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Be In Time
An Ancient and
Urgent Call For Salvation Army Prophets
to Serve the
Present Age
by Steve Bussey
Steve
Bussey is with Sharon Bussey
BE IN TIME: AN ANCIENT AND URGENT CALL
FOR SALVATION ARMY PROPHETS TO SERVE THE PRESENT AGE
1. A charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify,
a never-dying soul to save,
and fit it for the sky.
2. To serve the present age,
my calling to fulfill,
O may it all my pow'rs engage
to do my Master's will!
3. Arm me with watchful care
as in Thy sight to live,
and now Thy servant, Lord, prepare
a strict account to give!
4. Help me to watch and pray,
and still on Thee rely,
O let me not my trust betray,
but press to realms on high.
- Charles Wesley
“The prophets were men of the age, but
they lived and wrought mightily for the Ages... They did not
seek it. It was thrust upon them. God called them, and they
went forward under divine constraint.”
- Samuel Logan Brengle
INTRODUCTION: THE NEED FOR PROPHETS
TODAY
In an age of cultural confusion,
spiritual compromise, and institutional fatigue, The Salvation
Army needs more than administrators, strategists, and
performers. We need prophets - men and women who speak God’s
truth with clarity, courage, and compassion. Not
FORTUNE-TELLERS obsessed with timelines, but FORTH-TELLERS who
interpret the present through the lens of God’s Word and call
the people back to righteousness.
This past week, I have been thinking
and meditating deeply about what it means to be a “prophet” in
our current generation. There are many perspectives on this
gift, some see this as being a spiritual futurist, predicting
things like the return of Christ or the coming of the
apocalypse. Others see it as a form of supernatural pastoral
edification, speaking a specific message to a person as led by
the Holy Spirit. These differing perspectives have caused me
to pause and probe deeper into what it means to be a prophet.
Speak. Live. Burn. Build. Be in time.
THE CALL TO BE A JEREMIAH
For years, I thought God had called
Sharon and I to be like a Nehemiah, rebuilding and reinforcing
walls. However, a couple of years ago after the Asbury
Revival, God said something to us in our prayer times, that he
was really calling us to be Jeremiahs.
Jeremiah? Who truly desires that
mantle? Yet it is precisely this mantle that God places upon
those willing to weep, warn, and witness.
Leadership lessons from Nehemiah
abound, but where are the books on being buried in cisterns
and watching Jerusalem fall?
And yet God has been teaching us what
it means to be obedient to the calling He has placed on our
lives. Here are some lessons learned thus far. And there is
much more still to learn…
In 1 Corinthians 14:22b, Paul states
that “Prophecy… is for the benefit of believers, not
unbelievers.”
LESSONS FROM BRENGLE AND THE ANCIENT
PROPHETS
Samuel Logan Brengle, a Commissioner in
The Salvation Army and a leading voice in the holiness
movement, wrote profoundly on the prophetic life in his 1929
article
This article was written in the midst
of the High Council crisis in The Salvation Army, a moment
when a pastoral-prophetic voice was desperately needed. We
stand at the threshold of a very similar moment nearly one
hundred years later.
Brengle reminds us that the prophets
were not primarily predictors of distant events. They were
interpreters of their times, voices of divine truth in the
midst of moral decay and religious pretense.
“Their value to me… has appeared to
consist not in the light they throw upon generations yet
unborn, but the light they throw upon my own generation.”
Brengle’s insight is prophetic in
itself. In a world obsessed with speculation and spectacle, he
calls us to DISCERNMENT and OBEDIENCE. The prophets were not
entertainers or pundits. They were God’s messengers, often
lonely, misunderstood, and persecuted - but faithful.
To be obedient to a calling to be
prophetic requires a willingness to check your ego at the
door, toughen up your skin, and tenderize your heart!
Commissioner Brengle, you have my attention!
The biblical prophets endured profound
suffering and hardship as they remained faithful to their
divine calling. Their lives were marked by a selfless
sacrifice. The painful reality of rejection and isolation
accompanied that call.
• Jeremiah was mocked, imprisoned, and
thrown into a cistern (Jeremiah 38:6). He is known as the
“weeping prophet” because of his deep sorrow over the people's
sin and their refusal to repent.
• Isaiah was reportedly sawn in two
(Hebrews 11:37, based on tradition).
• Ezekiel was commanded not to mourn
the death of his wife as a prophetic sign (Ezekiel 24:15–18).
Not exactly a prestigious ticker tape
parade for the prophets! I am not sure who would want to be a
prophet based upon the “lived experience” of these defenders
of the faith…
Brengle writes: “It was not a joyous,
rose-strewn path the prophets trod. It was perilous, lonely,
blood-stained…”
Loneliness and misunderstanding was
commonplace. Many prophets were misunderstood by their own
people, even by those closest to them. Think about it:
• Elijah fled into the wilderness,
feeling utterly alone (1 Kings 19:10).
