I know I will be pressing a red button with this one but I feel compelled to address a stark reality in the professing church. Of course this isn't a new idea on this site.
There are a great many well respected, gifted and Spirit used evangelists and church planters around the world who have discerned and stated publicly that they believe only a remnant of those purported 2 billion Christians in the world are actually, born again, Spirit led, holiness pursuing, and therefore saved. Those definitions of saved are entirely Scriptural.
The percentage that are believed by such servants to be truly saved within the professing church is anywhere from 2%-10% of the professing church. I believe they are right from my own exposure to hundreds of churches and pastors in a lot of places.
I'm not suggesting that the numbers are exact but only approximations, but they are approximations that should cause all who love the body and the lost to feel alarmed and concerned for those who are deceived.
My question is, is revival the right solution ? To revive something is to bring that something back to life. What if it was never alive to begin with. We need to make a prayerful and concerted effort to save the professing church. It is a tare filled church that weakens a real church the most. The nominal infecting the true causing her to backslide, weaken, and become complacent and ineffective. A little leaven can ruin the batch. A lot of leaven can lead to lampstands and light being removed.
How many churches lack light yet keep the lights on ? It seems to me we have positive actions to take in correcting teaching and practice, in judging in love those within the church, and in internal church house cleaning for the sake of Christ, His body and the wayward that must precede an outpouring of light through the healthy church. That, at least is what He seems to have taught to the church in Corinth , the churches addressed in Hebrews and James, and in His judgement of the churches in Revelation. Warn and strengthen what is true and remains and alert and warn that which has always been dead. You don't revive dead. You preach Him and pray for new life and that very likely is what 90% of the professing church needs..... the light of the glory of Him in Jesus. You don't revive or reform the dead amongst the living. You seek to save the lost.
To hope for revival without taking the actions we can take by living up to the truth we have already attained to seems to treat His people like babies who aren't responsible for the promises and power they already have.