Remembering God's Mighty Acts

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,
Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon
He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
Ps. 29:5,6
The psalmist is celebrating the mighty power of the LORD, he sees that power displayed in the natural world. The cedars of Lebanon were known for their great size and majesty but before the LORD they splinter as easily as matchsticks. Sirion is another name for Mt. Hermon, a mountain is an immovable object for mortal man, but the LORD can make it skip like a "young, wild ox". Our God is omnipotent, his power is endless, He can do whatever He pleases, He is not hindered by human limitations. For those of us who know and love Him this thought of His mighty power is of great comfort and it does us much good to remember and meditate upon the works of His mighty hand.

Ah LORD God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.
Jer. 32:17
We can see God's mighty power displayed in 4 distinct areas:
1. His works of creation - Ex. 20:11; Job chapters 26;38;39
2. His works of redemption - Deut. 5:15; The death and resurrection of Jesus.
Note: The 10 commandmens appear twice in the Bible - in Ex. 20:11 we are told to remember the Sabbath day because of the LORD's creative activity; in Deut. 5:15 we are told to remember the Sabbath because of His redemptive activity. As we meet in our churches on the Lord's Day we too should be remembering the mighty acts of God on both points.
3. His miracles - the Bible is full of accounts of miracles performed by the Lord; there is always a spiritual application to the miracles.
4. His judgements - The Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Exile to Babylon - just a few examples of how the Lord acted in great power to bring about judgement.

There are too many mighty acts of God to list here, here are a few but see how many more you can remember:
Gen. 1,2 - He created the universe.
Gen. 6-8 - The Flood.
2Kings 5 - Naaman the leper healed.
Matt. 1:18-25 - The virgin birth of Jesus.
Acts 3 - A lame man healed.

Remembering God's mighty acts
There are many spiritual benefits for us when we think upon the great works of our God.

It is commanded
Ex. 13:3ff - The Israelites told to remember their deliverance from Egypt by keeping the Passover.
Deut. 5:15 - The Israelites told to remember their escape from the slavery of Egypt on the Sabbath Day.
1Cor. 11:23-26 - New Testament saints are told to keep the Lord's supper as a remembrance of Jesus' death and His promise to return, also the new covenant in His blood.
The new life we have in Jesus is of course prophetically symbolised in the Old Testament in the deliverance from Egypt and the entry into the promised land and the giving of the law (covenant).

It gives great encouragement
In 1 Chronicles 16 David remembers God's wonderful deeds and gives thanks for them. In doing so he praises and celebrates the LORD.
v.12 - He remembers "His marvellous works which He has done, His wonders and the judgements of His mouth."
v.15 - He remembers the covenants that the LORD made with Abraham, with Isaac and with Israel.
vv. 23,14 - From such meditation upon the mighty works of God David expresses his desire that all the world should know how wonderful the LORD is.
Ps. 42:6 - The psalmist says "my soul is cast down within me," but he determines to remember the works of the LORD and can finish the psalm determined to hope in God and to praise Him. Such meditation brought a dramatic change in his mood.

It keeps from sin
Psalm 78 recounts the rebellions of the Israelites and their sins against God. Verses 7 and 11 tell us that they had forgotten the LORD and the wonders He has shown them.
Psalm 106 recounts the same tale of how the Israelites fell into many sins because, "They soon forgot His works" (:13).

It sustains in time of trouble
Eccles. 12:1 - "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw nigh when you say, "I have no pleasure in them.""

His works prove Him
The works of the LORD prove that He is God, we see this particularly evident in the life of Jesus:
Jn. 2:11 - "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galillee and manifested His glory.
Jn. 10:37,38 - "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believeMe, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."
The resurrection is of course a mighty work of God and further proof that Jesus is truly the Son of God.

The Mighty Works of God Today
Should we expect God to be doing such great things in this present time? The Biblical evidence suggests that we should:
In Acts 4:29, 30 the disciples prayed that God would stretch out His hand to do signs and wonders through the name of Jesus and there are many such wonders told in the book of Acts:
3:1ff - Healing of a lame man.
9:33 - The healing of Ananias.
12:6ff - Peter miraculously set free from prison.
16 - Paul and Silas freed from prison.
19:11 - Unusual miracles were worked through Paul's ministry.

Jesus sent His disciples out and gave them the power to perform miracles: Mt. 10:1ff; Lk.10 and Mk. 16:17,18.

The Congregation

I will praise the LORD with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.
His work is honourable and glorious, and His righteousness endures for ever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered.
Ps. 111:1-4
Our church meetings are times to remember, meditate and praise the Lord for His wonderful works. As we do so we will be blessed and receive all the benefits we have noted above. The Biblical testimony gives a clear warning that failure to meditate on the works of God is a recipe for depression and/or a fall into rebellion and sin.
So, are our fellowships giving time for reading of the scriptures and teaching on the significance of God's mighty works? And are we spending time in our own personal devotions meditating on the wonderful things God has done, not just in His word but in our own lives?
Be sure that such spirtual discipline will reap you great spiritual rewards.
As together we remember, celebrate and praise God for His mighty acts our faith and trust are increased, we begin to expect to see the Lord to do some miraculous deeds in our midst and we can be sure that where such faith is present He will bless and show the power of His mighty arm.
Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?
Jn. 11:40
If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."
Matt. 17:20
Amen