• Micah lamented that he was surrounded
by deceit and betrayal (Micah 7:5–6).
Prophets often felt inadequate or
afraid, yet obeyed regardless of their natural reluctance.
Why? Because they were under divine compulsion. They were
determined to “go in the strength of the Lord to work he
appoints them to do.”
• Jeremiah protested, “I am only a
child,” but God assured him, “Do not be afraid… I am with you”
(Jeremiah 1:6–8).
• Jonah fled from God’s call, only to
be redirected through divine intervention (Jonah 1–3).
Brengle realized that prophets
demonstrated the privilege of sanctification through faithful
obedience DESPITE the heaviness of the mantle of sacrificial
discipleship. “They did not seek it. It was thrust upon them.
God called them, and they went forward under divine
constraint.”
This wasn’t easy street. It was most
certainly the unpopular narrow road of holiness. Prophets had
to deliver harsh truths while also proclaiming hope and
restoration.
• Isaiah declared both “Woe to you” and
“Comfort, comfort my people” (Isaiah 5; 40).
• Jeremiah wept over Jerusalem but also
spoke of God’s “everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).
These ancient prophets were not
political operatives or cultural commentators. They were holy
voices, shaped by Scripture, prayer, and suffering.
Brengle’s reflections from his study of
these prophets of old is uncannily prophetic and offers wise
counsel for how Salvationists today might be “forthtelling” in
our own present generation.
Speak. Live. Burn. Build. Be in time.
FOUR QUALITIES OF PROPHETIC VOICES
Let’s take a look at four critical
qualities of prophets:
1. A PROPHET IS SATURATED WITH
SCRIPTURE
Brengle believed and demonstrated in
his life that a prophet is DEEPLY rooted in the divine rule of
Holy Scripture. Any “word from the Lord” must be anchored
deeply in a rich, inductive understanding of the whole counsel
of God. THIS provides the guardrails for being sanctified in
the truth (John 17:17).
Brengle was immersed in the truth: “For
about sixty years I have been reading the Bible… and never
without blessing.”
Prophetic clarity begins with biblical
saturation. We must read not to master the text, but to be
mastered by it. As he says elsewhere, to not get through
Scripture, but rather get Scripture through you!
2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”
I spoke online with a Nazarene friend
who was concerned that sharing a “word from the Lord” is to
potentially twist Scripture and be used by the Devil! That IS
true. It’s soberingly true!! This is why any “word from the
Lord” must be FIRMLY anchored in the “Word of God.”
So a person called to fulfill a
prophetic role must:
• Read the Bible daily, not just
devotionally but formationally.
• Study the prophets - Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Amos, Micah - not for prediction, but for patterns
of divine truth-telling.
• Let Scripture shape your worldview,
your ethics, and your voice.
2. A PROPHET EMBRACES THE COST OF TRUTH
Brengle cautions his writers that “It
was not a joyous, rose-strewn path the prophets trod. It was
perilous, lonely, blood-stained…”
Prophets are not popular. They confront
entrenched sin, challenge power, and suffer for righteousness.
But they are sustained by God’s presence. Prophetic voices are
often misunderstood, resisted, or marginalized.
Those whom God has called to be
prophets must accept that faithfulness may cost you influence,
comfort, or position. Trust that God is your defender and
sustainer.
Brigadier Cliff Sipley, one of the
great evangelists of the USA Eastern Territory was noted as
saying, “you worry about your character. Let God worry about
your reputation.”
How does a person do this? Whilst many
of us might claim that “sticks and stones may break my bones
but names will never hurt me,” let’s be real: they often DO
hurt… and sometimes with deeper wounds than any stick or
stone!
Jesus Himself reminds us in Matthew
5:11-12:
“God blesses you when people mock you
and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil
things against you because you are my followers. Be happy
about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in
heaven. And remember, the ANCIENT PROPHETS WERE PERSECUTED IN
THE SAME WAY.”
And Jesus says that when this happens,
we are BLESSED. The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS THEIRS (v.10).
So how can we endure such fiery trials?
By cultivating a life focused on INTIMACY WITH GOD through
LISTENING in prayer and by the PURSUIT OF THE PRIVILEGE OF
HOLINESS! A perfectly submitted heart is one that will be
filled with perfect love!
Brengle reminds us that these ancient
prophets “were surrendered men, selfless men, devoted as
soldiers unto death…”
And he finds comfort in the great cloud
of prophetic witnesses that spur him on in his own race:
“I am a lonely man, and yet I am not
lonely. With my open Bible I live with prophets, priests, and
kings; I walk and hold communion with apostles, saints and
martyrs, and with Jesus, and mine eyes see the King in His
beauty and the land that is afar off.”
