastor Series to answer needs that pastors and ministry leaders may be having who sense the Lord leading them to return to the Torah. I've asked Dr. Steven Coyle to answer some more questions that these leaders may be facing.

Again, I want to say that our goal here is to encourage leaders who are being led to reconnect with our Jewish roots and how to handle that transition. Dr. Coyle, I want to welcome you back. For those of you who missed part one, please listen to last week's episode where Dr. Coyle shared his journey, how the Lord led him as a Southern Baptist pastor to return to the ways of our Jewish forefathers. It's nice to have you back.

Dr. Steven Coyle: Well, thank you again, Candace. I enjoyed last time, I really did. Glad to be back again today.

Candace Long: Looking over your ministerial training, I noted that you specialized in theology. What exactly is the meaning of theology?

Dr. Steven Coyle: There you go. I thought I wanted to get a Doctor of Theology degree pretty early on when I started college. That was sort of a long-range goal. Within Southern Baptist circles, having a doctor's degree kind of puts you on the map. If they call you Dr. Coyle, that was a big deal. So I kind of thought, "That's what I want to work towards."

But the idea of theology is pulling from the scriptures doctrines, teachings, beliefs related to God, and sort of that big umbrella term under which you're able to place in there all of your doctrinal belief system. With Christianity, Christianity is one of those umbrella terms, because when you think of Christianity, you have to understand that you have Roman Catholicism, you got the Orthodox Church, you got the denominations with Protestantism, and so you got a whole variety of belief systems. But theology tries to bundle all that together.

Candace Long: Why I'm asking this question is what struck me is that I think theology is the study of God, who God is and what he's like. And what struck me is that the turning point for you spiritually took place a year after you got your doctorate in theology. You got your doctorate in 1991, and then in 1992, you had an experience where the Lord just kind of said, "Steve, let me show you what I'm really like." And it kind of turned your world upside down.

Tell us how in your spiritual journey then you began to put into practice the feasts, the festivals, honor the Sabbath, and you were doing this all with your family, your personal family. You had not brought it into your church life yet. So what happened when you began to bring these things into the pastoral setting?

Dr. Steven Coyle: I had learned from experience, back like I said last time, about how when I was in my churches I would talk about things like healing or spiritual warfare and so forth, and I knew I needed to be very tactful in how I presented it. Well, I knew when I was going to start talking about these the feasts of the Lord and various things related to Hebraic faith, that I would have to be tactful.

So, I use the term the "spoon-feed method." I would spoon-feed my congregation. I knew I couldn't come in and, like a computer term, "download" everything all at once, because that would just be overwhelming to them. Typically when you talk to a lot of Christians and you talk to them about Passover, or you talk about keeping the Sabbath day or keeping a kosher diet, not eating unclean food, they'll give you the response, "That's the Jewish thing. That's those Jewish steps. That's what the Jews do. We don't do that anymore."

So, I didn't want to run into that. And so, I use my spoon-feed method. Now, using the theology term, like you were talking about my Doctor of Theology, in our class we wouldn't have used that term spoon-feed. We would use the term "progressive revelation." That's what we would use.

So for me, I was experiencing a progressive revelation from the Lord teaching me about all of this. And so, I wanted this to be in a similar fashion for the congregation. So yeah, this idea of progressive revelation wasn't my idea, obviously. It really came from the Apostle Paul in Ephesians Chapter 1, verses 16 through 19. He's there praying for the Messianic believers in that congregation there in Ephesus.

I want to read that passage. He says, "I do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and a revelation in knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe."

I read that passage and I said, "Paul, you're praying for me. I'm just going to receive that as your prayer for me because I desire a spirit of wisdom, I desire revelation in knowledge, and I want the eyes of my heart—I didn't know my heart had eyes, but anyway, I want the eyes of my heart to be enlightened." That's what the Lord began to do for me.

And he would give me a revelation of knowledge about these Hebraic truths. Now, I knew that I couldn't just go into my church on Sunday morning and say, "I got a revelation of knowledge and here it is," and pour it out on them. Because what was real to me would not have been a real revelation to the people. They would have to receive their own revelation.

Candace Long: What I loved about what you said last time was that you had to be the shepherd, and you had to experience everything so that you could lead the sheep there.

Dr. Steven Coyle: Yeah, that's true. So I would spoon-feed them, I'd give them a little at a time. And so, just bring this forth a little at a time. Let the Lord begin to use that to teach them and to feed them and to work with them. And so, yeah, this idea of—I played the long game here.

