Two-tone Revival

During Prayer and Praise at St Mary’s last week we listened for a bit in case The LORD had anything to say to us. We had been praying and talking about revival. As we listened, the words “two-tone” came to my mind and I thought of a classic, shiny, car with white-walled tires and a two-tone paint job. One of the men in the group suggested a 1957 Chevrolet. That is what is pictured above—a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door hardtop. Being Anglican, I chose a red and white two-tone colour scheme since red is the colour for the church season of Pentecost and Holy Spirit fire. White is for Easter and resurrection Power. 

What, other than shades of Easter and Pentecost, might an image of a two-tone red and white 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air have to do with revival? What, if anything, could The LORD being saying prophetically through it? Here are eight possibilities: 

⭕️1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs are attractive—well, to to me anyway. So is revival. Revivals draw people. They fill churches. People experience God’s beauty and glory. They can’t get enough of it. On the other hand, there is also a warning in this image about not trivializing revival by allowing ourselves to be mesmerized as if it were nothing but a bright shiny new toy. Although revival can be bright and attractive, it has a serious purpose—to reboot the church and bring people to saving faith. I’m earnestly praying for it and have been ever since my 2010-13 stint on The Anglican Church of Canada’s Council of General Synod. That bitter-sweet experience of the church’s workings and governance led me to the conclusion that revival is our only hope. 

⭕️1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs are streamlined. They were designed to move and to carry people from place to place in some style. Revival is like God streamlining his church so it will move through resistance more smoothly carrying people to where he wants them to go. Historical revivals have always encouraged and released significant missionary efforts. 

⭕️1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs are powerful and can go fast. Revival can push you back in your seat. Some people are frightened by how fast revivals get people moving. Revivals are exciting. The Winds of God can whip through your hair. When God moves in revival people experience God’s power personally. 

⭕️1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs have steering wheels, gas and brake pedals. Sometimes when revival happens some Church people and leaders want to take the wheel and steer it away from what they see as danger. Others just want to keep the gas pedal flat to the floor. Still others, particularly leaders, historically it seems, want to stomp on the brakes. For some reason, God in his mercy, gives us some control. The trick is to not stifle things, but to allow The LORD to do the driving and to take us where he wants to take us. 

⭕️1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs have big trunks. We can let a lot of baggage accumulate in there. Just as the word “repent” is the first word of the Gospel (Mk1.15), to confess all known sin was the first requirement Evan Roberts set in the Welsh Revival of 1904. Not only that, but 1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs come with lots of nice shiny chrome in which you can see your reflection. This helps with the revival self-examination which leads to repentance. 

⭕️1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs need to be properly maintained. Every now and then the gas tank must be filled. The oil (anointing?) needs to be changed. They need to be washed and waxed to protect the finish and keep it shiny. The windows need to be defrosted and keep clean and clear so we can see where God wants us to go and avoid running anybody over. Some focused worship and prayer is needed. 

⭕️1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs run on pneumatic tires—filled with air or pneuma which is the Greek for “wind” as in hagia (Holy) pneuma (Spirit). Have you ever tried to drive a car with one or more flat tires? You might be able to reach your destination but your car is hard to steer, your speed is drastically reduced, you will destroy the tire and, eventually, the rim. Holy Spirit wind in our tires gives us traction and makes us go. Smoothly and safely. 

⭕️1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs are classic cars. Revivals are nothing new. They are Spirit-filled classic events. Every now and then God’s Church needs a fresh Show & Shine. From Pentecost through the Reformation and the various Great Awakenings and Revivals in the last few hundred years God visits his people in bright and shiny ways. 

Okay. This, you might think, is stretching the whole “two-tone” thing a bit thin. Gene’s advanced years have rusted his side-panels, loosened some screws and caused his hubcaps to rattle. Perhaps what he ate for supper that Sunday led to vain, fevered, overwrought, two-toned imaginings. Even so, revival is real. Look up Pastor Bill McLeod of Saskatoon on YouTube. Check out Acts News Network’s DVD, From the River to the Ends of the Earth. I’ve also written more about revival here.

All in all, two-tone and shiny, or not, worth praying for. 

By the way, as I write, 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air pictured above is for sale. US$95,000—a pearl of great price! You can see it here. 

Gene+