Prophetic authority flows from intimacy
with God, not charisma or credentials. Therefore those who are
called to be prophets must practice personal holiness and
corporate intercession.
Seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit -
not just for power, but for purity and discernment. This is
key to being filled with the full measure of Christ (Ephesians
4:13).
3. A PROPHET SPEAKS TO THE PRESENT AGE
Brengle says, “Their prophecies are
meant to enable me to understand the present… to interpret the
will and ways of God to the men of my own generation.”
We must resist escapism and engage the
real spiritual and social crises of our time. Prophetic
ministry is about truth-telling NOW, not date-setting for
later.
This requires listening deeply to the
present context. It requires looking to the past (hindsight)
and contrasting this with the present to determine points of
continuity and discontinuity in the people of God to determine
their alignment to His holy standards (insight) and
recognizing where derailment and disaster will come in the
future if there is not repentance and realignment (foresight).
These three dimensions - hindsight,
insight, and foresight - are sanctified and fueled by the
gracious prophetic gift of the Holy Spirit, giving us GOD’S
SIGHT for this generation!
Numbers 12:6 says, “When there is a
prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in
visions, I speak to them in dreams.”
Jeremiah 1:9 tells of his calling:
“Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and
said to me, ‘I have put my words in your mouth.’”
2 Peter 1:20–21 reminds us, “Above all,
you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about
by the prophet’s own interpretation… but prophets, though
human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy
Spirit.”
This New Testament reflection affirms
the divine origin and Spirit-led nature of prophetic
revelation. It reminds us also that this gift is not just for
the Old and New Testament days, but a critical function of the
church in this present day.
INTERLUDE: TESTING THE PROPHETIC
But ANY word must be TESTED and
discerned to be from God.
1 John 4:1 admonishes the church, “Dear
friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to
see whether they are from God, because many false prophets
have gone out into the world.”
Jesus warned in Matthew 7:15–20, “Watch
out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you
will recognize them.”
Deuteronomy 13:1–3 states, “If a
prophet… announces a sign or wonder… and it takes place, but
they say, ‘Let us follow other gods,’… you must not listen to
them.”
So we must test whether the message
aligns with Christ’s truth, Scripture, and godly fruit.
Discernment is essential. Not every spiritual message is from
God.
True prophets:
• Do not seek personal glory.
• Submit to spiritual authority and
community discernment.
• Speak with conviction and compassion,
not manipulation or fear.
Once this has been tested and validated
and when God’s message is clear, a prophet must not err in
speaking this word to the present generation. Isaiah 58:1
says, “Declare to my people their rebellion…”
In today’s world in my beloved
denomination, The Salvation Army that I believe God wants to
preserve, this means:
• Understanding the spiritual, social,
and organizational challenges facing The Salvation Army today.
• Listening to marginalized voices,
frontline officers, youth, and those outside the movement.
• Asking: Where is God’s heart
breaking? Where is truth being compromised?
Ezekiel speaks powerfully about the
responsibility of the prophet in Ezekiel 3 and Ezekiel 33,
where God appoints him as a watchman for the house of Israel.
These passages outline two key prophetic failures:
A. If the Prophet Fails to Speak
(Ezekiel 3:17–18; 33:7–9):
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman
for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give
them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will
surely die,’ and you do not warn them... that wicked person
will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for
their blood.”
Implications:
• If a prophet receives a word from God
but fails to deliver it, the consequences fall on both the
sinner and the prophet.
• The prophet becomes morally and
spiritually accountable for the silence.
B. If the Prophet Speaks Beyond What
God Has Said (Ezekiel 13:1–7):
“Woe to the foolish prophets who follow
their own spirit and have seen nothing!... They say, ‘The Lord
declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; yet they expect
their words to be fulfilled.”
Implications:
• Prophets who speak presumptuously,
claiming divine authority for their own ideas or agendas, are
condemned.
• God calls this lying divination - a
serious offense that misleads the people and dishonors His
name.
So speaking truth to the present isn’t
something to be taken lightly! Just look to Moses who
disobeyed God by getting frustrated with Israel and striking
the rock in anger… he never entered the promised land (at
least the temporal one!).
To summarize this third lesson in a
simple formula:
• Silence when God speaks =
disobedience and shared guilt.
• Speaking when God has not spoken =
false prophecy and divine judgment.
• Faithful forthtelling = obedience,
even when unpopular or dangerous.
Speak. Live. Burn. Build. Be in time.
4. A PROPHET COMBINES FIRE WITH
TENDERNESS
True prophets are not harsh. They are
holy. Their words burn with conviction and bleed with
compassion. Prophets had to deliver harsh truths while also
proclaiming hope and restoration.
