"Getting Out of a Boat in a Storm" (Part 2)

“Getting Out of A Boat in A Storm”

K. Adrian Scott

January 4, 2026

Context and Review.

Please remember our text finds Jesus and his disciples immediately after the miraculous feeding of the five thousand by the Lord who has control of and use of everything in nature for his glory and the good of those who benefit from the Lord’s graces.

Verse 23 says Jesus sent the multitude away “and He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray...” As Ellicott says in his Matthew commentary, ‘Jesus was needing special communion with the Father.”

Verse 24 gives us the details of the horrendous storm the developed over the Sea while the disciples were traveling to the other side to meet Jesus and resume their ministry with Him.

Preaching Point.

The fear of the disciples was at its most intense seeing that Jesus was not with them! We can clearly see here that when dependent upon our own strength and left to our own devices, we, as people, are helpless. Sometimes it takes special (life) circumstances for us all to be reminded that we desperately need the Lord! The disciple’s abilities were no match for the strength of this storm.

Verse 25 tells us the time of the storm, between 3am and 6am, but the Master over storms happened to be on the Sea at the same time! This is not just the time of thestorm, but it is the time of the disciples' deliverance from the storm! Jesus suspends the law of gravity and walks to His disciples.

Verse 26 shows us the human side of the disciples; they were intensely afraid. The disciples then “cried out for (due to their) fear.” This is the disciples in prayer, and it is good to note they were too proud to call out to Jesus for help.

Verse 27 tells us that immediately Jesus speaks to then and says, “Be of good cheer (have courage)! It is I; do not be afraid.” Jesus is still sympathetic and patient with us even when our faith fails.

Verse 28; “And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

In identifying Himself to the disciples, Jesus will make certain the enemy cannot take credit for what He is about to do. This is not Satan’s mission anyway. Satan’s mission is to destroy us not save us!

Here Peter wants assurance that this is the Lord Jesus calling to the disciples.

Preaching Point.

Here Peter’s faith is challenged. Remember what I said last week, ‘when you cannot see Jesus clearly in your circumstances, look for ways to identify Him. And here are some things that will help us identify Jesus’ work –

a. Jesus will never come to us inappropriately or ‘out of character.’

b. Jesus will never be late.

c. It is impossible for Jesus to fail.

d. In the end, Jesus will always receive all the glory.

In all our decisions, make sure it is Jesus who is leading us!

We must appreciate Peter’s faith because everyone else was just simply afraid.

Next, I want to talk about our motives in prayer. Let us contemplate for a moment:

Were Peter’s intentions pure when he asked to come to Jesus?

Was Peter wanting to impress the other disciples and prove his spiritual superiority over them?

Was Peter simply testing his own personal faith in wanting to walk on the water?

Was Peter only wanting to be saved from perishing in the water and knew that Jesus is the only one who could save him?

The request by Peter must have been sincere because the Lord Jesus answered it Jesus told Peter, “Come.” ‘Get out of your boat, Peter, and come to me!’

Note, Jesus answered Peter’s prayer in the affirmative even though Peter’s faith was not strong in this moment. We must not shy away from praying because we do not have the faith we should have. I recognize Scripture admonishes us in James 1.6 to “pray without wavering” which means praying without firm faith leads to spiritual instability, but this truth does not say the Lord will not hear us when we pray when our faith is low. Abraham, the father of the faithful, as well as his wife Sarah both were guilty of doubting the promises of God. God still did what God promised them from the beginning. He gave them a son at the old age even though they doubted God’s Word. In another instance, the disciples did not have complete faith that the five thousand would be fed because their resources were limited to two fish and five loaves of bread! Pray, even when you doubt it! And do not stop praying!

v. 29; “So He said ‘Come.’ So, Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”

All this is happening while the storm is still raging around them! Nature is not cooperating.

V. 30; “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, Lord, save me.”

Preaching Point.

Peter as well as his fellow disciples were afraid of the storm while they were in the boat, then they were afraid when Jesus was walking toward them, thinking it was a ghost, now Peter is afraid after stepping out of the boat to walk to Jesus, even though Jesus commanded him to come to Him. Peter had more fear of the wind than he had faith in Christ!