I think a lot of pastors get a vision from God, they run into their church, "This is the vision from God, we're going to do this," and they want to go "boom" and get it all done right then. I realized this is not going to happen tomorrow. So I played the long game.

I used to play football and realized you don't win the football game in the first quarter. You win the football game in the fourth quarter. And so you have to play the whole game. And so I saw my congregation in a way of, we're going to move this through steps and stages. He fed me, I'm going to just a little bit of time, I'm going to see the Lord feed them a little at a time. And so that's how I kind of move forward.

Candace Long: What was amazing in your story as I was reading it was that your congregation, when you began to share these things with them, that they were not resistant to you, which speaks a lot to me of your gift of pastoring. I believe probably of the fivefold, do you identify more with the pastor?

Dr. Steven Coyle: That's true, yeah. Pastor-teacher.

Candace Long: So, I see that because I'm not that at all, so I appreciate your gifting. And I can see that that's probably why they were not resistant, because they knew that you cared for them and they were willing to follow.

Dr. Steven Coyle: Yeah, well, I cared about my flock. I saw myself as the shepherd, and they were my flock. I wanted to fight the wolves, I didn't want any wolves coming in, so I'd take care of the wolves. But then I wanted to see them as being well cared for.

The idea of the shepherd, he would lead his flock. You see, sheep, you can't push them. Now with cattle, ranchers drive their cattle to wherever they want them to go. But with sheep, the shepherd would have to be out front of the flock and he would lead them, and those sheep would just follow.

Now, I've had the opportunity of going to Israel several times and I had my tour guide say, "We're going to find some sheep somewhere, aren't we?" And so, sure enough, we'd see a shepherd with his sheep, and those sheep would just be lollygagging along behind the shepherd, and he was taking them out to pasture.

I knew that's how I was going to have to be with my congregation. I couldn't push them into saying you had to practice these festivals, or you had to practice a Shabbat, or you had to eat only clean meat. I'd have to lead them into this.

Candace Long: Let me read to the audience here a bit of what you wrote. You said, "As we discovered," talking about the congregation, "how our ancestors in the faith conducted their approach to worship and ministry, we desired to pattern our own manner of worship after them. And so our congregation began to celebrate the Feasts of the Lord and blow the shofar in the services. In our homes, there were those who kept Shabbat and ate kosher, and we soon embraced the Hebraic heritage of the faith and found ourselves becoming more like a Messianic congregation." Obviously a period of time developed from the spoon-feeding to this stage in the ministry. Tell us about how that happened and the unexpected turn of events that happened at the elders' meeting.

Dr. Steven Coyle: That's true. As time kind of moved along and I was introducing to the congregation what a Passover Seder was, we had a demonstration, and I showed how Yeshua is the fulfillment of the Passover. And so I think the Lord would take that and bring a revelation into the hearts of our people. They say, "Wow, this isn't just a Jewish thing, this is really a Jesus thing."

And so when they began to understand the connection between Jesus and these festivals, they said, "Let's do it." And so that's the thing, I wanted it to come from the people. I'd tell them and explain all this wonderful stuff, and I want them to come to me and say, "Let's do it." And I'd say, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

And they'd say, "Yeah, we want to do this." And so we had a family, a couple in our congregation had a restaurant. And they came to me and said, "We could do the Passover Seder in our restaurant." I said, "Do you really want to do this kind of thing?" "Yeah, we want to do this." And so we did it.

We put it all together and had a Passover Seder in their restaurant. So things like this kind of developed. And I talked about keeping the Sabbath day on Saturday, and I said, "Now, the Bible talks about it's a day of rest. Let's use it as that. Now we're going to have our Sunday church, we're going to still have church on Sunday, because the Bible just says you're supposed to rest on the Sabbath day."

So people would start practicing that kind of thing. It wasn't—I don't think an Orthodox Jew would look at that and say, "Wow, you're really following the list of things," but they were trying. 1992 I'm kind of marking that as my starting time. March of '92. Here we are in the month of March right now.

Moving forward to the year 2010. I'm talking 18 years now that I've been kind of moving through this journey of discovery with my congregation. It was in an elders' meeting. We have our regular monthly elders' meeting and you read your minutes and you talk about the budget and various things.

After we went through all the business matters, I kind of open it up, "Let's talk about our congregation, our church, our ministry." And one of the elders, and this is what I always enjoy, when it comes from them, it just lights me up. One of them said, "Why don't we just be who we are? We're more Messianic than we are Baptist." I said, "Really?" "Yeah, why don't we just become Messianic?" I said, "Really? Are you sure about this?"