Prophets carried the grief of God over
His people’s sin.
• Hosea was commanded to marry a woman
who would be unfaithful, symbolizing Israel’s spiritual
adultery (Hosea 1).
• Habakkuk wrestled with God over the
triumph of injustice and cried out for revival (Habakkuk 1–3).
Brengle saw prophets as embodying and
demonstrating the essence of holy love by holding grace and
truth, mercy and judgment in balance:
“But though they flamed like fire
heated sevenfold against sin, they had hearts as tender as a
little child, and they wept for sinners, and breathed out
promises as gentle as light falling on the eyes of sleeping
babes. It was God, the Holy One, in these devoted, yielded men
that flamed against iniquity, that sobbed and wept over the
desolations sin wrought, and gave promises that still fall
into our hearts with Heaven's own benediction.”
Brengle reminds us of the critical role
of the pastoral in the prophetic. Without this check and
balance, a prophet could be more destructive than productive
in God’s work in the church and the world.
A CALL TO FUTURE SALVATIONIST PROPHETS
The Salvation Army was born in
prophetic fire. William and Catherine Booth did not merely
organize - they proclaimed. They confronted sin, comforted the
broken, and called the church to revival. They led so many
into the joy of full salvation by proclaiming the justifying
blood of Jesus and the sanctifying fire of the Holy Spirit!
That legacy must be rekindled. That is our birthright. That is
the rock on which we stand. To step away from it is to stand
on sinking sand…
Brengle’s teaching on Ancient Prophets
so many years ago still rings fresh in our present day:
“Have we problems in The Salvation
Army? Are we confronted by vice and sin in our city? Is evil
triumphant and injustice and wickedness entrenched in high
places in the State? We shall find light on every problem in
the messages of the prophets, and we shall find help and
strength in company with them, for they walked with God and
lived and spoke and suffered and died for Him.”
In a time of spiritual drift, cultural
compromise, and institutional weariness, the Spirit of God is
stirring hearts again. He is calling forth prophets - not
fortune-tellers, but forthtellers - who will speak truth with
courage, compassion, and clarity.
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their
rebellion…” (Isaiah 58:1).
These prophets will not be defined by
titles or positions, but by holy fire and faithful obedience.
They will walk in the footsteps of Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, and
Micah - men and women who stood alone, wept deeply, and spoke
boldly.
“I have loved you with an everlasting
love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” (Jeremiah
31:3).
“The one who prophesies speaks to
people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort” (1
Corinthians 14:3).
They will speak not to entertain, but
to enliven. Not to condemn, but to call. Not to divide, but to
discern. Not to break down, but to build up.
They will be watchmen and watchwomen on
the walls, burdened with the Word of the Lord, refusing to be
silent when truth is at stake.
They will be immersed in Scripture,
shaped by prayer, and surrendered to the Spirit. Their lives
will be marked by holiness, humility, and hope.
They will call The Salvation Army back
to its roots - not just its history, but its holy identity as
a revival movement, a people forged in blood and fire.
Speak. Live. Burn. Build. Be in time.
FINAL EXHORTATION: BE IN TIME
To those who feel the stirring call to
be prophets ready to serve the present age:
If your heart burns with holy
discontent…
If you see the cracks in the walls and
long for renewal…
If you weep over sin and dream of
revival…
If you feel the Spirit whispering,
“Speak…”
Then YOU may be one of the prophets God
is raising up.
Do not wait for permission.
Do not fear rejection.
Do not shrink from the cost.
Speak. Live. Burn. Build.
Be in time.
The Salvation Army needs your voice.
The Kingdom of God needs your witness.
The world needs your fire.
Let us pray with Habakkuk: “O Lord,
revive Thy work in the midst of the years… remember mercy”
(Habakkuk 3:2).
Be in Time (Salvation Army Songs, 1911)
1. The voice of wisdom cries, Be in
time!
To give up every sin,
In earnest now begin,
The night will soon set in,
Be in time.
2. Ye aged sinners, hear, Be in time;
Your sands are running fast,
Your die will soon be cast,
Be in time.
3. Though late, ye may return, Be in
time;
Though late, ye may return,
While the lamp holds out to burn,
Be in time.
4. Ye who are young in years, Be in
time:
Ye say you're in your bloom,
But mind your day will come,
Be in time.
5. Backslider dost thou hear? Be in
time;
Thy sinful course forsake,
Thy deathless soul's at stake,
Be in time.
6. Oh should the door be shut When you
come,
Should God in thunder say
"Depart from Me away"
'Twill be vain to pray; BE IN TIME!
“Lord, raise up prophets in our ranks -
men and women of fire and tenderness, saturated in Scripture,
surrendered to Your Spirit, and faithful to Your call. May we
serve the present age with holy boldness. Amen.”
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