Hearing Ears

"Something more than gold...
Something more than gold...
The Word of God in the life of a man
Something more than gold..."

That was the song she kept hearing
in her spirit as she was bound
hand and feet and gagged by the
kidnappers
She was paralyzed with fear
The song had been playing on her
car stereo before she got to the
roadblock the criminals mounted
just by the turning to their street
Her husband had driven ahead
and was on the telephone with
her when they stopped her
They were both returning from 
their offices
He was working with an architectural
firm on Lagos Island while she was a 
banker
They had just completed their house
in one of the estates along the 
expressway
The security around their environment
was inadequate
It is a developing area and they
were one of the pioneer settlers
in the community
She always closed early so that
she can get home before dark
The community didn't have electricity
yet
The streets are often dark and 
ominous
Their house was powered by Solar
and mechanical generators
They prepared as much as they 
could for every contingency before
moving in
It was her desire that they live
in their own house
She even bought the land with the
funds she got from a cooperative
loan at her office
Her husband didn't see the need
for them to build that early
He was against living far from the
city and all
But she prevailed upon him
The earlier they break the chokehold
of landlords from their neck, the
quicker they would accomplish other
things in their lives
She had never lived in a rented
apartment all her life and she
hated the idea of giving all her
gains to sherlock in the name
of paying rent
Her husband reluctantly started
the project but became more
enthusiastic about it as the project
progressed
They moved into the house in 2015
He was thirty-five
She was thirty-three
Their children were five and three
years old respectively
It was the happiest day of her life
She knew they would build several
others
It was always her prayer to leave
brick and mortar inheritance for
her children
They had paid off their pending 
loans in 2016 and started saving
towards other projects
Her husband bought her a brand
new Kia Sorento in January 2017
for her birthday
It was the same car she was 
driving when she was ambushed
As soon as she saw the gun and
masked faces
She knew they were either robbers
or killers
She was on the phone with her 
husband
She threw the phone under her seat
Her husband could hear everything
going on
The kidnappers told her to respect
herself and cooperate with her
They searched the car
They took her phone
They left her hazard light on
They left the engine of her car revving
They put her in the booth of their
car and hauled her off
She died of fright several times before
they got to their destination
But that song kept playing somewhere
at the back of her mind
She really couldn't say why...
Her husband knew something was
wrong the moment he heard the
strangers speaking and his wife 
screaming
He wanted to rush out of the house
He was sure she wasn't too far from
home but he didn't know what to do
with the children
If he took them to the scene, he might
endanger their lives and they were
too young to leave at home 
unsupervised
Eventually, he put them in the car and
started driving slowly towards the
main road leading to the expressway
He was just a few minutes ahead of
her on the expressway as they drove
home earlier
He saw her car just by the entrance
of the estate
The full light was on, the hazard light
was on, air conditioner was on, 
engine was revving, driver's door
was open, radio was blaring but
his wife was long gone
He checked around to be sure she
had not been killed and her body
thrown somewhere
After a few minutes, he parked her
car properly and took the children
back home
He sat in the sitting wondering 
what had happened to his wife
He wondered until late in the night
After the children had fallen asleep,
he walked back to the scene at around
11pm and drove his wife's car home
Once he locked their gate
he called her parents and explained 
that he suspected his wife had been
kidnapped
He called his people too
He called his church pastor and some
colleagues
He sat in the sitting room all night
praying and waiting for the kidnappers
to call
The call came by 7 AM the next morning
It was a male voice
The speaker said "Good morning, 
Mr. Architect, we have your wife...
We also know everything about you
We know your children are named
So and so and Such and such
We know you work on This and That
street on the Lagos Island
We know everything about your
wife too
We know you want your wife to die
so that you can marry another woman
We have called her people and told
them this
We told them you employed us to kill
her so that you can marry your
girlfriend
We have told them to raise the money
to ransom their daughter because
you wanted her dead
If you want to prove us wrong, you
have to come up with 10 million Naira
That will be the price for your 
redemption
If you pay the ransom, we will take
it that you are a faithful man and
our assumption about you was
wrong
If you don't pay it, our assumption
will be right and we will do our best
to locate you and kill you for being
an unfaithful husband
If you make us kill her, we will avenge
her death by killing you
We are not killers, all we wanted was
a value for her life
This value has been placed as 10 Million
Naira at this moment
We give you three days to get it
He told the speaker he didn't have
10 million
He said he could sell everything they
had to gather five million in three
days but not a penny more
The speaker cut the call
A few minutes later, his wife's mother
called him 
She was cursing and screaming
"You got hired killers to murder my
daughter and now they have kidnapped
her and you are refusing to pay them!
Do you think we will not know?
Do you think they will not report
your wickedness to us?"
His father-in-law took the phone from
her and said "Give us back our daughter
alive, I am begging you! Bring her home.
She doesn't have to die if you dont want
her anymore. Just return her to us"
It was the most ridiculous call he
had ever received
His wife's folks believed the kidnappers
They believed he was the enemy
He was too shocked to speak
By 10AM, two people came to the house
They were from the Police Central 
Command
They invited him to their office for
questioning
His younger brother had arrived to
gove him moral support by then
He told his younger brother to take
his children to his house
His younger brother was married with
two children too
He felt it would be wise to keep the
children away from the tension
