The heart that has experienced the miracle of salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit should leave no doubt as to the outcome of what has transpired in the heart. This is a heart issue. Having knowledge about faith in God and obvious truths in His word is not enough. You must act on your faith. Our hearts are sick. They need to be healed by the grace of God. This is His way of ushering us into that process, by placing His Spirit within us to give us a heart of flesh to replace our heart of stone. A heart that is pliable instead of a heart that is stony and unwilling to be moved from its present condition.
Before you consider your answer to the question whether you are you born again, please consider looking very closely at the Gospel of John chapter three, starting with the first verse.
       “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say unto you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
     I believe that it is worth noticing that the man who came to Jesus that night was a religious leader in Israel. Perhaps he came to talk to Jesus at night possibly in fear of being seen by his peers, since many of the religious leaders in that day had animosity toward Jesus. Go back and look at his response to Jesus after He spoke of being born again. Nicodemus had a head knowledge type of response by relating the born again experience to the natural birth. Jesus responded by showing him that it was a supernatural experience He was speaking of, not something you could see with your natural eye or experience through head knowledge, but an experience with the Spirit of God.
     Are you following a religious leader?  If you are, are you sure they are leading you up the right path? Do you know that they have had a personal encounter with the Lord through Salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,  or are you just a passive participant in the weekly rituals they perform out of some religious duty? These are some questions that should be pondered carefully and followed up with some thoughtful answers. I really believe that some well meaning religious leaders have answered a call that was not ordained by God, but by their own personal ambitions. Perhaps those ambitions were sincere, yet possibly misguided.
They may have the ability to stand and perform a ritual before a congregation of people, but do not have the power of God inside that would help them to demonstrate the activity of God to the people. They also lack the undestanding of what it means to be
born-again, just as Nicodemus did in his response to Jesus as a religious leader.
Any God ordained leader that is born-again, and filled with the Holy Spirit will deliver a message that will challenge the heart, and live as an example for believers to follow.
     Matthew 7:13-20 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them."
      A real leader will produce good fruit and lead you to look at  life through the narrow scope of the cross of Jesus Christ, and also help guide you away from the broad roads that lead your heart into destructuve patterns.
 If you see no positive fruit being produced by the leader you may be following, then it is time to re-evaluate your motives, and begin to pursue a different direction for your life.
 When you have a heart that is truly seeking God, He will guide to the place of safety you have longed for.