Harnessing Ambition

Business by the Book

* Ambition is a great follower, but a terrible leader. * Letting ambition in the driver’s seat will cause you to arrive at a place God did not intend for you to be. * Waiting on God gives you: * Purity - purifies your ambition so you want what God wants you to want. * Presence - like waiting to eat until the person you’ve invited shows up. * Power - “those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…” * The result of not waiting - you forfeit what was supposed to be yours. * Backstory - the Philistines had the Israelites in a pinch, so they needed God’s help. * They waited for Samuel to show up and sacrifice the animals, but he didn’t show for a week. * Vs 7-13 - Saul took matters into his own hands. * The king jumped ahead of the priest. * He “felt compelled” - he put his thing ahead of God’s thing and therefore he had a false peace about doing something that was wrong. * Saul’s ambition to win field his decision to move forward when he should’ve held back. * His “feeling” should have been weighed by Scripture. * Vs 14 - Saul was replaced by a man who would be “after God’s heart.” * This is the first mention of that phrase, which shows that Saul was after his own heart and not God’s. * Going after someone’s heart is about pursuit, like a server at a restaurant. They want to win your affection. * From “Rescuing Ambition” - waiting cultivates patience and redefines our definition of productivity. * “For God, productivity is wrapped up in transformation - it’s about who we are becoming, not what we are accomplishing.” * What do we do? Two Keys: * 1) The “state” of waiting - your mindset where you let the priest lead the king. * Don’t take matters into your own hands. Don’t bust doors open. It’s a faith “walk,” not run. * 2) The “service” of waiting - your method where you actively serve while you wait. * Be busy about your task at hand. Don’t focus on the next big thing. Cultivate faithfulness.