We Are Set Under Authority- Greg White
Greg White was reading a familiar Bible story when one line stopped him cold. A Roman centurion — trained to command armies — refused Jesus’ offer to come heal his servant and said something no one expected. That moment reveals a kind of faith Jesus called greater than anything He’d seen in Israel — and it has everything to do with authority, surrender, and trust. In this message, Greg White unpacks why the centurion’s response wasn’t humility alone — it was understanding. As a man who lived under command, the centurion recognized authority when he saw it. He knew Jesus didn’t need proximity, ritual, or effort. One word was enough. Greg connects this moment to real life — especially for those living under visible authority structures like prisons, military systems, and institutions — and asks a harder question beneath it all: Who are you really under? Greg White ministers in Texas Prisons with Freedom In Jesus Prison Ministries.
Greetings in Christ, my dear brothers and sisters. Jesus is worthy of all the glory that you bring him, hallelujah. My name is Greg White. I am partnering with Freedom in Jesus Prison Ministries, and it's a joy for me to bring you the word of the Lord today. I'm going to be speaking out of the book of Matthew, if you have your Bible. Matthew chapter 8, it's the story of a centurion who came to Jesus with a request. And so we're going to read that, Matthew chapter 8, starting with verse 5 there. Give you a minute to turn. The book of Matthew chapter 8, verse 5, beginning there. When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him asking for help. Lord, he said, my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering. Jesus said to him, I will go and heal him. The centurion replied, Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority with soldiers under me. I tell this one, go, and he goes, and that one, come, and he comes. I say to my servant, do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, I tell you the truth, I have not found in Israel anyone with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown out, thrown outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then Jesus said to the centurion, go, and it will be done just as you believed it would. And his servant was healed at that very hour. God, we thank you for this word of truth. May you speak to each of us and give us the insight and wisdom to know what you're trying to teach us personally, each of us, in being people under authority. In the name of Jesus, I pray, dear God, today, your blessing on all who hear this message
in Jesus Christ. Thank you, Father, your faithful who called us, who also will do it, amen. Centurions are Roman soldiers, after the word centuri, which means hundred, like century in our vocabulary, and they were in charge of, say, 80 to 100 soldiers. They were the backbone of the Roman army. They were the warriors. They were the champions of the conquering, you know, Roman army going into other nations. And they were promoted from the ranks of the regular army by their valor, by their courage, by their insight, by their leadership skills, by their commitment to excellence in winning wars and finding ways to defeat the enemy. And, of course, they were paid better than most because they got more spoils of war. But the centurions were, they were the most disciplined. They were the most integral part of leadership. They were in charge of these other soldiers. And so they had a high rank. They were recognized across the nation, and they were promoted because of the talents and energies and the things that they did in winning for the Roman government. Anyway, long story short, there's a few centurions in the Bible that we know the stories of. This is one I'll be talking to you about here in just a minute. But there's a centurion at the cross where, when Jesus died... and they were trying to prove that the three men that were there had died. They broke the bones of the two thieves, the legs, so that they would die quickly. And when they saw that Jesus had apparently died, the Roman centurion that was there, his name was Longinus, he pierced Jesus' side with a sword, and blood and water flowed out of that wound. And we believe that he was changed in his life, because at the end he said, truly, this man was the Son of God. And that's one of the greatest statements there is in any life. If you can say in your spirit today, truly, Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, then you are a believer. It says in the Bible that when all of us die, who are living now, and all of those yet to be born and come and die, and all those in the past have, that all of us will be gathered around the throne where God the Father in heaven is.
And it says in the Bible that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess. Won't be any other religions, false doctrines, any of that stuff. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father. And here's this Roman centurion at the cross saying, truly, this man is the Son of God. And I go, well, blessed be the name of the Lord. Even in death there is victory. Hallelujah. The second centurion story is in the book of Acts. It's the story where a centurion sins for Peter, who's having this vision of the sheet being lowered down and God telling him to go ahead and rise and eat. And he's saying, no, I've not put that stuff in my mouth ever. And Jesus says, what God hath cleansed, don't call that common or unclean. What he was talking about is that the Gentiles are not common or unclean. And so here comes this centurion's servants to this house and they knock on the door and Peter and his family answer and so on, brothers and sisters in Christ. And they are led by the Spirit of God to go with this group to the centurion's house. When he enters the house, he said, why have you called me here? And as Peter began to talk about the redemptive power of Jesus' name and blood, about the plan of God for redeeming those of us who are sinners and lost and so on, and talking about the Holy Spirit's infilling and the blessing of life in Christ, all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit was poured out just as it was on the day of Pentecost when Peter experienced it with the other 120 in the upper room, that the Holy Spirit was poured out on this centurion's servant and his entire family and those that were there. It's actually the Gentile Pentecost experience. And that happened with a centurion's servant. So his name was Cornelius. You probably remember that story. Well, this man, don't know the name of this man, but he was a centurion and he comes to Jesus at Capernaum. And he says to the Lord in verse 6, he says, my servant lies home paralyzed and in terrible suffering. He didn't say a soldier, one under my command is there. He said, my servant is there. Notice the compassion of this warrior, this leader who had conquered armies and won battles and was promoted to this high rank and was in charge of things there in Israel. And anyway, long story short, Jesus said to him, this Gentile, this Roman soldier who was very, very respected, very, very honored, and very, very, what shall I say, in control of the place where they were. And Jesus said, I will go with you and heal your servant.