He followed the policemen to their
station
They started grilling him
He told them everything
They asked him why he had not
reported the crime at the police 
station
He told them he was making 
arrangements for the children's
welfare and following the instruction
of the kidnappers
(They told him they would kill her
if he contacted the police)
While the police detectives were
questioning him, his phone rang
The kidnapper said more of what 
he said during the previous call
and concluded by asking him to
get the five million Naira and
wait for further instructions
The police detectives realised the
kidnappers were playing both 
ends of the fence
They were negotiating with the
husband and negotiating with
the wife's family
They didn't want both parties 
uniting
This was the reason for the long
stories
The police detectives went to the
wife's family to explain what was
going on
Her family had been gathering
funds for her ransom too while
believing the husband was the
one responsible for her plight
The Kidnappers had agreed on a
Five million ransom from the 
wife's family members and at 
the same time agreed on another
five million from the husband
Since the husband didn't have
the cash, the police advised that
the wife's family give what they
had gathered to her husband for
the ransom
The wife's family agreed
The fund was given to her husband
When the kidnapper called them
they told the kidnapper they had
met with her husband and settled
their differences
The will be representing the family
going forward
The Kidnapper raved and threatened
but eventually called the husband
to give him the instruction for the
drop
They told him to drive to Lagos
The Police had a detective in his
boot who eavesdrops on their calls
and then informs the other officers
of the instruction related to him
It was their idea to use the money
as a bait to catch the kidnappers
When he got to Aseese, they told
him to park the car
They told him to get the money
and throw it in a bush beside the
road
He did so
But then the police officers made
a mistake
They followed him into the bush
thinking the kidnappers were there 
already
Meanwhile, the kidnappers were
watching from a distance
They saw everything
Just as he was about to get into 
the car and drive away
They called him to go back and get
the money because they could see
police officers crawling all over 
the bush
They gave his wife the phone and
told her to say goodbye!
Then he heard a gunshot and his
wife's scream
It was over!
His whole body shaking, he sat in
the car for almost an hour
The policemen came to his car
to inform him they didn't see anybody
He thanked them but said he felt
they would wait to see those who
would come to pick the money and 
trail them back to the location of
his wife
He was no detective but he felt they
either deliberately sabotaged
the operation or had no idea what 
they were doing
After crying for a while he drove off
He still had the money on him
Banks have closed
Suddenly he realized he was in danger
He turned around on the expressway
and drove into one of the huge 
campgrounds along the expressway
He rented a chalet and went to the
auditorium to pray and cry
He wasn't sure they wanted to kill
his wife especially when they knew
for sure he had the money
He was very sure his wife was alive
but he was disappointed that the
policemen seemed so clueless
When he got to the auditorium, he
met a set of youths praying
He joined them
As they were all praying, a brother
arrived
He started praying with them and
getting them filled with the Holy
Spirit one by one!
When the brother got to him, the
Brother said "You think you came
here by chance? No! The Lord
ordered your step!
The Brother: What had the Lord
been telling you for the last three
days 
He: Sir, Nothing! I hear nothing
The Brother: You have been hearing
something about Glory consistently
He: I don't think so....
The brother: You cannot hear and
yeat you are being spoken to
Be still, don't let your current challenges
drown the voice of the Holy Spirit
in you
Pay attention to the Holy Spirit and
forget about the problem that brought
you here
What you seek lies by the river of Gold!
The Brother left
Everything the Brother said made no
sense to him
Why didn't God mention the Kidnap
issue or something relating to it?
After ministering to them individually
The brother preached for about 
twenty minutes and left
The youths ate dinner and were 
gracious enough to serve him some
food 
He combined some benches and
started praying
He needed divine intervention
He didn't know when he slept off
Then he heard, "Go to AXXXX
Look for the House of Gold
Look for the House of Gold..."
He startled awake
It was already morning, Sunday
Morning
His wife was Kidnapped the previous
Thursday Night
He got to his car and drove to AXXXX 
Estate
He asked around for House of Gold
Nobody seemed to know the place
but he was sure of what he heard
He decided to drive around the
estate to see if there was a signboard
or anything that remotely resembles
House of Gold
He drove for only a few minutes
He saw a Church, Household of God
Beside the church's signboard, he
saw another signboard 
"Akanke Onile'Wura Goldsmith"
meaning
(Akanke's House of Gold Goldsmith)
He parked his car right in front
of the House 
He didn't know what to do next
His phone rang
It was the Kidnapper
The man started to give him
another set of instructions
He paid attention to the background
noise as the man was speaking
He started thinking fast
Suddenly he heard himself say
"You are surrounded! We are already
in AXXXX Estate
Close to Akanke Onile'Wura Goldsmith
You will not escape
You and your fellow criminals have come
to a definite end today"
He said this and cut the call
He didn't believe what happened next
About nine guys suddenly ran out of
the house, none of them looked back
None of them saw him
They just ran out like rats out of a 
burning bush
A few minutes later, 
An elderly woman walked up to his 
car and knocked on the window
He was so frightened, he almost
jumped out of his skin
The elderly woman said "Just take
your wife and go! She will come out
now"
The elderly woman had barely finished
speaking when his wife emerged from
the house
He jumped out of the car, helped her
into it and drove off
Within an hour they were back on that
campground
His wife slept all day only to wake up
the next morning
She said they kept her in an abandoned
public toilet with her mouth gagged
and her hand and feet tied
She said that morning, someone just
came in and said "Your husband is
waiting for you outside, go and meet
him"
That was how his wife was restored
to him  alive and well