And so there it went. The discussion took off about how we were practicing like the Messianic, and they would go through all that we do and how our services were and everything. They said, "You know, when people come in here, they don't think we're Christian." I said, "Really?" That just kind of grew up out of that elders' meeting.

These elders said, "We're ready. We want to be a Messianic congregation." I said, "Whoa, okay." Now for me, inside of me, it was like, man, I was excited. I wanted to jump up and say, "You're ready, let's go for it!" But I had to be careful, you know.

I said, "Now wait a minute. If we start this congregation, it may just be my family and your family and that's it. Everybody else, what's going to happen to our congregation? Where are they going to go? What are they going to do? Let's see if the congregation is with us on this, okay? Let's bring this idea forth to our congregation, see where they are and what they have to say about this."

Well, we thought, "How are we going to do this?" Well, we could have a big meeting, bring everybody into the auditorium all at once and present this to them. And we thought, "Whoa, boy, that could get out of hand with that many people." We wanted to discuss and talk about it.

So we decided we would have small group meetings. So we set up a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday night. And I wrote a letter to all the members and explained that we were going to have this meeting, the elders wanted to meet with them, and we wanted to share with them an idea of our church making a transition to becoming a Messianic congregation and that they could come on any one of those four nights.

We would be there and we would talk with them, discuss with them what all this meant and wanted to hear from them and answer their questions. And so we set this up and we started those four nights, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday nights. And the people came. Boy, they came on in on each of the nights and we had our small groups and our elders were there and we presented to them our thinking about the Messianic congregation.

After the week was over, the elders met to kind of say, "Okay, what did we learn from all this?" And you know what we learned? The results of all four of those meetings were identical, exactly the same. And the results were all positive. They were all saying, "Yes, we want to do this. We want a Messianic congregation." And some of them were kind of like the elders said, "That's who we are! We're not like a Baptist anymore. That's who we are and let's do it."

And so, on July the 31st of 2010, we made the official switch. That was it. We went through all the formalities of things that you have to do and off we went. We were now a Messianic congregation.

Candace Long: It sounds like that the Lord really confirmed what you were doing all along the way. That was extreme wisdom to take it slow and take it in small groups. That's extreme wisdom because I'm sure that if pastors are listening to this and they're thinking about their church and what the Lord may be doing inside of them, they're thinking, "Oh my, I don't know how to make that transition." So this has been very, very helpful. Did you have a major split? Were there a group of people that left the church after that?

Dr. Steven Coyle: You know, I fully kind of expected that. Baptists are known for splits. There are a lot of new churches started from a split. That's how Baptists grow churches, they just split up. No, I, you know, that was in the back of my mind. Boy, this could be one of two things that can happen. Either there'll be a bunch of people leave or they're going to say, "I have to leave." Either I lose my job or they're gone.

But I had only one man come to me and say, "Pastor, you know, I really enjoyed what we've been doing, but I just want to stay a Baptist." And I said, "Okay." So only one man left. We didn't have the split. I thought, "Wow, this is fantastic."

Candace Long: Well, I'm one of these that look at the big picture of things, and what I see in what you have done reminds me of when the Apostle Paul referred to himself in 1 Corinthians 4 as a servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God. God began to reveal to Paul all of these things about the gospel that he wanted him to teach, which was Messiah is for the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

But it took him 17 years for that gospel to form from all of the mysteries that God was revealing to him. And what you have just done, looking at your background, it has taken you 18 years to formulate the gospel that you had to bring to the Southern Baptist groups that you were a part of.

It took me 17 years in my particular calling in the gospel that I was given, which is my book "The Levitical Calling," that God is calling Levites today. So talk to us now about how the Lord began to open doors for you after you quote "retired."

Dr. Steven Coyle: Yeah, 2010 was that watermark time for our congregation. Four years later, 2014, I'm 66 years old at that time. And I really kind of felt the Lord saying, "Okay, you can use the word retire." I said, "Well, okay." So my wife and I, we of course felt we would do this and I explained it to the elders that I would be retiring.

So we kind of moved forward as to who was going to take my place and we found another congregational leader that could come in and take the congregation and continue to go forward with it. And so I retired from that full-time pastoral ministry is what I retired from. I didn't walk away from ministry altogether.

