News Ticker

Painting Color’s unto People’s Lives

April 6, 2014 cm-admin People 0

6 April 2014 by Natasha Kim CM-

Tommy Chen, Secretary of FGB Damansara Intan Chapter and an artist renowned for his Koi paintings recently shared his testimony of how the Lord touched his life at the Full Gospel Businessman (FGB), Summit Chapter on the 23^rd of March 2014. In the very beginning when Tommy started painting, he used to paint for the purpose of money and fame. He had joy because he was doing what he loves to do, but that joy was nothing compared to the joy and fulfillment he continues to receive until this day; since he began painting for the Lord to achieve a higher purpose! In life, one has to realize that your purpose is not only about you. But it’s about what God wants to do through you. And in order to know this, all of us need to discover our God-given talents.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

When Tommy was a young Christian, he acquired the burden to share the love of Christ and would often ask the Lord to speak to him. He wanted to know Him. One fine day, he got his wish when the Lord spoke to him and said, “My child, you are a brush held in my hand. I will dip you into the colors of life and use you to paint colors into my people’s lives.” Tommy shared that, “It’s not about your ability but your availability. Are you going to allow God to use you?” As his story goes, in the year 2010, Tommy wanted to go on a mission trip to Cambodia. It was something he longed for. The cost for this trip was RM5000, a big sum indeed. However, he did not want to look into his own strength to get this money, e.g. borrowing from people etc. And so, Tommy cried out to the Lord, the Provider of all things.

Days passed, and as the date for the mission trip grew closer, a feeling of urgency drew near. Through the grace of God, Tommy finally received a call one day, about a painting job from someone in Public Bank. They needed a special painting to give to the Chairman of the bank, Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’, Dr. Teh Hong Piew. Initially, they wanted Tommy to paint a horse but through their conversation, they agreed on having a painting according to Tommy’s specialty, which was koi fishes! However, Tommy was taken aback when they wanted him to paint 80 koi fishes in commemoration of the chairman’s 80^th birthday. “I have never done that before, my record is either nine or twelve koi fishes,” he shared. That amount of fishes would take approximately nine months to create. At that point, he started getting confused and told the man that he needed to go home and check with his father. The man agreed but he did not know that Tommy was referring to God.

When he got home, he went down on both knees and cried out to the Lord. He really wanted to go on the mission trip to do the Lord’s work. “Lord, give me the inspiration. Give me the idea,” cried Tommy unto the Lord. That day, the Lord revealed an idea that provided him with the inspiration he needed, that was eight koi fishes, in the shape of an eight, and a big circle around the number of fishes! Tommy received a sudden rush of joy and was so excited that he could not wait to present the idea.

The painting that the Lord inpired Tommy to paint for the chairman

After he presented the idea to the man who wanted to commission him, he loved the idea. From there, he told Tommy that he would pay him RM5000 for that proposed painting. He added that it should be four feet large and that it needed to be completed in a month’s time. Tommy began to question himself once more due to the size of the painting. “This was no joke but I told the Lord by faith I will paint it,” he shared. As Tommy began gathering his thoughts and his equipment, he sought for the Lord’s Kingdom and His divine strength. He perceived that the fastest way he could complete this large painting is approximately three months. During the process of painting, Tommy had the bright idea to insert some Bible verses in the painting, but he could not because the commissioner wanted him to get someone to put in a calligraphy of Chinese words for good luck.

Once more, the Lord provided him with a revelation, one that would allow him to insert the Bible verses into the painting. He needed a magnifying glass and a fine technical pen (0.1mm) to write the verses, so that it could only be seen through a magnifying glass. Tommy thanked God for the idea once more. He managed to finish the painting on time, and before he passed it over, he prayed over it that the spirit of God would touch the painting and the life of the recipient. During the revealing of the painting, someone miraculously discovered the Bible verses through a magnifying glass and showed it to the chairman of the bank. The Lord touched Tan Sri! Through his paintings, the Lord has touched the lives of many people, and He continues to work through Tommy.