The centurion was shocked. He said, Lord, I know the Jewish custom. We're not supposed to have anything to do with Gentiles. And so he says, I'm not worthy to come into your home. or to have you come into my home, rather. And so, you just say the word, just say the word and my servant will be healed. And that starts this whole message. The text for it is found there down in verse 8. He said, Lord, I don't deserve to have you come under my roof. And then in verse 9, for I myself am a man under authority. Every one of us has a position in life under God. We are not here by accident, we are here by divine purpose. He has a plan for our lives, a plan to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us hope and a future. He is the God who works all things together for our good because we love Him and are called to His purpose. He is the God who answers our prayers exceedingly abundantly beyond anything we can ask or think according to His Spirit that is working inside of us. He is the God who moves in mysterious ways, wonders to perform, because He's looking for people of authority. When He can find them, He can change the world. You are meant to be, my brothers and sisters, a person of authority in the kingdom. There's three levels of this I want to talk to you about. The first is, this man Cornelius is a man under authority. You see that? He says, I am a man under authority. Verse 9, I'm under authority. Someone greater than me is in control. I take orders from others. I am subservient to those that are above me. I was in the military for a few years in the army, and I was a man under authority. I was an enlisted man, and I saluted officers and those that were of higher rank than me.
I honored them. And when they said something to go or do or whatever, I did it. I ended up in Germany. I was in the Persian missile crew, atomic warheads, and working in intelligence and stuff. And I had the highest security clearance that I know you can have. You know, crypto, add them all, need to know the whole deal. And top secret. And so they flew me around in helicopters and in jeeps and handling documents and so on and the numbers to the safe, et cetera, that it would take to arm the weapons. Anyway, long story short, I didn't use that authority for myself. I took orders from others. If you're going to serve in the kingdom of God, you're going to have to make Jesus the Lord of your life. The first thing to being a part of the body of Christ and to fulfilling the reason for which you were born in His image and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb by His sacrificial death on the cross, if you'll trust Him to do so, is the fact that you have to repent of your sins. First message Jesus ever gave, and He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is the Lord. So we're all under the authority of Jesus Christ. He is the master. He is the chief builder. He is the commander of heaven's armies. He is God, and He says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and we all need to repent and put our faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. We need to bow before Him and confess that we have failed Him and ourselves and others, and that we need His forgiveness. We need His cleansing.