I said, "Okay, now, Lord, I'm available. I'm ready to go anywhere you want me to go." You know, one of my college professors said something that kind of stuck with me. He said that you'll know how your ministry is going by whether or not the phone rings. "What do you mean by that, Prof?" He said, "Well, if the phone stops ringing, you're in trouble. When the phone is ringing, that's good."

The idea is that if you're serving the Lord and God's working in your life, the phone's going to ring. God's going to call, people are going to call, and you're going to stay busy. You're going to be serving him and doing things. So when I retired I said, "Well, Jeannie, all right, we're going to see if the phone's going to ring. What's going to happen here?"

I kind of thought it'd be nice to sit on the front porch in my rocking chair with my book and just read and take it easy for a while and rest. But that didn't happen. The phone rang and there was this group that said, "You know, we're meeting in our home over here and we're learning about this Messianic stuff and we heard you were available. Would you come over here and talk to us about this?"

And so I said, "Well, okay." And so went over there and we started meeting a little bit and I told them, "Look, I'm retired. I'm not looking for a full-time job here." And they said, "Well, we'd like to start a congregation." "Well, okay, but look, I'm not going to stay with you though. We'll get this thing up and running and then we'll turn it over to somebody."

"Yeah, let's do it." And so lo and behold, we started our Messianic congregation. And so I stayed with them for a year. I said, "Okay, it's time for somebody else." This is just phenomenal. You start with like 12 people and then in a year's time you've got like 60 people. "Wow, okay, now somebody else can come in and take this and off they go."

And so I did, I turned it over. Then I got the phone call again from another group and I went over there to their house and they said, "We'd like to learn this." And so lo and behold, I stayed with them a year and from like 10 or 12 people we've got another 60 people. And so I turned that over to a congregational leader.

Since retirement, that's where I've been. And I ended up in prison! Not that I did something wrong, but I was asked by a chaplain to come and help start a Messianic congregation in a prison. I said, "Okay." Well, I'm still in prison! I didn't turn that one over to somebody. I still go to prison after 14 years. We've got us a Messianic congregation in prison. So yeah, I've been busy.

Candace Long: You have certainly been busy and God has greatly blessed what you have done. I'm just so impressed. How do the prisoners relate to studying the Torah?

Dr. Steven Coyle: You know, it's interesting how they are. They will come in—and with prisoners, you have some who don't have a clue about anything: the Bible or God. They're just lost and reprobates. They're infidels. And then you have some who have come out of a Christian background. Mom and daddy took them to church but then they got in trouble and they're in prison. So they're Christian.

I don't have any Messianics walking in saying, "Whoa, boy, I'm glad to see a Messianic church." So we get these prisoners come in out of curiosity and as I share with them from the scriptures from a Messianic point of view, they come in and say, "I've never heard this before. Wow, this is interesting and I like this."

And so right now my congregation, I meet on Friday nights. This past Friday night we had 32 men there. And we were talking about Passover. We're going to be having a Passover Seder there at the prison. Can you imagine? The warden said yes! And I'm going to be bringing in all the Passover Seder stuff and we're going to have a Seder for these men. So yeah, they jump into this.

Candace Long: We need to close this out unfortunately, but what would you say to pastors who may be listening who are feeling this theological shift? How would you encourage them?

Dr. Steven Coyle: If the Lord's given you this revelation knowledge, if he's teaching you and he's drawing you into this kind of Hebraic walk, make sure it's real in you, real in your family. It's real life. And then patiently, tactfully, begin to share from your heart. When the people know your heart—I think that's what my congregation—they knew my heart, they trusted me. They know you love them, you're a shepherd. Then take them with you. Just start walking. They'll follow.

Candace Long: If you're a pastor or ministry leader who's listening and have a question for this segment, please go to our main page at shabbatshalomradio.com and look for the button at the top that says "Email the Show." I'm Candace Long and we'll continue with another Kingdom Ready episode next Saturday morning from 6:30 to 7:00. Shabbat Shalom.

Thank you for being with us this hour. If you're new to our program and want to study with us each week, I invite you to download our weekly Torah schedule, which you'll find at the top of our main page. Coming up in the next hour is "Ask the Rabbi" with Rabbi Michael Washer.

In my interview with him, we discuss one of the most grievous sins in God's eyes, and sadly, most of us do it all the time without realizing it. Following him, I'll bring you a teaching that honors this very day. It's called "Torah 101: Shavuot." Stay tuned for the second hour on WEEA AM 590, our media partner for shabbatshalomradio.com.