1 Thessalonians 2: 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. (NASB)
Paul is making a case for the brethren in Thessalonica. Some people have come to the church there and thought that Paul’s message was not accurate. These new preachers wanted the brethren to “expose” Paul for what he was doing. Taking money from other churches so he can travel, see the world and live at the expense of the churches. Paul then decided to write this chapter telling them what it took for him to preach to them. He preached the gospel to them out of love. He preached to them out of duty and preached to them out of respect for God.
The message preached from the pulpits is not about us. The message should never be about how to make me or anyone feel better. Sometimes God’s message does make us feel better, and sometimes God’s message does encourage us. The main message should be “Is this what God said?” When we want to hear what God says, we will always feel better. We will always be encouraged. Paul tells the church that the problem is not in the preaching but in the hearing. Each time we listen to the word preached, we need to ask or think, what is God telling me to do?