How can you be certain that you actually have the Holy Spirit within you? Here are seven major things that happen when the Holy Spirit enters you. Number one, you feel secure in your salvation. Now, let me stress this point. Go to Romans 8:9. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature.

You are controlled by the spirit if you have the spirit of God living in you. And remember that those who do not have the spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all. So as a born again believer, you already have the Holy Spirit. So it’s not that you have to perform to a certain degree in order to receive the Holy Spirit.

It’s that at salvation, you already receive the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit helps you to ultimately perform. Ephesians chapter 1 makes it clear that the Holy Spirit seals you in your salvation. Let’s read verses 13 and 14. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the good news that God saves you.

And when you believed in Christ, there’s the moment he came to identify you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit whom he promised long ago. The spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

So here we see that the Holy Spirit within you is God’s guarantee of salvation. Now, this doesn’t mean that you’ll never have moments of doubt. This doesn’t mean that the enemy won’t attack your mind every now and then with accusation. He may tell you things like, “God has rejected you or the Lord has abandoned you or the Holy Spirit has left you.

” But the Holy Spirit within us sends us a different message. Look at Galatians 4:6. Now, and because we are his children, so there is the precursor. We’re already his children. God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts. So, as children of God, we have the Holy Spirit. Now look at what he does here, prompting us to call out, “Aba, Father.

Your mistakes speak shame. Your mistakes say you’re a fake. Your mistakes will tell you you don’t belong to God.” Your mistakes will tell you you aren’t a real Christian. But the Holy Spirit within you cries, “Aba, Father.” It’s not that the Holy Spirit excuses your sin. It’s that the Holy Spirit helps you to not identify with that sin.

Yes, we bear the responsibility. Yes, there are still consequences to sin and no, sin has no place in the life of the believer. But while you’re battling with that wrongdoing, the Holy Spirit is within you, reminding you of who you are in Christ. That is perhaps one of his greatest works. So, you begin to feel secure in your salvation, recognizing relies on Christ, and the Holy Spirit assures you of that.

Number two, you begin to grow stronger against sinful cravings. Now, I want to stress this again. I’m not talking about perfection. I’m talking about progress. So, you’re still going to see maybe some issues in these areas. And I’m not talking about having these signs unto perfection. I’m saying that these are good indicators that the Holy Spirit is at work within you.

So, the Holy Spirit doesn’t just change your behaviors. He transforms your desires. This is about changing your nature, your mind at the core of who you are. Look at Galatians chapter 5 beginning at verse number 16. So, I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the spirit wants. And the spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other. So you are not free to carry out your own good intentions. But here we see, yes, that sin is fighting, but also the Holy Spirit is fighting on your behalf.

So maybe you felt discouraged because you repeat a certain mistake. And again, I’m not talking about just giving into it and saying, “Well, this is the way it is.” But maybe you’re discouraged because you tell yourself, “I’m not going to go there again. I’m not going to do that again. I’m not going to think that again. I’m not going to say that again.

I’m not going to fill that attitude again.” But then you find yourself back in that place anyway. And what begins to happen now is guilt and shame begin to creep in. And now you begin to wonder, well, does the Holy Spirit even reside in me? I want you to think about it this way. Thinking about it this way actually really helped me.