What Is A Revival?

     I am in the process of reading a book called, The World's Greatest Revivals.  I cannot tell you whether I am going to read it all the way but some of the material in there is not that bad.  This is why I thought I would like to talk about what makes a real revival.
      We have heard it all the time.  Come to our church, tent, home, event or whatso maybe because we are going to have a revival.  Have we taken this word and used so lightly.  Revival???  What is a Revival?  Is it a bunch of people excited for Jesus.  I believe a revival is something or event that has changed the church as a whole.  Pentecost.  That began and changed the church. Also Rome in 300 A.D.  the Bizantine Era.  Also the REFORMATION.  That is a revival.  The CRUSADES that is a revival.  A bad one but it still was one.  AZUSA was a revival.  The Revivals in England and So forth.  These are revivals that have changed the Church as a whole and thus have changed the world.  If we really look at these revivals we wil find one thing in common.  They were not based on the emotional hupla but rather on the deep theological issues of the church.  How we believe and what we believe in.  This is a true revival.  Not just full of emotions and shallow feelings.
      So when Pastors want to change the people of God maybe we should think about teaching them the truth rather than the emotion.  It is the spiritual truths that will change a people and nation.