PS: The event described above happened
to Brother P and Sister H, Adekoya in 2016 
around Arepo, Aseese, Kajola axis
of the Lagos Ibadan Expressway
They went to the police station
the next morning
He gave a vivid description of the 
house and so did she
The police acted wisely this time
They placed the house under surveillance
for two months
The kidnappers took another man
and his fifteen years old son
The police struck while the negotiation
for the release of the duo was going on
In all, the police arrested twelve 
people connected with the gang
but as much as they tried, they couldn't
locate the elderly woman who helped
them escape
They had to conclude that she was an
angel of God
The emotional trauma of the kidnap
was quite heavy for his wife
They had to abandon the house
They rented an apartment in the 
camp ground where he met the 
Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
He sought out the youth fellowship and
located the phone number of the Brother in
Jeans and T-shirt to help pray with his
wife
She was barely sleeping due to fear
The Holy Spirit took control and she
was fully restored
They live in the camp now, even though
the community where they built their
house is more secure
They rented out the house

GSW's notes: 
Acts 9: 10 In Damascus there 
was a disciple named Ananias. The 
Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” 
“Here I am, Lord,” he answered. 
11“Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to 
the house of Judas on Straight 
Street and ask for a man from Tarsus 
named Saul, for he is praying. 
12 In a vision he has seen a man 
named Ananias come and place his 
hands on him to restore his sight.”…

A lot of Christians ask
the question "How do I hear clearly
from God"
Often, they wait like Samuel
for a voice outside their body to speak
while forgetting that the Holy Spirit
lives within
When you tell them this, they said
"I dont know if it was my thought
or the Holy Spirit, I cannot distinguish
the two"
To which I say stop trying to hear
Just fellowship and trust him
John 14, 15 and 16 states clearly
that leading and guiding you are
the purpose of His coming into your
life
Let him do His job
Keep fellowshipping with Him and
live your life in line with the scriptures
The more you obey the written word
(Not the Law), and keep His fellowship
the clearer his voice and words come
to you because the Word makes your
heart tender and receptive
Finally, be sincere! I have met a lot of
people who are quick to say "God said
just so that they can push their own 
agenda and manipulate people"
This is witchcraft.
Before he can talk to you about others
He begins by talking to you about yourself,
Himself and your fellowship with him
He does not desire to make you a
"medium" like demons do
His desires to conform you into the 
express image of Jesus in words, 
thoughts and deeds