Stand Up & Testify: Part I" | Pastor Wayman Ming | September 14, 2026

Peter’s command in 1 Peter 3:15 calls believers to “sanctify the Lord God” in their hearts before they can stand up and testify. Testimony is not something a Christ follower has to manufacture, search for, or negotiate. Testimony flows out of a real relationship, just as someone can naturally talk about a spouse, children, or grandchildren after years of doing life together.

The old testimony time in church was more than a Sunday moment. That popcorn testimony service was a dress rehearsal for Monday, for the water cooler, the cubicle, the classroom, the neighborhood, and every place a believer lives. A relationship with Jesus should make His goodness, mercy, saving power, and faithfulness begin to flow out like breathing. A struggle to speak of Christ may reveal that something is missing in the relationship.

Christ’s Great Commission makes the stakes high because eternity is on the line. Christ does not send His people on an impossible mission and then disavow them. Christ gives the assignment to go, make disciples, baptize them, teach them, and trust His promise: “I am with you always.” The commission is not reserved for church leaders. Every born again believer is called to engage, not to dunk from a distance, but to become personally involved in seeing lives transformed.

Sanctification establishes Christ as Lord and God over all things. Positional sanctification honors Him as the priority, the honored guest in the heart and home. Progressive sanctification then works itself out as believers learn to live the Book of all books, become more like Christ, and take on His assignment. A confession without a biblical worldview falls short of the life Christ calls His followers to live.

Consecration brings the real question into focus: Why is a Christian on this planet? Family, work, kindness, financial security, travel, and good causes are not wrong, but every one of them must submit to the greater purpose of impacting eternity. Salvation is more than a transaction. Salvation is an assignment.

God does not immediately translate saved people to heaven because He is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish. Christ leaves His people among spouses, children, coworkers, neighbors, and nations because somebody needs to encounter Him through their witness. Impacting eternity means more than getting people into heaven. Impacting eternity means getting heaven into people through disciples who make disciples.

The call is therefore to stop merely maintaining moments and begin multiplying moments for all of eternity. Christ sends the assignment, opens the Book, and promises His presence. The heart’s beginning point is simple but radical: sanctify Him as Lord, place Him first, consecrate life to His mission, and stand up and testify.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Testimony flows from real relationship Testimony becomes natural when Christ is not distant or theoretical, but known through daily life, memory, obedience, and dependence. A believer who is doing life with Jesus has more than religious language to repeat. Relationship gives substance to witness because it gives evidence of His faithfulness. [09:03]
• 2. Salvation is an assignment, not transaction Salvation surely brings forgiveness and eternal life, but Christ also leaves His people here for a reason. The believer’s continued life on earth is tied to Christ’s mission of making disciples. Eternity changes when redeemed people recognize that their rescue also carries a commission. [29:57]
• 3. Christ must be first in heart Sanctification means setting Christ apart as Lord, not simply adding Him to an already crowded life. Positional sanctification gives Him first place, while progressive sanctification reshapes daily choices into His likeness. Consecration says, “I’m totally in,” because His authority reaches every sphere of life. [18:27]
• 4. Every purpose must impact eternity Family, work, provision, travel, and worthy causes gain their deepest purpose when they are filtered through Christ’s commission. Temporary causes can become eternal opportunities when they create room for witness, discipleship, and transformed hearts. A life aimed at eternity refuses to merely maintain moments. [35:42]
• 5. Christ’s presence makes commission possible Christ never sends His people out alone. His command to go and make disciples is joined to His promise to remain with them to the end of the age. His presence turns fearful obligation into a possible mission of rescue, faithfulness, and hope.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:55] - Impacting Eternity
• [01:12] - Stand Up and Testify
• [01:50] - What Testimony Means
• [02:39] - Sunday Testimony, Monday Witness
• [05:17] - Relationship Makes Testimony Natural
• [11:21] - Sanctify the Lord God
• [12:32] - Commission Possible
• [14:08] - The Great Commission Assignment
• [18:04] - Positional and Progressive Sanctification
• [22:40] - The Question of Purpose
• [29:24] - Why Believers Remain on Earth
• [34:29] - Getting Heaven Into People
• [40:17] - Consecrating Life to Christ’s Mission
• [45:08] - A Prayer for Transformed Hearts

Bible Reading

1 Peter 3:15
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Observation questions

1. According to 1 Peter 3:15, what must believers do in their hearts before they are ready to explain the hope within them?
2. What three continuing actions does Jesus command in Matthew 28:19-20 after telling His followers to go and make disciples?
3. What contrast is made between merely inviting people to “come” and personally going to make disciples? [15:34]
4. What people and places were named as everyday opportunities for believers to impact eternity? [31:01]

Interpretation questions

1. What does it mean to honor Christ as Lord “in the heart,” and how does that inner decision shape a believer’s words and choices? [18:27]
2. Why is testimony meant to flow from a real relationship with Jesus rather than from memorized religious language? [09:03]
3. Matthew 28 includes baptizing and teaching, not only introducing someone to faith. What does this show about the difference between making a convert and making a disciple? [34:29]
4. How does God’s patience in 2 Peter 3:9 help explain why believers remain in the world after they are saved? [30:40]

Application questions

1. When someone asks about the hope in your life, what specific work of Jesus could you honestly share—His mercy, provision, forgiveness, comfort, correction, or faithfulness? What makes it easier or harder to speak about it? [09:03]
2. Is there any area of your life—family, work, finances, schedule, goals, or relationships—where Christ has been included but not truly honored as Lord? What might putting Him first in that area look like this week? [40:50]
3. Who is one person in your family, workplace, classroom, or neighborhood who may need to encounter Christ through your care and witness? What is one simple next step you could take toward that person? [43:26]
4. What would it look like for you to move beyond maintaining good moments in life and begin multiplying moments that can impact eternity? [36:51]
5. Think about a cause, responsibility, hobby, or goal that matters to you. How could that part of your life become an opportunity to love people, speak of Christ, or help someone grow as a disciple? [38:31]
6. Jesus promises, “I am with you always.” Where do you most need to trust His presence as you take a step of witness or discipleship? [40:17]