We need His deliverance. We need His provision. We need His blessing. We need His protection. We need to have His help. We need His presence and power and purity in person with us. We need Jesus. For without Him, we can do nothing. But we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We are only as good in the kingdom of God as we are in our respect of authority. Now in the prison system, you know there are people in authority above you. You have a chaplain and a warden and officers and so many different things, and if you're going to get along at all, you're going to have to learn how to handle your authority. You're going to have to respect those that are in authority over you, especially the spiritual authority. You see, when a man walks humbly, does justly, and loves mercy before God, there is a power that comes on their lives. There is a victory that is won the moment somebody says, I surrender. Not to evil, not to a human being in the sense of just worshiping anyone other than Jesus, but to say that I respect those that God has put in authority. We may not like our leaders in the country, but that doesn't mean I can disobey the laws and do what I want and not be accountable, because somehow, you know, I still believe America is one nation under God. And I don't know about the indivisible anymore, but there's liberty and justice for all. And we need accountability to the authority that God has placed in order that we might be disciplined and organized and blessed and useful, that there might be a victory that comes because we are serving the Lord and blessing other people. Amen. Anyway, this centurion servant is a man under authority. And I don't know what position he had there in town or in the city, but he may have been
in charge of building buildings. You know, there's ones that they talk about building our temple, etc., in the Bible. But I don't know. He may be in charge of taking care of the needs of the Jewish people, or he probably had been in charge of crucifixions and all kinds of things. But whether it's mercy or judgment, whether it's building or accounting to everybody for, you know, all of the paperwork and stuff that he was in charge of to the Roman authorities, sometimes they were in charge of collecting taxes. You know, give to Caesar what's Caesar, to God what's God's. And they had all kinds of positions, all kinds of responsibilities, but they are always one in Jesus' day a person to be respected because they were the best of the best. They were the most disciplined, the most in control, and they didn't get to where they were as centurions without having to go through war and to win a victory personally. Sometimes our biggest enemy is ourselves. In order for us to fight the good fight of the faith, in order for us to stand in the gap and make up the hedge, in order for us to have a double portion of anointing, many times we have to go through struggles and hardships and pains and challenges in order that God might discipline us and correct us and instruct us in righteousness that we would be thoroughly furnished to all good works. We need God to work in us to do in the will of His pleasure as the Scripture says. We need God who began a good work in us to continue to do that work until the day of Jesus' return. I'm under authority. When God called me to preach in Christ and the Holy Spirit came on me, I had a choice. I could either say, yes, Lord, and go and do what He said, or I could say, no, I don't want to do it. It's better to say no and then change your mind and go than it is to say yes and not do it. That Scripture says that. But there is a way for us to honor God where He can be pleased with us when His Spirit
directs us to do something. I don't know what gifts you have or talents you have or what the calling, anointing and blessing of God is upon you, but there comes a point where if you have a gift, use it. Use it. If you can sing, sing the best you can. If you can play, play an instrument or the piano or whatever to the very best of your ability. Give Jesus glory through it. If you can teach, then teach with a heart like the teacher Jesus is. If you can prophesy, prophesy faithfully and give the Word of God the way the Holy Spirit leads you to in authority, in power, in humility and integrity. If you can do whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. You're living in a way with authority that under Jesus you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. But we are not our own. We have been bought with a price. Jesus' death and sacrifice for us is complete at the cross and when you put your life in His hands, then underneath you are the everlasting arms of God throughout your life. and you are under His authority. The Bible says that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, my brothers and sisters, and He's interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. You ever thought about maybe what He's praying about for you? I can tell you what I think He's praying and not be out of line with it at all. If you put your, my name is Greg, I'll just use me an example, and you put your name in there.
Maybe He's saying things, well, I started some of that scripture earlier. Maybe He's turning to the Father and He's saying, Father, I pray for our servant, Greg, that you would open the windows of heaven and pour out on him a blessing that cannot be contained. I know the plans that we have for him, plans to prosper him, not to harm him, give him hope and a future, Jeremiah 29, 11. I know that we intend to bless him with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places and to work all things out together for his good and to answer his prayers exceedingly abundantly, like I shared earlier, with the Holy Spirit working in him. We will give him everything he needs for life and godliness. In the Lord's prayer, Jesus may be saying, Father, may our kingdom come upon Greg and our will be done on the earth in his life as it is in heaven. Father, as maybe a tear fills the eyes of Jesus as he intercedes for you, he said, I will never leave them. I will never forsake them. I'll be with them to the end of the age. When they go through the waters and the fires and the floods and so on, let's give our angels charge over them to keep them in all their ways and bear them up in their arms
so that they'll not dash their foot against a stone. Let's keep them from falling and present him faultless before our presence with great joy. Let's manifest ourself to be greater in him than he, the devil, that's in the world. Faithful is the Lord Jesus who calls you, my brothers and sisters, who also will do it. You see, the Bible says that every hair of your head is numbered and every step you take in the book of James is ordered by God. You're not only in his hands because you surrendered your life to Christ if you're a believer, but you're also under the covering of his prayers. Everywhere you go, he intends to bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you everything in his kingdom that he promised to daily load you with benefits, forgiving sin, healing disease, redeeming our lives from the pit, crowning us with love and compassion. It's his doing and it's marvelous in our eyes. You deserve to have God's best. You deserve to be blessed because the blessing of the Lord makes rich and he adds no sorrow with it. You deserve today to know the will of God,
the mind of Christ and the fellowship of his abundant mercy and presence and the love of God never fails as he pours it into your heart. But you can only know that by surrender to the authority that's above you until you say yes to Jesus and you let go of your past, whatever that is. By the way, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Don't waste it. When you give your life to Christ and you surrender to him and you trust him as your savior, guess what? All things, the old things have all passed away. The Bible says so and everything's become new. You walk in new life. You walk in victory. You walk in blessing. You walk in the power and authority of Jesus' blood covenant. You have everything that he has to give, his spirit, his word, him, his blood covenant and the blessing of the father. And it's not hard to trust the one who died in your place on your cross for your sins. You can trust in the Lord and in the power of his might and not lean on this but follow his heart, his mind, his soul as you are born again in Jesus' name and his word is in you. you need to allow the authority of Jesus to take over all other authorities in your life.
