And [Jesus] said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water,

— Matthew 14:29

Peter heard Jesus speak one word-–“Come.”  If you hear one word from God and obey it, it can change your life forever.  Jesus was a man of few words:  “Come,” “Be healed,” “Be made whole,” “Go and sin no more,” “Come out,” “Go,” “Be of good cheer.”  Whenever anyone heard and obeyed the words of Jesus, a miracle went into effect.  Peter stepped out on one word, “Come,” and it was enough for him to do the impossible-–walk on the water!  He had to think, “What if I drown?”  The other disciples must have said, “Don’t be a fool, Peter!”  But Peter made a decision, a decision to obey the word, in spite of what his friends thought, in spite of what logic told him, in spite of the impossibility of walking on the water. Notice, once you take a step out in faith, once you decide to obey the Word, the natural evidence will attack you.  The wind was boisterous, and Peter was afraid.  He did not know that, wind or no wind, he could not walk on the water.  On a calm day he would still have sunk if He was not on the Word!  The natural will always try to get you back in the boat when you start in the supernatural–-with negative results.  Stop tithing-–never work!  Stop loving others–-just get hurt!  Stop reading the Bible–-never understand.  Stay focused on the Word that you obeyed.  Do not take your eyes off the promise.  Do not let go of your miracle!

…Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

— Luke 5:4b

Peter had fished all night. He was a professional fisherman by trade. He had caught nothing, and was cleaning his nets because it was daylight and time to go home. Peter was probably tired because he had been up all night, and could not wait to go home and go to bed. But along comes a preacher, a preacher who probably never fished a day in His life! He didn’t know anything about fishing. “He should stick to preaching and let me do the fishing!” But Peter decided to obey the word of the Lord, not excited or expecting to receive, but simply to make Jesus happy and then go home. But to Peter’s surprise, to his shock, they enclosed a great number of fishes and their net broke. Why didn’t he let down the nets for a catch (as Jesus said) instead of only one net? “I never thought I would catch anything! I had fished all night, it was now daylight, and the fish could see the nets. Nobody catches fish in the daytime! This doesn’t make fishing sense. This goes beyond all I know as a fisherman.” Even though it was a simple, reluctant, half-obedience to the Master, it resulted in a mighty miracle of provision for Peter. …Where have you failed to obey God? Where did you know more about something than God did and does? Forget what you know in the natural, and obey God’s Word. Your miracle is a “yes” away.

And they…filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

— Luke 5:7

Because of Peter’s half-obedience to the command of Jesus, because he knew more than Jesus about fishing, because he "knew" he was not going to catch any fish based on his experience, Peter almost lost his boat, his partner’s boat, and the giant catch of fish. How many times have we failed to obey God’s Word and then did not get the promise for which we had been believing? What God intended for a great blessing, what God intended to be the harvest of Peter’s lending his boat for the gospel’s sake, almost turned to disaster! Peter knew he had missed it. He knew he had partly obeyed. So he repented for his disobedience. So many times in your Christian life, you miss your miracle because of some small blockage in your life. That one person you need to forgive, that one person you need to bless, that one decision you need to make to pray and read the Word…whatever He is telling you to do–-do it! If He says build an ark–-build it! If He says, come out on the water–-go! If He says, let down your nets, let them down! Obedience to His Word and His voice will start a miracle in your life! Your miracle is just one “yes” away. Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

Repent...and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

— Acts 2:38

There are many reasons that God sent Jesus to die for us. Most of the Church’s teaching on that event centers on the fact that we can be saved and go to heaven. We have sung songs about heaven and expressed our desire in prayer to get off this crummy earth, go to streets of gold and mansions made for us, and to live in God’s presence. All this is true and brings a good hope for the believer, but in this verse Peter gives a main reason to repent:  so you can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!  The Holy Ghost is the main reason for Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.  His presence in your life will turn this crummy earth into a place of power, ministry, and His presence. You do not have to be absent from the body to be present with the Lord. You can live in God’s presence today through the person of the Holy Ghost. You are then expected to pass Him down to your children and to all who are afar off (v. 39). The Holy Ghost is your key to a joyful, peaceful, fulfilled life here on earth. You must understand that the reason you are here, and the work that you are called to do, will only be fulfilled through the Holy Spirit’s influence in your daily life. Each day, this day, must not be just another ordinary day of work, eat, and sleep. Make a difference–-make an impact on someone today through the gift of the Holy Ghost.