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Here’s one question I want you to wrestle with: Is there a hope that you can count on when every other hope lets you down? What do you think?

Here’s another question: What are you hoping for right now? The reason I can ask that question is because:
1. You are by nature "hopers." Every morning when you wake up, you’re hoping for something good to happen that day. If you’re a student, you hope to graduate. Graduates hope for the perfect job and a six-figure salary. Singles hope to get married. Marrieds hope to have kids. Parents hope beyond hope for their kids to leave home. We’re by nature hopers.

Another thing I know about hope is that:
2. Your hope comes in all sizes. There’s big-sized hope and little-sized hope. Big hope is all about global expectations and future events. Little-sized hope is more about specific outcomes like I hope I pass the test. I hope it doesn’t rain. Take this quiz:
1. World peace will break out today—big-sized or little-sized hope? BIG,
2. Fast food drive-through gets your order right—big or small hope? SMALL,
3. Roger will never sing in public—big or little hope? BIG.
4. The Cubs win the World Series—big or little hope? Huge!
5. Jesus will return—big or little hope? BIG.
6. The Cubs win the World Series before Jesus returns.

A third thing I know about hope is that:
3. Your hope doesn’t always pan out. Sometimes you get what you hope for and other times you don’t. So what do you do when those big, significant hopes disappoint? You had that huge hope for a relationship, but it was dashed. You had your hopes set on a promotion at work or a good diagnosis from the doctor, but your hopes went south. So when your big hopes and wishes don’t become a reality, what do you do?

Tammy Kramer is head of an outpatient AIDS clinic in Los Angeles. She tells a story about a patient who came in for his daily dose of medication. A doctor, who was new to the clinic, saw the patient for the first time. After the doctor administered the medication, he said to the AIDS patient, "You know, don’t you, that you’re not long for this world, a year at most?"

Tammy Kramer said the patient came by her desk on the way out, and she could see the pain in his face. He said through clenched teeth, "That doctor took my hope away!" Tammy said, "I guess he did. Maybe it’s time to find another hope." Now here’s the question. Is there another hope? When your hopes get dashed, is there another hope that won’t disappoint?

The Apostle Paul mentions this "another" hope in Romans 5:4–5, "We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us…" What does he mean that hopes doesn’t disappoint? I don’t know about your world, but earthly hope disappoints me all the time. I’ve got a truckload of misguided hopes that never came true. The kind of hope Paul describes goes beyond human optimism, positive expectations, and wishes. It’s a hope found in the pages of the Bible. It’s a hope that’s central to the life of every Christ follower. It’s a hope that will never disappoint even when every other hope disappoints you. It’s a hope that will never let you down.

King David of the Old Testament—a fellow hoper—describes this different kind of hope in his famous Ps. 23:6, "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Familiar words to many of you, but what do they mean?

David can’t be saying that nothing bad will ever happen to him because it did. He got the short end of the stick numerous times. Jesus got the cross. His followers got the same treatment. It appears they all got short-changed on the goodness and love of God.

David’s point is that even when bad things happen to us and our hopes get dashed, nothing can separate us, ultimately, from God’s love and care. Hope is based on God’s presence in this life. God will be with us in this life no matter what happens—and He will also be with us through death. Death will eventually defeat every hope we have on this side of the grave. But death won’t be the end of you and me. It’s the hope of heaven that Paul and David held onto when every other hope or wish disappointed.

David said, "I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." He was hoping for heaven. A lot of us have some images of what heaven will be like, but have never given serious, adult thought to what lies on the other side of the grave.

I know some have imagined heaven to be like an eternal round of golf at Pebble Beach in California.

Unfortunately, I know there won’t be any golf in heaven. The Bible describes hell as a place where there will be the weeping, wailing and the gnashing of teeth. That sounds just like a golf course to me. (Besides there can be no lying, cheating, or cursing in heaven.)

