They Knew and Missed Him: Study Guide
Fourteen sessions plus a closing discussion, from the book They Knew and Missed Him — Will You? by Everett Wayne Baum.
This study guide is designed for personal reflection or group discussion. Each session corresponds to a chapter of the book and follows the same rhythm the chapters do: a passage to read, questions that search the heart, and a step to take. Do not rush it. The aim is not merely to finish the book but to be sure that knowledge has become surrender. Whether you use this alone with an open Bible or around a table with others, let every session end with the honest question this whole book asks: Do I only know about Him, or have I come to Him and begun to follow the One who said, "I am the door"?
Session One — The Oldest Weapon Is a Question
Read: Genesis 3:1–7; Matthew 4:1–11; John 8:31–32
How did the serpent use God's own words against Eve, and how does that same method operate today?
Where have you accepted an "edited" version of the gospel — one with the hard parts removed?
Jesus answered the twisted Word with "It is written again." How well do you know the whole counsel of Scripture, not just the comfortable parts?
Jesus said, "the truth shall make you free." How is freedom found in the whole truth rather than the edited version?
This Week: Read a passage of Scripture this week directly, without a commentary or devotional between you and the text, and ask God to show you where you have believed a modified version.
Session Two — They Had the Address and Stayed Home
Read: Matthew 2:1–6; John 5:39–40; John 17:3; Matthew 11:28–30
The scribes knew exactly where the Christ would be born and never went. How is that possible?
What is the difference between knowing about Christ and knowing Christ?
Jesus said eternal life is to know God — not to know about Him. Which do you have?
Have you "searched the Scriptures" but stopped short of coming to the Savior they point to?
This Week: Be honest before God about the distance between your knowledge and your surrender. If you have the address but never made the journey, say so to Him plainly — and come.
Session Three — The Falling Away Is From the Truth
Read: 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12; Isaiah 5:20; 2 Timothy 4:1–4; Mark 8:36–37
What is the difference between falling away from church attendance and falling away from the truth?
The chapter names one common trade: the worth of a soul exchanged for worldly gain. Where do you see that trade being made?
"Itching ears" want to be scratched, not corrected. Where do you notice that desire in yourself?
"What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" How does that question expose the trades you have made?
This Week: Identify one place where you have chosen a more comfortable version of the truth — or your own gain — over a soul or over the real truth. Bring it honestly before God.
Session Four — As in the Days of Noah
Read: Matthew 24:36–39; Genesis 6:5–8; 7:1–16
Jesus described the last days as ordinary, not obviously evil. Why is ordinariness itself a kind of deception?
Peter calls Noah "a preacher of righteousness," and the ark stood as a visible act of obedience, but Scripture does not say every neighbor heard him preach for exactly 120 years. How can a warning become background noise even when a person is familiar with its facts?
"The LORD shut him in." What does it mean that the mercy of God has a deadline?
God said to Noah, "Come into the ark." How is the ark a picture of Christ, the door of rescue?
This Week: Ask God to make the gospel land on you this week as though you were hearing it for the first time. Then, like Noah, "come in" — do not study the coming rain from outside the door.
Session Five — Wolves in the Flock
Read: Matthew 7:13–23; 2 Peter 2:1–3; John 10:11–14, 27–28
Jesus said few find the narrow way and then immediately warned about false prophets. What part do false guides play in making the broad way look safe, and what other reasons does Scripture give for people refusing the narrow gate?
A wolf wears sheep's clothing to look safe, not frightening. What does that tell you about how to recognize false teaching?
The chapter describes teachers trading the narrow gate for a bigger crowd. How can you tell the true Shepherd's voice from theirs?
"I never knew you" is spoken to religiously active people. What is the difference between working in His name and being known by Him?
This Week: Examine the teaching you regularly receive. Does it lead you toward the narrow gate or away from it? Test it against Scripture, and follow the true Shepherd's voice.
Session Six — I Have Need of Nothing
Read: Revelation 3:14–17; John 9:39–41; Mark 2:17
Jesus said He wished Laodicea were cold or hot and warned that He would vomit the lukewarm out of His mouth. What does that severe language reveal about the danger of a comfortable religious profession without zeal and repentance?
Laodicea's "I have need of nothing" was a spiritual self-assessment, not a financial one. Where do you feel spiritually "full"?
The claim "we see" is what sealed the Pharisees' blindness. How can confidence about your soul actually be dangerous?
What if the thing that makes you feel most secure about your soul is the very thing deceiving you?
This Week: Ask the Lord for His assessment of your soul rather than your own, and be willing to hear that you are poorer than you thought. The sick send for the Physician; those who believe they are well never do.
Session Seven — Christ Outside the Door
Read: Revelation 3:19–20; John 10:9; Hebrews 12:5–6
These words are spoken to a church, with Christ on the outside. How does a heart end up with Christ outside of it?
The One knocking in Revelation is the same One who said "I am the door" in John. How do those two door images differ, and how do both of them direct the hearer to respond to the same Person?
The verse does not mention a handle, but it does say Christ stands, knocks, speaks, rebukes, and calls the hearer to open. What does that reveal about His gracious initiative and our responsibility not to resist His voice?
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." How is the knock an act of love, not rejection?
