EPIKAIZO – THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY

As you look at the greeting to Mary in Luke 1, Gabriel said, “Thou highly favored one.” 

If you examine that title from Genesis to Revelation, you will find that it is reserved only to those who had spent a lot of time with God. 

It was used of Daniel when Gabriel met him and said, “Daniel, thou greatly beloved of God.” 

That greeting had the same sense of being highly favored. 

So just from that greeting, you could tell that Mary was a woman who loved God, loved to spend time with God, and loved to pray. That harmonizes epikaizo and the ability to tap into that. 

The prayer level was extremely high. Daniel spent so much time with God that God gave him a special title, “Thou greatly beloved.” 

To Mary, it was “Highly favored one.” That is the first thing. You notice that the natural world becomes afraid. On all three occasions fear came. In Luke 1, it says that Mary was troubled.

 Mary began reasoning to herself. Then the angel had to say, “Fear not, Mary.” Now it was not the normal fear that you will have of natural things. However, it was a fear because the natural world is about to be absorbed by the spiritual world.

The word overshadow comes from the Greek word epikaizo. This Greek word here epikaizo has been used three times in the New Testament. 

Every time it is used, it refers to a special manifestation of God’s power. It is not the ordinary level of manifestation. What is the ordinary level? It is found in Acts 1:8, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

A lot of people think that Acts 1:8 is the powerful level. However, Acts 1:8 is just the first step of the degree of power that God can manifest. It is just the beginning. Remember it starts in Acts chapter one. That is the beginning but here the word overshadow talks about the fullness possible of God’s power. If God were to manifest in all His fullness, this natural world would explode. 

It cannot contain or take God’s fullness. Therefore, what God does is He manifests a certain measure of His power on this earth. Later, when our bodies are perfected we can see God’s power in greater and greater measure in the heavenly places in eternity. However, now when this earth is in its imperfect stage, God only manifest a certain amount of power. 

In the following passage, I would like to read to you  Ps. 91 so you will know that David was aware of that place.

Ps.91:1, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand]." (Amplified)

Those three things will bring you into the secret place. He will not overshadow you first and then you enter the secret place. You must enter the secret place and remain there then He will overshadow you. The key into that secret place was given by Mary - constant in prayer, constant in surrender, constant in worship. 

David had all those three things. He fell a few times but he always returned to God. He was a person who sought God. He was a man of prayer. He was a person surrendered to God and he was a person who worships God. Moses made this statement but it was included among David’s Psalms that he sang. 

You will notice that Ps. 90 and 91 were attributed to Moses. How did Moses get that revelation? Moses only had it for a few moments. When he said, “Lord show me your glory,” God said, “I will hide you in the cleave of the rock. When I pass by, I will not show you the front part of My glory. I show you the back part of My glory.” When Moses saw that glory, epikaizo was taking place. My friends, if epikaizo takes place in your life, your very skin will be transformed.

 John G. Lake touched on epikaizo.
When a plague raged through the land, he boldly allowed some scientists to drop some drops filled with germs from that plague on his hand to test the Spirit of life in him. When the scientists took the drops filled with germs from his hand and placed them under the microscope, they saw that all the germs died. 

That my friend is epikaizo. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Verse 4 He shall cover you with His feathers. And under His wings you shall take refuge. Therefore, understand the blessing of epikaizo this Christmas and even as we worship God and bless one another and fellowship together may we remember that it was all made possible because one woman called Mary was yielded enough to allow epikaizo to take place. 

Every time you talk about creative miracles and the growing of new limbs, you are talking about epikaizo the creative highest power of God.

The spiritual creates the natural. The natural is dissolved by the spiritual.