The centurion's servant, he comes to Jesus, he's a man under authority, and he knows who his bosses are in the Roman government, and he follows orders, and he does what they say. He's been awarded for that too, because he's been promoted to be a centurion. And he comes to Jesus and asks Jesus to heal his servant. This shows what kind of heart this man has. You see, he's in total control, and yet he has mercy on a servant. He's taking his time going these miles or however far it was to get to Jesus, and he's humbling himself before the master, Jesus Christ, and asking for help with his servant. That is an admirable quality. No matter where you are in your relationship with Jesus Christ, you have a relationship with others, and you are your brother's keeper, your sister's keeper. How can I pray for you? How can I stand with you? How can I encourage you as we see the day of Christ's return approaching? How can I build you up on your holy faith? How can I walk with you and share the pain of your suffering and laugh with you at the victories of blessing in your life? This man came to Jesus for someone else. He didn't have any self-motives in this. He wanted to see his servant healed because he loved his servant. When you're in authority, you have leadership responsibilities. You have a chain of command. You have directives to have to follow. You have an opportunity to walk with the Lord. When the centurion said to Jesus, I have servants under me, when I tell one to come, he comes. When I tell another to go, he goes. And when I tell another to do this, he does it. Jesus is familiar with that. We're familiar with that. He tells us, for example, come. Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and you'll learn from me. Then he says, after we receive the Lord and he's going to heaven, he says, go ye therefore, go therefore into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I've commanded you. And lo, I'm with you always to the end of the age. Amen. And then when he says, do this, he says, do this, be filled with the Spirit. Do this, forgive, and you will be forgiven. Do this, do this, do this, do this. There's a lot of things that Jesus would say that we need to do in order to change the world for the glory of God. You are under his authority, but you're also in his authority. This man is in authority,
but he didn't have the ability to heal this servant. So he came to one who did. You and I have authority in the kingdom of God with the keys to the kingdom of God. Jesus said, I give unto you the keys to the kingdom of God. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. He said, you may ask anything in my name and I'll do it. Ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened. For everyone who asks, Jesus said as he repeated himself in Matthew chapter seven, verses seven and eight, everyone who asks, receives. He who seeks, finds. And he who knocks, the door shall be opened. Don't be a hearer of the word and not a doer of it. Do something with it. Resist the devil and he'll flee from you. Stand in the gap and make up the edge. If you can pray, pray with all your heart. Don't give up. Look up. Surrender to Jesus and be a person of authority in the kingdom of God. But have compassion, mercy, and love for others. And God will bless you and God will bless you. with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places if you'll do that. Jesus says, I've not found anyone with such great faith in all of Israel, but he found this man, and he says to him, go, go home, go to your servant. It will be done just as you have believed it would. Jesus is looking for someone to believe him, to a man or a woman of integrity, a man or a woman of surrender to the Christ and to the cross, someone that he can pray in and with and for through, someone in that he can heal and minister to a world that's broken, somebody that can take authority in the name of Jesus and yet be under authority as well as being over others in authority. Every one of us as a leader, and you are in the spiritual kingdom, you have opportunity to make a difference for the glory of God in your life, and it all starts by surrender to Jesus. When you realize that he came and washed our feet, the King of kings and Lord of lords, came and was beaten and wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and he became sin for us that we might be made righteous in the eyes of God. When Jesus humbled himself and became obedient
to the death on the cross, what he's saying is, I'm giving you the example, I'm giving you the pattern of how to be someone in authority, someone in great authority, and yet at the same time in humility and in brokenness for a broken and contrite heart God won't despise, you can make a difference in the world. You need to work while it's day, brothers, sisters, because the night is coming when no one can work. Do what you do now for the glory of God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Bring about a blessing into the world through your prayers and your worship and your praise. This Thanksgiving season or whatever season you're in when this tape comes to you, Christmas or next year sometime, whenever you see this, lift up your heart to the Lord and just say, God, I'm available. Under your authority, with the authority of the Word of God and the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit and the blessings of the truths that you've given me, in the blood covenant of Jesus, I will go forth and you will get the glory, all the glory and all the honor, not to us, not to us, but to Jesus be all the glory. I love you each one. May God work in you continually to do His will, that you might know Him better and love Him more. God bless you.
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