* 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.