Seriously, do you really believe God made you and saved you for nothing more significant than an eternal round of golf or playing a harp on a cloud? In the time we have left, let me share with you three images the biblical writers use to describe our ultimate hope of heaven. First of all, it’s a place for joy like one would experience at a wedding.

The biblical writer John says in Revelation 19:6–7, "Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a huge crowd, or the roar of mighty ocean waves, or the crash of loud thunder: ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb (Jesus), and his bride (Christ follower) has prepared herself.’"

Your heart will be so full of joy in heaven you will shout and sing as ways of expressing wonder and awe and love and admiration for God. You will know extreme joy in heaven.

Secondly, heaven will be a place for community. The Apostle John says in Revelation 7:9, "I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb." What an incredible picture in heaven of a community of all nationalities getting along with each other. No more prejudice, discrimination or hatred or terrorism—rather there will be mutual respect and love and admiration for each other. That’s a picture of Christian hope—our ultimate hope of heaven.

The Bible provides us a third image of heaven. It’s found in Jesus’ famous statement in John 14:2–3, "There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am."

Imagine this. Jesus is preparing for you a place called home. The truth is, in this world, we are not fully home. But the day is coming. Listen as the Apostle John describes your future home in heaven. Revelation 21:3-4, "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.’"

What a picture of being at home with God as He personally wipes away your tears from the disappointments and losses of this life and fills your hearts with His joy. Imagine God himself dwelling with you in your home in heaven. Imagine never again waking up and staring at the ceiling over some inadequacy or weakness or guilt or shame. This is Christian hope. My question for you is, is it your hope? Can you be sure you have this hope?

One of the most remarkable statements David made in Psalm 23 is found in the very first word, "Surely…" "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." David was for sure. He was certain. Heaven was a done deal for him. He knew he would live in God’s house forever in the life to come. How can you and I be as certain as David was that we will live at home in heaven?

The story is told of a Sunday school teacher who wanted to explain to the six-year-olds in his class what someone had to do in order to go to heaven. So he asked a few questions. "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church," he asked, "would that get me to heaven?" "No!" the children answered.

"If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me to heaven?" Again the answer was, "No!" "Well then," he said, "If I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and loved my wife, would that get me into heaven?" Again they all shouted, "No!"

"Well then," the teacher asked, looking out over his class, "how can I get to heaven?" A boy in the back row stood up and shouted, "You gotta be dead!"

There’s more to it than that.

Let me explain. You and I were designed by God with the capacity to live with Him. Unfortunately, there is a darkness inside of us; the Bible calls it sin. We can be cruel, selfish, proud and arrogant. And the natural consequence of this is death or separation from God. Your sin creates a chasm or moral gap between sinful you and a holy God.

Some people at this point put their hope in their good deeds, prayers, donations, church attendance, and moral lifestyle as a way to close the gap, earn God’s good graces, and get right with God. The Bible makes it very clear there is not enough hope in the things you can do to buy your way into heaven. God recognized the huge gap and sent His Son Jesus from heaven to die on a cross in your place to pay the debt you owed God and be the bridge back to God.

It’s one thing to understand what God has done for you. It’s another to consciously decide to trust Jesus as your Savior, as the one who died on the cross in your place to pay the moral debt you couldn’t pay. Romans 3:25, "For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us."

I want to give you a chance to do that right now so that you can know with certainty that heaven is your ultimate hope. "Dear God, I admit that I’m a sinner and I understand that my sin separates me from you. I believe that Jesus, being God, paid the penalty for my sins when He died on the cross. I now choose to trust Him as my Savior. Thank you for loving and forgiving me and for giving me the gift of eternal life. In Jesus’ name, Amen."

For those of you who are Christ followers, when hope disappoints and you don’t get what you wish for—embrace your heavenly hope. Heavenly hope is not based on wishes or circumstances but on the God who will never give up on or abandon you. He’s the one who implants in you a hope that will carry you safely to your heavenly home. It’s all because of Jesus’ death and resurrection that you are given the hope to carry on.