This Week: Turn down the noise of your own activity long enough to hear Christ's words to Laodicea. Receive His correction, repent where repentance is needed, and seek restored fellowship with Him. Rest your salvation in Christ Himself, who said, "I am the door."
Session Eight — Buy of Me
Read: Revelation 3:18; Isaiah 55:1–3; Matthew 5:3; 2 Corinthians 8:9
Christ offers Laodicea the very things she thought she already had. What does that reveal about her true condition?
How can salvation cost you "everything and nothing" at the same time — "without money and without price"?
"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Why must your hands be empty before they can be filled?
What are you holding onto that keeps your hands too full to receive the real gold from Christ?
This Week: Open your hands before the Lord. Name what you have leaned on for your soul's security instead of Him, and let it go, that you may buy of Him without price.
Session Nine — How Can I Know He Knows Me?
Read: John 10:27–30; Romans 10:8–13; Ephesians 2:8–10; 1 John 5:11–13
What is the difference between the cause of salvation and the evidence of salvation? Why is it dangerous to reverse them?
What do repentance and faith each describe, and how do they belong together in one response to Christ?
Jesus said His sheep hear His voice, are known by Him, and follow Him. What direction do you see in your own life?
Are you relying on a past religious act, on your present feelings, or on Christ and His promise? What biblical evidence supports your assurance?
This Week: Write down the ground of your assurance. Remove every foundation that rests only in you. Place your confidence in the death and resurrection of Christ, His promise to whoever calls, and the direction of life His grace is producing.
Session Ten — Come Up Here
Read: Revelation 4:1–2; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18; 1 Corinthians 15:51–52; 2 Timothy 4:8
What changes between Revelation chapter 3 and chapter 4? Why do some readers see the change in setting and the reduced use of the word church in the judgment scenes as evidence for a pre-tribulation rapture, and why should that absence not be treated as proof by itself?
Paul plainly teaches the trumpet, resurrection, change, and catching up of believers. In what way does John's personal call, "Come up here," echo that pattern without serving as the primary doctrinal proof of the rapture?
The crown is for "all who have loved His appearing." Do you love His appearing, or dread it?
When the trumpet sounds, which side of it will you be on — and how do you know?
This Week: Do not assume your readiness. Make certain of it this week, settling the matter with God rather than presuming upon it, while the word is still "come in."
Session Eleven — The Door Was Shut
Read: Matthew 25:1–13; Genesis 7:16; Proverbs 27:1; Revelation 3:7
The five foolish virgins were waiting for the bridegroom too. What was the only difference that mattered?
What does the repeated image of a "shut door" teach about the mercy of God and its deadline?
Christ "opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens." What comfort and what warning are in those words?
Where have you been quietly counting on getting ready "later"?
This Week: Refuse to presume upon tomorrow — "you do not know what a day may bring forth." Settle anything unsettled with God today, before any door shuts.
Session Twelve — It Is Not Over — But It Will Cost You Everything
Read: Revelation 7:9–17; 12:11; 13:16–17; 2 Corinthians 6:1–2
How is the great multitude in white robes both a message of hope and a sobering warning?
Why is the door that remains open after the trumpet so much costlier than the door of grace open now?
"Your life is a vapor." Why is "I will get right with God later" the most dangerous bargain a soul can make?
"Now is the day of salvation." What does now require of you that later cannot promise?
This Week: Refuse the bargain of "later." If you have not come through the door of grace, come now, while it is still the door of grace and not a door of fire.
Session Thirteen — A Story to Tell
Read: Isaiah 53:4–5; Luke 15:11–24; Malachi 3:7; 1 John 1:9
How can a genuine believer become spiritually distant without denying the reality of the original salvation experience?
What role did self-reliance, disappointment in people, and unresolved hurt play in the author's years away from fellowship?
Why did the diagnosis drive him back to Scripture after nearly twenty-five years?
What does the Father's reception of the prodigal teach about restoration?
This Week: Identify the place where distance began in your own life. Bring that exact place honestly before the Lord.
Session Fourteen — Stand Still and See the Glory of the Lord
Read: Exodus 14:13–14; Mark 11:22–24; Philippians 4:6–7; Isaiah 40:31
How did the family combine prayer and faith with responsible medical care?
What was the difference between denying medical facts and refusing to let fear become the final authority?
Which details in the medical sequence most clearly demonstrate the change from the original prognosis to the final pathology?
In what sense did God answer two needs at once — Melanie's physical need and her father's spiritual need?
This Week: Write down one place where you need to "stand still" before God rather than surrender to fear. Pray over it daily while taking every responsible step available to you.
Closing Discussion — After You Enter the Door
Read: John 8:31–32; Acts 2:38–42; Titus 2:11–14; 1 John 1:7–9
Why is entering by Christ the beginning of discipleship rather than the end of the Christian life?
Which practices described in the conclusion — Scripture, prayer, baptism, church fellowship, confession, service, or testimony — need your immediate attention?
How can you work faithfully without returning to religious self-sufficiency?
What is the difference between conviction that calls you back and condemnation that tells you there is no road back?
This Week: Tell one mature believer that you intend to follow Christ faithfully. Take one concrete step of obedience, and establish a daily time to read Scripture and pray without using religious activity as a substitute for dependence on Him.