What is stopping you? What is hindering you from taking the next steps in your life and spiritual journey? What are you afraid of? What is interfering with your confidence in Christ? For Peter, it was the wind. So, what is the enemy using to paralyze your faith and hinder your progress in your spiritual life?

Fear plays an important part of our spiritual faith journey. And where does fear come from? It often comes from our eyes being taken off Jesus and merely looking at our circumstances. Genuine faith is believing God no matter what our circumstances. Faith is believing God for answers even when we cannot see them! It is believing God will keep His Word!

Isaiah 12.2 says, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

“...and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!”

Oh, here is the Lord so willing to save us from the near catastrophes caused by our doubts and fears! We are all a work in progress. Keep trusting God and keep growing in your faith!

v. 31; “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Why do we doubt God? The One who has helped us so many times before is still willing and able to help us now! Has God ever failed us? So why are we fearful?

v. 32; “And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”

Peter learned several things in this experience, but one thing in particular is that although the winds were out of his control, they were never out of the Lord’s control!

The Proposition.

Peter is called to get out of the boat during a storm.

He learned that the boat wasn't as safe as he thought! 

He learned that your spirituality, your faith cannot go to next level if you don't trust Jesus.

Peter may have thought getting out of the boat was a bad idea, but he will learn you cannot grow if you always trust in yourself and playing it safe, rather than getting out of the boat and trusting God! In this instance, faith says you don’t have to be like everyone else by following the status quo. The unwritten rule was ‘you stay in the boat during a storm’ because you are safest in the boat. But is that true? Because as Peter found out, the boat was not their safety, Jesus was! Who or what are you thinking is your safety net? Who or what are you depending on?

Peter, you cannot be the leader you’re supposed to be if you stay in the boat like everyone else! You must push your faith to the next level!

Your team, those who look up to you, are watching you to see how you react in a storm! Jesus wasn’t calling Peter from the safety of a boat, but Jesus was calling Peter from standing on the dashing waves and refusing to bow to the howling winds of the sea!

The late Miles, the musical genius was a wealthy man who had signed a very lucrative contract with a major recording company. His responsibility was to record music albums for the label. Mr. Davis assembled his team of musicians, produced an album, and then sent the master tape to the executives of the record label for release. Not long afterwards, the top executive in charge of that division of the label contacted Miles and asked him one question: “what is this?” He was genuinely confused. Then he said, “this is not what your fans expect from you Miles, because this is not Jazz.” He said we cannot release this music. They did not like it at all. Miles Davisresponded by saying, ‘release the album.’ ‘If you do not, I will walk away from my contract with your company.’ Miles was convinced it was his best work although admittedly it was different than what he had produced before.

Well, the recording label reluctantly decided to release the album and feared it would be a disaster. Well, to their surprise, the album was not only a hit but it became the best-selling album in American Jazz history and he changed jazz music history not by staying in his comfort zone, where it was safe, but by getting out of the boat of comfort and trusting his God-given musical gifts and knowledge of his audience, and the rest is history. The record that the recording company label executives first totally rejected as ‘not being jazz at all’ became the best-selling jazz album of all time and is in the music Hall of Fame.

Where is your faith? And are you willing to get out of your boat when Jesus is calling you? 

Is your faith calling you to get out of your boat? Your comfort zone? “Sometimes the biggest risk is playing it safe" (Miles Davis, The Untold)

Miles Davis, like Peter, welcomed change and embraced it.

If you want your world to change, you first must change yourself!

The Close.

Are you willing to face the challenges of your convictions? Are you willing and committed to walking where no other person has gone? The other disciples stayed in the boat, but not Peter. Are you willing to be different by obeying the voice of God? Is your Lord calling you to get out of your boat? The truth is that the boat was no safer than the sea! The boat was no less rocky than the waves and no less tossed about than the winds outside of the boat!

Peter’s true safety was in Christ, not the boat!

It is fear that makes us believe that we are safer in the boat than outside of it in a storm, but the truth is we are safer outside of the boat if Jesus is in the storm with us!