In October of 2008, my water heater stopped working. Actually, after years and years of use, it finally got so much corrosion in the bottom of it that the bottom fell out.

Water went everywhere. And it took the wife and I about a day to get the mess cleaned up. Then we had to call a fellow to come and replace the water heater.

So for about a day and a half, we had no hot water. And you know as well as I do… that’s a problem. We need hot water to shower in, bathe in, wash dishes in. And like most things, you don’t realize how much you come to rely on the convenience … until it’s gone.

My wife and I had a water problem.

Well, historians tell us that the ancient city of Laodicea had a water problem, too. The problem was there was no water. At least not in the city itself.

Scholars say that there were hot springs about 6 miles away near the town of Hierapolis. But by the time they got that water to Laodicea, the water lost its warmth. It cooled off. And that water wasn’t drinkable anyway, so by the time it got to Laodicea, it wasn’t much good for anything.

And about the same distance in the opposite direction, there were deliciously cool sources of water around the town of Denizli. This was good drinking water and c-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-l! But, by the time the people of Laodicea Could get this tasty cool water back to their town, what would happen? It would lose its coolness. And when you’ve been working all day in the hot sun, the last thing you want to do is take a big drink of warm water.

So, they had a problem. The only water in town was lukewarm. No cold water. No hot water.

And Jesus told the church there that they were the exact same way. Listen to what he tells them in Revelation 2….

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

The Greek word translated "spit" in most translations … is really more accurately translated "vomit." “Because you are neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth,” says Jesus.

Now, that’s not a pleasant image for us, is it? Nobody likes to watch somebody else throw up. And the last thing we want to do is get sick enough to throw up.

But Jesus is trying to paint a picture for us about how unpleasant it is for him to see lukewarm Christians—Christians who have lost their passion, who have somehow compromised their loyalty to Christ.

Unfortunately, over the years, the world has seen too many luckewarm Christians. Mahatma Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

The agnostic Sheldon Vanuaken wrote, “The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians—when they are somber and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug … then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.”

Nobody wants to be around a sourpuss. Somebody who’s always complaining or always in a bad mood or somebody who is continually running everything down. We like to be around people who are joyful… people who have a good outlook on life… people who always see the glass half full.

Now, if you’re a Christian, you have to ask yourself… am I lukewarm? And if you find that you are, that lukewarm describes your faith, let me encourage you to go back to the basics. Read your Bible more. Pray more. Hang out with Christians more. When we truly understand and realize what Jesus has done for us … then we can’t help but be happy, joyful people—and to share that with others.

Nobody likes lukewarm. Nobody wants to be lukewarm. And nobody wants Jesus to "spit them out."