It is written in Mark 13:34-37, For the son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.  Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning.  Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.  And what I say unto you I say unto all, watch.
 The Lord brought these verses to my attention recently, and of course, from old times we have been told to watch, for we know not when the Lord will return.  But I have not seen any one teaching on the other parts of this warning.  Let’s have a closer look at what the Lord Jesus said.  We know the Lord Jesus is referring to himself here, because He always called himself the son of man, and when he ascended back into heaven, he gave authority to His servants.  To do what?  To carry on the work of the house as if the master was there.  Just because the master of the house was not at home, did not mean there was not work to do.  In giving authority to the servants to carry on, was to say to them, when you sign your name on a bill, it’s as if I personally signed the bill, making myself responsible for it.  When you buy something in my name, it’s as if I personally bought it.  I’m leaving you in charge because I trust you to use your best judgment to act just as I would act if I were here, for I have trained you up in my ways.  When you give and order in my name, it’s as if I gave it, and it SHALL be obeyed, as surely as if I had issued it myself.  There are things that must be bought and sold to make money for my house, and you’re my agent until I return.  Food must be purchased and prepared to feed my servants, that they hunger not, and I’m authorizing you to do that, for they need provision to be strong for the work I have set before them. 
 Now, about the work: what was the work of the Lord Jesus that He wanted His servants to continue?  Jesus came to seek and save the lost, so would that not be His continuing work?  Here’s something we need to notice: He left every man authority to do his work, in other words, he gave authority for the cook to be in charge of cooking, and he answered only to the master.  He left the buyer to buy, the seller to sell, the keeper of the livestock to oversee the livestock, and whatever the servant was charged to do, he was given authority over that particular work, to perform it to the best of his ability, WITH THE CHARGE THAT HE WAS ANSWERABLE ONLY TO THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE. 
 There are those who the Lord has charged as His servants to be over a particular work.  Some are called to preach the Gospel, and some are charged to fund the preaching of the Gospel.  Those who are charged to preach are not given authority over how to fund that preaching, that isn’t their job, and therefore not their worry.  Those who are charged to make money to fund the preaching of the Gospel are also blessed with the ability to make that money for God’s purpose.  But they are not in authority to preach the Gospel, nor to tell the person whom they are directed to give funds to, how or where to do his job. 
There are those, for example, charged to warn the people from God, as I am charged to do.  There are those who do service, as in serving the poor, or the sick.  There are those who minister to the sick, as I also do.  There are those gifted in the administration of government.  There are others who have favor with people to obtain certain resources needed for the preaching of the Gospel.  The point I’m making is, the Lord of the house has left His servants to continue doing the work He has trained and directed them to do, and they are expected to faithfully discharge those responsibilities no matter how long the Lord of the house delays his coming.  The Lord charged His servants to WORK, wielding the authority of the master in his own particular arena of authority, and not to be lazy or slothful, but diligent in his work.
 Here’s what has been overlooked. And (HE)  commanded the porter to watch.  Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning.  Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.  And what I say unto you I say unto all, watch.  Who did he command to watch?  the Porter, that is, the doorkeeper.  The porter’s only duty is to watch for the master of the house, to let the household know he’s coming, to keep the door and protect that within.  He isn’t called to cook, or to clean, or to buy or sell, or to direct or administer in any way, his job is to WATCH!  Surely the Lord has appointed porters throughout His houses to watch, but they’ve not been watching, they’ve been trying to do everything BUT watch.  Is being a watchman an easy, stand around job?  No!  He has to constantly be on alert for enemies who would come to kill, steal, and destroy.  And they don’t come to the door and ring the doorbell.  They’re thieves, remember?  They may come disguised as a salesman to spy out the house before attacking it, to find the weaknesses thereof, and where the treasures are kept. 

   The watchman must be on the alert all hours of the day and night against every enemy, seen and unseen.  The porter is charged with being responsible for whatever goes out of the house and comes into it, and if necessary, defend that door with his very life to keep enemies out, and the treasures in.  That’s a full time job, and he doesn’t have time to plow the field, or cook the meals.  Nor does it even say he gets to leave his post to eat meals.  He is responsible to have someone qualified for the job at the door at all times he himself is not there.  Many people think the porter is just there to announce the homecoming of the master of the house, but his job goes far beyond that.  If you’re a porter, you know it, nobody has to tell you.  Your job is not only to announce the coming of the master, but to warn the other servants of his coming so the master doesn’t come and find them asleep on the job, thereby saving their lives as well.  Yes, we’re all to watch for Christ’s coming, along with doing the work He calls us to do. 
 Another example is in Nehemiah 4:15-18, And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was know unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every on to his work.  And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeorns; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.  They which builded on the wall, and they which bare burdens, with those that laded, every on with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.  For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded.  And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. 
The one who sounded the trumpet was serving the same purpose as a porter, one who watches and gives warning of the approach of the enemy.  Obviously it would have to be a person that could be trusted with the lives of others, to stay awake, with good eyesight, for a near-sighted person could not see the enemy coming from afar. Notice he that sounded the trumpet was not one of those who was laboring building the wall, but yet, the wall could not be built safely without his watchfulness.  Actually, the lives of the workers were in the hands of the watchman, and if the watchman failed to do his work, the lives of the workers would be lost, and the work itself would not be completed.  So, if you have a watchman in your midst, and you think he’s lazy because he isn’t helping with the labor, think again.  God has placed him there for your safety, to warn you from the Lord, so the work can be completed without hindrance from the enemy.  Pray the Lord of the house won’t come and find him sleeping, or worse yet, the destroyer come and find him sleeping.  For the house is safe as long as the porter is on the job and watching.  Don’t envy the porter’s job, it is a fearsome responsibility to be charged with, but respect him, for the Lord has placed him there.